One of the things I get asked the most has to do with our family room sofa. It is actually a full sized bed turned sideways and converted into a multi-purpose piece. It was a simple/functional way for us to make something that works in our front room which currently serves as an office, playroom or guest bedroom.
To make it look more like a sofa, I went ahead and bought an IKEA slipcover for around $50.00. I stuffed the top cushions with some polyester stuffing and random extra bed pillows I had lying around the house. Since the bed is pushed up to the wall they just lay across that wall for support.
I bought bolster pillows as large as I could find them to make the arms. You could cover these with any matching fabric. To keep the couch cohesive, I continued to cut up the slipcover and used the arm sections to sew covers for the bolster pillows. I found that file cabinets were perfect for side tables and tall enough to hold the bolsters in place.
I kept a simple bed skirt and fitted sheet on the mattress To make it less obvious that it was a bed- I covered it in linens and blankets.
To finish it off I just layer on many pillows and textures. This bed/couch is perfect for the occasional house guest but mostly serves as a comfy sofa for the majority of time. For less than$100.00 I have a piece that is both useful and affordable.
I am over at Craftberry Bush today sharing how to Make a Moroccan Wedding Pillow. I would love for you to stop by and check it out. Have a great rest of your day!
That looks like such a comfy place to relax! And I LOVE the pillows you shared over at Lucy’s. That is totally a project I would try myself. You pictures look amazing, too. I feel like I am right there in your living room 🙂
Thanks very much Jamie – as are your incredible pictures. I absolutely admire your photography! Hope your weekend is wonderful!
Genius! I love how it looks so comfy and cozy and at the same time it was so inexpensive and easy to personalize!
Tania
Thank you so much Tania – I appreciate it! Thank you for stopping by ~
I love this and it’s so beautiful.
Is the couch already a pull out? Or how did you support the mattress? I’d love to do this in our living room.
Thank you so much Leigh, it is a mattress on top of a box spring – super easy! I appreciate you stopping by!
This really is genius! I’m now thinking how I can convert our not-so-comfy sofa by adding a mattress. Thanks for the inspiration!
Kelly I am so glad you think so and I hope you enjoy trying it out! Please let me know how it goes!
Love wvwrything about this! Where is the Pom Pom throw from?
Hi Katie – thank you very much! I made this by adding the poms to an IKEA blanket. Jones Design Company has a great tutorial – thanks so much for stopping by!
You are a genius! Please, I beg of you, tell us where you got that incredible pom-pom throw! Thanks!
Judith you are too sweet – thank you! I made it by adding poms to an IKEA throw. Jones Design Company has a great tutorial.
Where is that beautiful Pom Pom throw from???
Alicia thanks so much! I made it from adding poms to an IKEA throw. Jones Design Company has a wonderful tutorial! Have a good weekend!
This looks so pretty and practical for lounging around.
Elizabeth thanks so much and it truly is comfortable! Thanks so much for stopping by ~
Gorgeous.. What size is the mattresses?
Thank you Mel – it is a full. Have a great weekend ~
Where did you get the top cushions from?
I love this look but I can’t seem to find the tailored pillows you use for the back.
I’ve looked on the Ikea website but can’t seem to find them.
This is so cute! How did you get the IKEA slip cover to look like that? Did you just sew the open bottom closed?
Thanks!
Hi Katie! The top cushions I just kept as is and filled them. The arm rests, I cut off from the cover and yes sewed the bottoms shut. The mattress just has a fitted sheet and skirt on. Hope that makes sense! Thank you for stopping by –
What were the dimensions of the bolster pillows?
Hi Allie,
I would need to double check but I do know that they were the largest I could find online at Amazon. I want to say about 30-36 inches. Hope that helps!
Where did you find the large bolsters?
Hi Kristen,
I found mine on Amazon. I just looked for the largest size I could find and I believe that mine were over 30 inches long… Hope that helps!
Your couch bed is awesome I so want to try this Where did you get the back cushion covers?
Hi Heather and thank you so much! These are from the white Ektorp Couch Cover at Ikea. Hope that helps!
