Do you never have enough beds for visitors? Are you satisfied with what you give them to sleep on? Do you offer up your own bed and put yourself on the couch?

Maybe you’ve considered a sleeper sofa, but you remember the rickety pullout you suffered through at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. In past years sleepers tended to be ugly, uncomfortable and look more like machinery than furniture. You put your fingers at risk when you pulled out the bed. These were neither good beds nor good couches.

The good news? That old stereotype no longer holds.

Today’s stylish sleeper sofa

Contemporary sleepers have such stylish and sleek designs that you can’t tell them from regular sofas. With today’s comfortable sleeper sofa, no one would guess there’s a mattress inside. They’re easy to operate, and they convert in minutes. Your guest might sit on yours and say, “You told me you had a sofa bed. Where is it?”

Some come with rolled arms and plush pillow backs. Others have straight track arms and tight backs. There are about as many style choices as there are in ordinary sofas. They’re available in standard size sofas, love seats and even chairs (which convert into twin beds). Queen sized sleepers are common, because the average sofa is the right length to accommodate a queen mattress, but full size sleepers are popular as well.

You can choose a leather sleeper sofa or choose from a variety of upholstered options. Many can be custom ordered with your choice of fabric. Some are available with matching ottomans, chairs and other pieces. Sleeper sofa sectionals are great for large living rooms, but don’t rule them out if you have less space. With one- and two-arm configurations, many are cleverly engineered to fit naturally into a small room of an apartment or condo. Another space-saving option is the L-shaped chaise style where the cushion pulls out and changes the L into a rectangular bed.

There are hardwood and steel frames, steel spring suspensions, and both foam and innerspring mattresses.

Choosing a Sleeper Sofa

Ask yourself what room it will occupy and how it will be used. In most houses, the sleeper is a piece of furniture for seating more often than it’s a bed, especially in a living room. For regular beds, foam mattresses are becoming more popular because of their sleeping comfort, but, for a sofa, you might want to choose an innerspring: it will have less give when you sit on it.

In any case, check it out. Sit on it, lie on it, look at it. Pull it out to see if it’s easy to convert. What is the ambiance of the room you’re going to place it in? For some living rooms, only a stylish wood frame will do. Pick the appropriate size. A standard sleeper sofa or a sectional will dominate its room, just as a regular couch does, but a love seat or sleeper chair can fit in as an accent piece.

If your room doesn’t require a formal piece of furniture, you might consider one of the other types of couch beds:

Futon and Klik Klaks

The conventional sleeper sofa pulls out, but the futon back pushes down to form a flat sleeping surface. A futon can be a good fit for a casual style living room and an excellent choice for a den, a study or an extra bed in a child’s room. And if you decide you don’t like its location, it’s not hard to pick up and move somewhere else. Don’t buy into the old tale that futons are uncomfortable and suitable only for the hardy. You can get them with thick mattresses with individual pocketed coils. A similar option to a futon is a klik klak. These pieces offer seated, reclining and sleeping options all in one. They are also a great way to add extra sleeping to your home, cabin, kids room or dorm room.

Daybed

While the sleeper sofa is a sofa that doubles as a bed, the daybed is a bed that can also be used for sitting. Because this piece is clearly and obviously a bed, it won’t work everywhere in the house. Some are ornate with curved wrought backs and others are cottage style. Yet other come in multiple colors that can be fun in a kid’s room. These are versatile in an office, den or cabin. Many have bookshelf headboards and trundles that can be used either for a second bed or as under-bed storage.

With all these choices, there’s no reason to let a lack of beds limit your overnight visitors. Think about where you want guests to sleep next time you have a houseful, and check out all of today’s options.