Sleeper sofa search...

[Jim Matthews]

After repeated replacement of futon mattresses, SWMBO wants a sleeper sofa.

I just came from the local LaZBoy purveyors and was shocked at the cost of their offerings.
(Apartment sized, nothing special fabric, inflatable mattress - $1800 PLUS tax in only 6 to 8 weeks!)

Other than the obvious from Ikea - is there anyone actively using a sleeper sofa that they might recommend?

I don't care to spend more than $1000 (all costs included) for something used as a sleeper two - maybe three - times yearly.

Why is the furniture I can afford so shoddy and the stuff I would own outrageously expensive?
It's not like these things are built for the ages...

[David Weaver]

Presume there must be something about the location built into that cost.

They are about $1400 here if on sale, and a couple hundred bucks cheaper than that for something similar at a mennonite owned store out near my inlaws.

Same deal, nothing special kind of couch with an air mattress - lazboy.

I don't know if you have the same kind of pragmatism as I do, but I suspect that we'll have a couch with an air mattress, and a couple of years later, a couch with an air mattress that leaks and that is discontinued.

MIL has to have somewhere to sleep, though.

I don't know of anything better than that in terms of price.

[Larry Frank]

The sofa sleepers weight a bunch.

I prefer sleeping on an aero-bed rather than a sofa sleeper or a futon.

[Myk Rian]

Get one with a great mattress. They're a pain (literally) to sleep on with the bars running across your hips.
After unfolding them, a sheet of ply under the mattress helps a bunch.
You could always put a camping air mattress on it if the OEM one gave out.

[Jim Becker]

Well...the REAL challenge with sleeper sofas is finding one that will properly support a normal sized/weight adult or two. Even many of the expensive ones are just plain "un-sleepable" by normal people. The bed system and mattress combination are really important. I'm not sure what to recommend to you other than stay away from the less expensive ones if you want somebody to be able to actually sleep without a residen chiropractor and be sure to actually test out any you are considering. One other thing...sit on them for more than a few minutes in closed up (seating) mode and be sure that the seating dimensions and comfort is what you expect. I can tell you very clearly that the one we have in our media room...we HATE with a passion. It's a major back-ache issue when sitting to watch something due to lack of proper support. We never noticed it when it was in the store because we didn't sit in it for more than a few seconds.

[Dale Coons]

+1 on the aero bed. well built air mattresses that are close to the same height as a regular bed. They don't leak, and they are surprisingly comfortable. You use regular sheets on them.

[Ben Hatcher]

Another option is to replace the included crap mattress with a 4" memory foam topper

[Dave Lehnert]

Look for cheaper furniture stores. Around here it's Value City Furniture. Not bad stuff for the price. Lazboy is going to be on the high end of price.
http://www.valuecityfurniture.com/shared/pages/search/searchresult.aspx?ReturnToId=-1&FreeTextPhrase1=+sleeper+&PieceTypeFamilyId=3072