Two words....AIR MATTRESS. I don't believe there is a sofa bed anywhere that can compare with the comfort of an air mattress. And I don't know if it's true, but I've heard a lot of people say the sofa is not as comfy if it has a bed in it.

I have a sofa bed but I also have some full height aero beds. Given the choice people always opt for the aero beds, which I can put in any room that suits them. You can't move a sofa bed from room to room.

If someone wants to sleep on the sofa bed, I offer to put an airmattress on top of the sofa mattress for them. I've never had anyone decline that offer yet. In the morning we let the air out and fold it up with the rest of the bed, till the next night.

YOu can get your sofa bed with an airmattress !! No need to put one on as a substitute. My DB did it with his in NYC. You plug it in and adjust the hardness for comfort. When you get ready to fold up the bed you let the air out and voila..all done. It is great ! Wonderfully comfortable. There was an up charge for this but it sure was worth it. c

Look at the La Z Boy sofabeds. They have that air mattress that trailrunner mentioned - soooooooo comfy! We looked at them, but then purchased a Braxton Culler sofa bed instead because it was in-stock in a fabric that I loved and we got immediate delivery. Even without the air mattress, our new sofabed is pretty comfortable - the salesman explained the new design and they are much more comfy than the old style with that dang bar in the middle. (Some other mfrs have the air mattress feature available as an option, including Ethan Allen.) So just look around and I think you'll find something pretty and pretty comfortable, I did.

On the off chance that you're like me and don't want to spend a lot on a sofa bed, check your local Craigslist. I found an Ikea Ektorp sofabed with ottoman for peanuts. Then I needed another sofabed for our 3 season room and again found a great one cheap on CL. Most people buy them for guest rooms or offices and they get used once then replaced with a real bed because they are so uncomfortable. The mattresses are mediocre at best but..... I plan to replace the mattresses before we need them again for guests and it will still be WAY less than purchasing 2 new, high quality sofabeds.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sofabed air mattress

Cool that they make one just for a sofa. But compare it carefully with the Aerobed.

A queen aerobed is 78" long compared to the sofabed that is 72" long.

But, the sofabed is 1-2" thicker than the aerobed.

Aerobed has a built in pump, which you can operate while lying down. You can add or release air at any point for your comfort. Sofa bed has a separate pump and I don't know if it can be used when you are on the bed or whether it can release air for you.

Aerobed is $90 and sofabed is $280.

I do have an Aerobed and it comfortable enough but it is does get deflated somewhat by morning and it is a pain to set up and inflate. We would prefer something firmer.

Any feedback on the American Leather Comfort Sleeper? I am not too keen on the sofa designs but it looks like they license it to other sofa manufacturers.

We recently purchased an American Leather Comfort Sleeper. Very happy with the construction, easy to convert, and as a sofa it is pretty comfortable (lying on it as a sofa for extended periods though, not great).

As a bed, the mattress seems quite firm. It is even and clearly provides good support, but with my MIL visiting I was concerned it would be too firm, so I added a featherbed topper. I didn't hear any guff about it :)

I keep meaning to sleep on it myself. Since it is a Tempurpedic memory foam mattress, I suspect that the mattress would actually heat up from body heat and then it would not feel so firm. But, only a theory at this point.

Even with the firmness issue I am happy with it -- you can always make a too-firm mattress cushier with a topper of some sort, while if a mattress is too soft or lacks support you're stuck.

Thanks for the feedback Evelyn. We have more or less decided on American Leather. They just came out with a modular sectionals. As I have a largish space, I am thinking to see if I can actally squeeze in a queen and a twin.

Check into upgrading the mattress, too -- this is what I did for mine, and I couldn't feel the bar at all when I tried it out.

Stickley makes a wonderfully comfortable sofa bed.
We also have the AeroBed which is comfortable too.