French Folding Sofa - Weighing the Pros and Cons

When choosing furniture, we always pay attention to the functions it contains. Upholstered furniture, in addition to convenience and comfort, is most often equipped with a full-fledged sleeping place. One of the ways to turn a sofa or armchair into a bed is "French folding bed" transformation mechanism.

french folding bed photo — Today, almost all items of upholstered furniture made in the fashionable “Hi-Tech” style are folded out according to the “French folding bed” principle.

french folding bed sofa choice — A distinctive feature of the sofa with a folding mechanism "French folding bed" is that, taking up very little space, it turns into a real two or three-bed bed.

Content

Mechanism of action
Types of French folding beds
Strengths and Weaknesses
How to choose a French folding bed
Choosing a mattress
VIDEO: Sofa with a French folding bed mechanism.
Sofa with a "French folding bed" mechanism - 50 photo ideas:

Mechanism of action

French folding bed consists of 3 sections connected by hinges. The head section is attached directly to the sofa, the other 2 rest on U-shaped legs.

sofa bed folding bed — To unfold it, you first need to remove the cushions from the part of the sofa where you sit, and then lift them up and pull them towards you.

french folding sofa bed — Unfold, making sure that the metal legs that serve as support are level and well secured.

This design is quite simple and compact. To unfold the sofa, you need to take out the cushions, armrests, remove the cover (if any). Then the entire mechanism is lifted by a special handle and unfolded in 2 steps. At the same time, the legs, due to traction, independently take the desired position.

french clamshell design — Folding sofas with a “French folding bed” type mechanism are not recommended for people with spinal diseases, as well as for children.

Types of French folding beds

French folding beds differ in the type of bed base.

Awning.
Woven mesh.
Laths (slats).
Awning and slats.
Welded mesh.

French folding bed base — The French folding sofa bed really does look like a regular folding bed, also consisting of three segments.

French folding bed with mattress — Only here the entire mechanism is hidden inside the sofa, under its main seating area.

The awning and woven mesh bases are not used by modern manufacturers, as they turned out to be the least durable, sagging during use, creating unfavorable conditions for the position of the spine.

sofa bed french folding bed — Today, transformation mechanisms have up to 10 slats in combination with the awning – thanks to this design, they can withstand a lot of weight.

Slats are a more acceptable option. Made from wood, they provide a flat surface, but over time they can bend unevenly under the weight of the body.Together, the awning and the battens provide a double effect: a flat surface and load distribution thanks to the awning.

fold-out sofa for sleeping — Such a base, equipped with 8-10 slats, is capable of withstanding a weight of up to 180 kg.

And the most durable (load up to 200 kg) and long-lasting option is a welded mesh. The absence of wooden elements allows minimizing the likelihood of damage to the mechanism, and the welded grate, suspended on springs, does not bend under the weight of the body.

sofa bed photo — A rare folding bed is equipped with an orthopedic mattress with a spring block and multi-layer filling.

french folding bed photo ideas — But if this is the case, then this sofa will successfully replace a good bed.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Before you make a final decision about purchasing a sofa with a mechanism "French folding bed", evaluate its advantages and disadvantages.

french folding sofa corner — They are equipped with soft upper cushions and comfortable backrests with armrests.

Advantages	Flaws
Compactness: a full-size sleeping place for 2 people, hidden in the sofa, saves space.	The unreliability of the mechanism is the main drawback of the French folding bed (it is not suitable for daily use), but at the same time it is very convenient to accommodate guests on it.
The low price allows you to organize a bed for guests without damaging your family budget.	No linen drawer (the mechanism itself takes up all the space). The exception is corner models, which have a storage compartment on the side.
Comfortable seats for relaxation: most often, sofas with this mechanism are equipped with soft cushions and armrests.	The sleeping area is usually 180-185 cm long and is not suitable for tall people.
Possibility of using an orthopedic mattress (only in versions with a welded mesh base)	Most often, thin foam rubber or polyurethane foam mattresses up to 6 cm wide are used. It is impossible to use a hard mattress even with a welded base.

How to choose a French folding bed

Having studied the device, advantages and disadvantages of such a model in detail, you understand what you need to pay attention to when buying.

Type of base. In order to increase the service life, it is better to use a tent-slat base (8-10 lamellas) or a welded mesh.
Brand. Check the reliability of the manufacturer. This question is very relevant for a French folding bed, otherwise there is a risk that it will not last even a year.
Build quality. Make sure the mechanism works properly and can be removed and folded back without any difficulty or creaking.
Mattress. This element deserves special attention.

french folding sofa photo — At the same time, models with a smaller number of battens are designed for lower loads.

Choosing a mattress

The mattress can be supplied together with the sofa or sold separately. The main rule is that it should be a few centimeters smaller than the base, otherwise you will not be able to fold the structure.

French folding bed with orthopedic mattress — It's not very comfortable to sleep on them every day, but for guest use it's enough.

Most often, mattresses made of foam rubber or polyurethane foam are presented. Unfortunately, their maximum height is 60 mm, which has a negative effect on orthopedic properties, but is quite suitable for temporary use. With welded mesh bases, it is permissible to use a mattress up to 7-10 cm thick. It should be understood that fillers such as coconut coir and sea grass are not applicable in this case, since they will be damaged and crumble as a result of rolling.

French folding mechanism — The mattresses used must be easy to bend, so hard mattresses are not produced for such sofas.

french folding bed interior — There is no compartment for linen – all the free space is taken up by the mechanism folded together with the mattress.

French folding bed, having some shortcomings, can quite adequately perform the functions of a guest bed. And modern production technologies make such a design quite durable if used correctly.