This Is the Comfiest, Most-Loved Sofa in My Entire Home — and All Our Guests Would Agree

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My first job out of college was at a furniture design company, and I’ve continued to remain passionate about beautiful, long-lasting furniture ever since, to the point of evangelizing about sofas to every random acquaintance. (Sorry, PTO mom trying to grab her kid from school; you now know way more than you ever wanted to about my sectional.) I’ll tell you: in sofas, construction is everything, because you have to sit, lounge, and play in them, especially if you have a kiddo like mine who likes to use furniture cushions as fort-ready building blocks. Style is a must, but most importantly — you have to consider the way a sofa feels after a long day, when all you want to do is curl up with “Ted Lasso” and a bowl of your favorite salt-and-vinegar potato chips.

When we moved into our most recent home, my partner and I needed office space for remote work, especially during the pandemic. Away went the designated guest room — in came the sleeper sofa of our dreams. We rationalized: it would be great for the times guests slept over and it could pull up easily in our finished basement. It’d also make a cozy addition to our family movie nights, when some of us would rather catch a few zzz’s than watch “The Descendants” for the upteenth time.

As you can imagine, I combed many-a-store for the perfect match. I hopped on sofas in showrooms, startling salespeople with my, erm, dedication to testing. I went so far as to Photoshop sleeper sofas into our playroom-basement layout, to make sure they would work amongst the piles of toys and play tents. Then I came across this unassuming little sleeper sofa from West Elm. Love at first sink. 

It’s got a stout little silhouette that makes it look smaller than it actually is, so we could fit a queen-sized Henry sleeper sofa in the finished basement without visual clutter. But then when it folds out, you get a comfy bed that cushions all the right places (chronic back pain, you have met your match!). The sofa comes in tons and tons of fabric choices, but I picked a soft linen grey that wears easily and disguises any stains from snack sessions gone haywire. We’ve vacuumed it a few times, and cleaning is as easy as can be (a necessity for busy parents). The cushions are plush and 100% fort-worthy, if that’s a consideration of yours. And the Henry sleeper sofa is also a cinch to pull out, even for frail, never-gone-lifting arms like mine. 

Over the years, we’ve hosted friends and relatives, and they always emerge exclaiming about what a wonderful sleep they’ve had. (We invested in an incredible foam topper that took the zzz’s to the next level, but you could get the Deluxe Henry sleeper sofa with built-in memory foam.) To be honest: after a bout of intense sleep apnea, my partner and I also took turns on the sleeper sofa for several weeks, and I can confirm: better than the king-sized bed in our actual bedroom. And those movie nights? Turns out: they can only happen on the sleeper sofa now. In fact, it’s usually pulled out and made up, because nothing’s cozier than an after-school story hour or weekend morning cartoons on ol’ Henry. 

Three-plus years and hours upon hours of usage later, the sofa looks almost the same as when it first slid through our doors. When it comes to investment value, I’m more than sold. And when friends ask for advice in furnishing our new homes? I send them straight to this trusty sleeper sofa. In fact, as soon as I’ve finished posting this, I’m going to curl up on it for a ten-minute power nap. 

Buy it here: Henry Sofa Sleeper, starting at $1,399 from West Elm