CrossTeam Properties Offers Advice on Home and Garden Improvements

There are a huge number of sofa beds on the market today and they all offer added flexibility in terms of additional sleeping space and comfort.

All sorts of materials are used in the construction of sofa beds, from leather and cotton to attractive suede effects and polyester covers. You can choose the style and material that best complements your home.

Sofa beds can be purchased as two or three seater beds for the living room or smaller fold out sofa beds for guest rooms. You can also find them as chair-beds, which tuck nicely into the corners of a box bedroom, leaving valuable space in the middle of the room rather than it being taken up by a rarely used bed.

Foam mattress sofa beds are the cheapest form and are usually small in size with a few loose cushions. These are not terrible durable, as a rule and should only be used as occasional beds.

‘Clic-a-clac’ sofa beds are much sturdier, with a metal frame that clicks into place as it is converted to create either a bed or a sofa. The only drawback with these sofa beds is that they are not really suitable for the living room, because the metal frame will be visible.

Futons fit in well just about anywhere and are, in addition, very stylish, being made from good-quality materials as a rule and perfect for small apartments with their contemporary look and dual functionality.

Metals beds can give a bedroom an instant modern feeling. Their often sleek design combined with a variety of possible colours, functions as an understated, though expressive means to enhance the bedroom space.

Although not particularly new as a type of bed, being widely used in the Victorian age for example, metal beds always tend to look modernistic and would fit well in minimalistic, glass and metal environments. Nonetheless, they can also function well as replacements for old beds that have seen their best days, fitting in a relatively ornate traditional room.

Although metal beds can have cast iron, brass, zinc or aluminium frames, they often have wooden mattress support beams. The great advantage of this metal and wood combination is the sturdiness of the overall frame and the flexible support provided for the mattress.

Metal beds can come in many different shapes and sizes, from single, small double, double, king size and super king size. The frame can be either cast low, with only the head and foot of the bed featuring vertical metal bars or posts, or have side bars as well. The frames can be cast in austere or curving lines that have a highly aesthetic finish.

Another great benefit of a metal bed is that it is often relatively lightweight. It can be taken apart and transported much more easily than some other types of bed, in case of a house or flat move.

When shopping around for a bed for your own or a family member’s use, you will naturally want to get the best possible deal for the money. Beds can be quite expensive, and good quality ones in particular can command a fairly high price. Even so, you may want to give more thought to the actual construction of the bed and not merely consider its price. Remember: you are purchasing a bed from which you want to get a lot of use. Buying cheap will likely cause you to buy another bed much sooner than expected.

Keep in mind, the bed you see in stores that is sold as a set can be quite expensive, compared to buying the mattress and box spring separately. Of course, these sets offer the convenience of a mattress and box spring that are perfectly matched to each other–and likely colour-coordinated–but there is certainly no reason why you should not be able to find a similar combination on your own when you purchase them separately.

It would be a good idea to shop for a bed with the person that you intend to be sharing it with. You will then be able to test it side-by-side, to see how your combined weight affects the bed’s performance. You will ideally want a bed that doesn’t move too much with either partner’s movements and doesn’t force you to roll towards each other.

When you are deciding to buy a new bed, it is essential that you know the standard sizes that are available so that you can choose the best bed to fit your room. In the UK there are six standard sizes of beds ranging from small single beds up to super kingsize beds.

Before purchasing a new bed, you should measure your bedroom and decide what the biggest size you can go up to is. Here are the UK standard bed sizes:

Small Single bed (75cm x 190cm) – A small single bed is ideal for small children’s rooms and offers the advantage of being 15cm thinner than a normal single bed so there is more space for storage and to move around in.

Single Bed (90cm x 190cm) – The single bed is the most popular choice for small bedrooms and guest rooms, and provides space for additional bedroom furniture such as wardrobes and TV cabinets.

Small Double Bed (120cm x 190cm) – The small double bed can be used in small to medium sized rooms and provides a larger sleeping area; perfect for those who want more space.

Double Bed (135cm x 190cm) – The double bed is one of the most popular choices for medium to large sized rooms and is big enough to sleep two people comfortably.

King-size Bed (150cm x 200cm) – Suitable for large bedrooms, the king-size bed is both longer and wider than a double bed, providing a bigger sleeping area.

Super King-size Bed (180cm x 200cm) – This is the biggest standard size bed you can buy, and its huge sleeping surface will provide all the space you will even need while sleeping.

The sizes above refer to the mattress size and additional space will be required for the bed frame. The bed frame comes in many different sizes and styles and this should be taken into consideration when choosing your new bed. However if a Divan bed is chosen the frame will be the same size as the mattress.