Charlotte Perriand 514 Refolo

Sofa Beds: The best designer guest beds

You might be preparing the house for some extra guests or have children that spend most of their time away at university – either way, a designer sofa bed can add value to a living room through its flexibility – that doesn’t mean that it can’t also look good.

Following on from our previous article taking a look at the world of Sofa Beds and some of the options, we thought we’d take the opportunity to pull together the latest gallery of our favourite guest beds and options for pulling out an extra bit of leg-room and snuggling down in front of the TV for an evening of Netflix.

Prostoria up-lift sofa bed
Prostoria up-lift sofa bed

Firstly we take a look at Prostoria’s up-lift bed. Prostoria is a furniture company based in Zagreb, Croatia and we’ve been hugely impressed with their fresh approach to contemporary furniture design – their range of designer sofa beds are no exception.

It’s worth having a look through the Prostoria website at all of the different configurations and folding mechanisms – there are even a handy collection of videos to help – watch the youtube videos for more insight!

For more information, visit Prostoria’s website

dwell pisa sofa bed
dwell Pisa sofa bed

Dwell are Copse Magazine favourites and the Pisa sofa bed from Dwell is no exception.

The Pisa from Dwell is an ‘instant sofa bed’. Simply pull forward the backrest and let it fall back flat (impressively softly). It turns a strikingly impressive contemporary sofa design into a lay-flat bed in seconds.

The only consideration we would advise here is that materials suited for sitting on are not always the best for sleeping on in terms of breathability so make sure that you choose carefully of the bed materials and you will be thrilled with the Pisa from Dwell… At least you should be able to enjoy it once you’ve picked up all the cushions that keep falling through that gap! For more information on Dwell’s range, you can view Dwell’s guest beds here.

Habitat kota sofa bed
Habitat Kota

Habitat has long been a favourite at Copse Magazine Towers, even through the seemingly endless merry-go-round of their various owners, and although on occasion over the years, their design range and product quality have been known to dip, they seem to have really returned to form and found a place within the Sainsbury’s Group as the design jewel in the crown.

The Kota sofa bed is still on the lower side of both the design and price scale, but it has a simplicity of design without crossing the line of being ‘blocky’ and that’s what appealed to us when we were compiling this collection.

For more information, you can visit their website and view the Habitat Kota sofa bed here.

made.com yoko sofa bed cygnet grey
made.com yoko bed cygnet grey

We may be their second-biggest fans after the Transport for London advertising department but we always look to Made.com to see what their latest design range includes when we are reviewing the best designer furniture options in the marketplace.

Made.com’s contribution to our sofa bed review is their Yoko model. With a simple fold back design, the sofa bed is well supported, and although comfortable for one, could be extremely cosy for two.

It’s worth looking through their website to see what the latest models are but if it’s still available then you can have a look at the Made.com Yoko here.


When we were looking around at the various options in terms of sofa beds and guest beds and talking to our designers, our colleagues, and industry experts, we definitely found that the day bed seems to be making a comeback.

You can’t get much more simple than a day bed, it’s ultimately designed to be both a functional piece of furniture and aesthetically beautiful – and the next two examples of day beds are classics from the furniture world.

Charlotte Perriand 514 Refolo
Charlotte Perriand 514 Refolo

First day bed up is a Copse Magazine favourite; Charlotte Perriand’s 514 Refolo (which is available through Cassina).

Designed in 1953, The 514 Refolo is a modular system based around a beautiful yet elegantly simple oak bench – and when combined with individual seating cushions it easily converts into a sofa and a guest bed.

For more information or to view the 514 Refolo you can visit the Cassina website.

Le Corbusier Cabanon bed
Le Corbusier Cabanon bed

Looking purely at the utility, (and because we secretly want to build our own Cabanon and live on the coast in the South of France) we’ve included Le Corbusier’s day bed from his Cabanon in the south of France.

Although having your head resting next to a deconstructed toilet is not everyone’s ideal way to get a good night’s sleep, we admire the simplicity of the solid base, the built-in armrest/ pillow rest, and the integrated storage.

Although simple in looks, all of the functionality and more have been catered for which is true across the cabanon.

Innovation puzzle wood sofa
Innovation puzzle wood sofa

Similar in design to the Pisa sofa bed from Dwell (or vice versa), the Puzzle Wood bed from Innovation is another simple butterfly fold design with a stepped split.

The butterfly design allows for quick and simple conversion from day sofa to guest bed and although it does not allow for any contained storage, the raised design will keep living rooms feeling bigger and not just arranged around a temporary bed.

While some may find the ability to scoot one’s bottom back a bit further, as a positive point, we would advise testing the sofa out to ensure you feel you have adequate lower back support. It is good looking though! View the Puzzle wood sofa bed here.

If you know of a sofa bed design that should be included in our top list then please make contact with Copse Magazine editorial team.

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