Are the boxspring and mattress on the floor? Or are they on some kind of frame? If they are on the floor, where did you find such a tall mattress and boxspring set?
Hi Meg, they are on a basic frame. Good question and thanks for stopping by!
This is genius and looks amazing!
Whitney thanks so much! I appreciate you stopping by!
I have a queen mattress and box spring at my disposal and I most definitely need a couch, do you know how I can incorporate the box spring to use it as a back support and how to elevate the mattress off the floor. Trying to stay in the 100- 150 range (college student) 🙂
Where did you find an Ikea couch cover for
$50. The cheapest I’ve seen is $200.
Hi Christine, it is on their website – http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30322278/#/90321704 (the colors may have changed and the prices, but there is still a beige version available for 49). Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Annie,
I thank God that I found your site. I have been on HomeTalk, Apartment Therapy and throughout the internet trying to find this concept for our apt. After our short-sale we moved from a 3 bdrm to a 1 bdrm. Our teen daughter has the bdrm and my husband and I are in the living room. I had my heart set on purchasing Brimnes platform bed from Ikea, but we decided that financially we should just buy a metal frame and box spring and call it a day. The trick was how to keep it looking like a bed in a living room. You hit it on the nail. I would have never thought to get bolster pillows, totally gives the look I want. So thank you God bless and I hope to be able to send a picture soon. I’M SO EXCITED.
Hi Dana, your comment blesses my heart and I am so happy to hear that this may be something that works for you and your family. I appreciate you stopping by and taking the time to comment – wishing you all the best! Annie
I’m so glad I found your blog Annie. I need to go back and read this post properly as I was too eager to see all the lovely pictures first but this is definitely something I would try out and the round bolster pillows for arms is a brilliant idea! Thanks for sharing it:-)
Marie
Hi Marie, I am so happy to have you here and thank you so much for the kind words! Hope you have a wonderful week~
This is genius– I’m doing this!! Thanks for the great idea. Did you put the bolster pillows inside the sofa cover arms? Thanks!
Oh silly me, I just saw that the answer is yes. 🙂
Katie thanks for stopping by and I hope that it works well for you!
Hi!
I just found this on pinterest, trying to find different room solutions! I have one question, i want to have the full couch experience, and I was wondering the size on the cushions? I am trying to buy a pillow in that size you see:)
Thank you!
Hi Mina, thank you and I will look into that tomorrow and get back to you soon!
Hi Annie,
Love this idea and want to duplicate it with a few changes in color. Can you tell me where you got the back cushions that are against the wall? Thanks so much!
Donna thank you so much. These are part of the Ektorp sofa covers from Ikea and I just filled them with pillows. I hope that helps!
Yes, Annie, thanks so much. I will look into them. I just love the look of this very practical sofa!
Love this! I am looking to do the same thing with a queen bed I have. I need a guest room/homeschool/play room. I am having a hard time finding a 4 sided bed skirt. Where did you get yours? Thanks!!
Hi Chrissy, what a great question. Ours is actually only 3 sided but the open portion sits on the side that no one sees… I suppose you could buy some material and attach it with needle/thread or velcro. I will keep my eyes open and report here if I find it, thanks so much for stopping by!
Hi! Can you tell me where the pillow with the blue stripes is from?
Thanks!
Hi Nicole, it is from Ikea =).
This is the most clever/beautiful idea for a bed/sofa I’ve ever seen! My daughter is buying her first house and I’m going to do this for her guest room/home office. It’s only a 2 bedroom, so it’s important we put a real bed in there for guests. Where did you find the gorgeous coverlet on top of the bed? It is all gorgeous!!
Hi Jennifer, thank you so much for the kind words and I am so happy to hear you are inspired. The coverlet is actually just from Ikea and I believe they still sell the lightweight throw/cover… hope that helps =). Thanks for stopping by!
I love this idea and want to try it with a full size bed we have in an old bedroom. Turning it into my new office. Which slipcover did you get from Ikea. Where did you get the back cushions that look like sofa cushions?
Hi Allyson, thank you so much! I used the Ektorp cover in the white and cheapest price option. I actually just filled them with normal pillows (2 per case) and they filled up just fine. Hope that helps and I appreciate you stopping by!
