For apartment dwellers or small home owners, space is often a premium commodity and being able to offer guest sleeping arrangements is a challenge that requires creative decorating and furnishing choices. Divan beds have become a popular solution that not only provides comfortable guest beds, but also serve as sitting areas.

Divan beds became popular in the 1800’s and were couches or sofas without arms or backs; they were used for both seating and sleeping. Today’s versions are also known as sleeping sofas or day beds. They come in many styles and you can find one to fit in almost any décor you need for the room in which you wish to place it.

Divan beds have a mattress and a base with matching fabric. Often they contain storage drawers in the base. You can get single divan beds, double divan beds and king size divan beds. There are two kinds of bases for divan beds—one with springs and one with a platform top. The platform top will give a firmer feel and may be a good choice for cheap divan beds. The type of mattress that is placed on the base will determine the comfort and support of the bed.

You can find single divan beds, double divan beds, and even queen or king size divan beds. The mattress can be a coil sprung, pocket sprung, or memory foam. Often the base contains storage drawers that are a great benefit for a small space. Divan Beds Centre, a UK online catalogue company offers many offers a great selection and many styles in a variety of sizes, including 2ft 6 small single divan beds and 4ft small double divan beds which are hard sizes to find.

They also have the standard 4ft double divan beds as well as 5 ft king size divan beds and 6 ft super king size divan beds.

Since the definition of a divan bed is a couch without arms, many styles have emerged. For a home with limited space, a divan bed can be the perfect choice. Placed in an office, craft room, sewing room, or even the family room or living room a divan sofa bed is an attractive and comfortable sitting area that easily converts to a sleeping area when needed.

You are sure to find the right divan bed that fits the decor of the room you will be placing it. You will find them made of many kinds of material. You can choose from your favorite kinds of woods such as maple, oak, or cherry, or iron or wrought iron. Leather or vinyl divan beds are also popular choices.

For cheap divan beds, take an afternoon and tour the bed section of your local IKEA. They claim that “a little bit of money gets you a lot of bedroom.”  Also local department stores such as Walmart, Penny’s, or Macy’s are good sources to check. You can often get good bargains by shopping online. I found a memory foam sleeper sofa for under $200. You can find an aerobed sofa for less than that. Futon beds can be found as low as $100. Spending a few hundred dollars more will give a more comfortable sofa as well as a more comfortable sleeping surface.

For around $400 you can find a Tango convertible sleeper sofa. It has a traditional upholstered look, but converts to a premium, full-size bed. It has a spring mattress with 640 individually wrapped pocketed coils with an EZ fold mattress that prohibits fabric bunching. Two decorative pillows are included.

Whether you are in the market for a traditional divan bed for your bedroom or a sofa sleeper, you will find many options. A little searching, both online and at your local retailers will help you find just what you need.

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