Yesss! Thank you for this. I’m making a big move to the city and with rental prices, a super cute but ridiculously tiny bachelor apartment will be my new home. I was trying so hard to find a way to keep my comfy double bed but also have something that could double as a couch for guests as I love having people over.
I just didn’t want to think about sleeping every night on a futon or a twin day bed.. I figured there had to be a better solution. Thank you!
Hi Julia, that honestly makes me happy to hear that this inspires you. Thanks so much for sharing and good luck with the move!
Hi there, just found this today and am so excited because we are looking for a great guest room solution and this is IT! So creative and affordable. I read all the comments too and see that i’m not alone. Thank you!
Did the slipcover fit the mattress perfectly? I’ve been looking and all the covers I’m finding i don’t think would work. The link with the slipcover isn’t working.
Jenna, She didn’t slip cover the mattress, but just used the cushion slip covers from the slip cover set for the back. She put a fitted sheet and dust ruffle on the mattress then topped it with throws. I hope that helps!
Hi Annie,
I just moved from a 2 bedroom to a one bedroom and had sold my couch. I LOVE my queen mattress and couldn’t part with it. It’s sitting in the living room now and I was trying to figure out work as a couch. Your photos and comments have me convinced I can do it! Thank you! I have one question – do you have both a box spring AND a basic metal frame? I think so but wanted to make sure. Thanks!
Hi Monika, that makes me so happy to hear and thank you! We love this set up actually and it has held up great! And yes we do have a box spring as well as a metal frame =)…
Annie- I found your post and was instantly inspired for our vacation rental & the fact that I found 12×39″ Belgian linen bolster covers on westelm for $20 each! I’m SO stuck on where to find bolster pillow forms large enough to fill them though. Was wondering where you found yours at?
Hi Jessica, thank you so much and I am so glad you enjoyed! I actually found our on Amazon for a reasonable price – hope that helps!
Jessica I just did this too and I got my bolster forms online at JoAnn Fabrics. I bought 4 of them, 2 9×15″ ones (9 inches around, 15″ long) for each bolster so they ended up being 30″ long. I had an upholster make them using the arms of the slipcover and adding zippers and they are PERFECT.
That is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I will definitely will me doing this to our spare room.
I would love to do something similar with a queen bed. Do you think it would be difficult to find slipcovers and pillows in an appropriate size? This turned out wonderful.
This is beautiful – one question, is it actually a comfortable seat? We have a sunroom we’d like to double as a guest room and would like to stay away from uncomfortable sofa beds, but want to enjoy TV watching in the same room – seems like you’d get lost in the pillows…
What is the mattress sitting on?A regular bed frame??
Thanks Annie : I needed something for my front room, I live in a small space, and when my daughter comes in from out of town, she was basically sleeping on the floor padded with comforters, She’s coming to visit the second week in July, thanks to you I’m gonna surprise her with this in my front room. I have a full size platform frame, and a full-size mattress in layaway, I’m also buying my sheets and pillows, pillow cases, bed skirt and comforter set while it’s in layaway. I’m going to do my a little bit different, when I’m done I’ll try to post it for you to see it. She’s going to be so surprised, and I’ll have a sofa sleeper in my room.
Hi Annie : I love my sofa sleeper! I’ll never buy a couch again, my daughter loves it! She surprised me and came a week earlier than planned, I tried to send a picture, but I’m not very good at it, if you want to see it, check out my board, Retta Thomas, and search for my board ‘ comfy sofa’s ‘ and you’ll see a picture, I did my colors in taupe and gray, a gray quilt set with shams, 2 taupe decorative pillows, a gray bed skirt, a pale gray sheet set, I bought a total of 10 pillows, I did 6 in taupe & 4 in gray, bought a serving tray and set it on the bed, and I ordered a taupe throw with dangling ball on the ends, my sheers are taupe and Ivory, I was thinking of changing my ivory for a pale gray sheers, what do think? Thanks again, I could’ve did this without you.
If anybody is interested, I found pom-pom throws on QVC