Emma sofa bed review: An excellent addition to your home – if you can afford it
Summary
Quick verdict: A leading mattress-in-a-box retailer enters into the sofa bed fray and does an outstanding job while charging a premium.
- Comfortable and supportive
- Super easy set-up
- Expensive
- Some issues with sheets
There's a certain stigma around sofa beds. We tend to associate them with uncomfortable and awkward nights of sleep in the homes of relatives we don't particularly like.
Emma Sleep is doing its part to rid the sofa bed of this reputation. Our choice for the best mattress-in-a-box brand has unveiled the Emma sofa bed, hoping to deliver a comfortable couch and quality bed in one package.
But does it live up to the eye-popping $2,999 RRP? After testing it out, here's what I think.
Emma sofa bed review: Set-up
Image: Frank Duignan/Finder
If you're an avowed IKEA-phobe, one aspect of the Emma sofa bed's product description will be immediately eye-catching – a 1-minute set-up time.
I was quite sceptical of this claim, but I'm pleased to report that once the elements have been unboxed, 1 minute is a generous amount of time to allow.
Image: Frank Duignan/Finder
Setting it up is simply a matter of fixing the arm rests onto the body of the sofa, which is easily accomplished via sliding in a pair of clips on either end. Once they're in, you're all set.
The downside of this simple, no-tool assembly is that the bed comes in some remarkable bulky packaging. It comes in 2 boxes: a 156x98x69cm box containing the sofa bed base and a 97x51x65cm box containing the arm rests.
It's best to approach your sofa delivery like you're receiving a fully constructed piece of furniture, because that's the case. Clear space for it ahead of time and see how far you can push your relationship with the delivery driver.
If you're as lazy as I am with manual labour, dealing with some bulky packaging is well worth the easy-as-pie set-up.
Transforming the sofa into its bed form is similarly foolproof. You'll simply detach the back of the sofa bed and place it onto the ground, bringing the other 2 segments with it.
Image: Frank Duignan/Finder
A zipper strengthens the attachment of the sofa back to the sofa seat when unfurled. Together, they serve as the bottom 2 segments of the bed. The zipper is then completely hidden under a fabric flap. Happily, it didn't bother me at all while I was laying in the bed.
Emma sofa bed review: Design
Image: Frank Duignan/Finder
Emma Sleep is known to feature some innovative design choices in its mattresses, but they've kept things simple with the Emma sofa bed. It features CertiPUR-US certified foam and FSC-certified wood. Its fabric is OEKO-TEX-certified.
The result is a stable, supportive and comfortable sofa bed. It's a moderately generous 3-seater measuring 153x97x63cm in non-expanded form and 153x224x63cm when unfurled. It's designed for queen-size bedding products.
Aesthetically, the Emma sofa bed is simple but refined. I really like the look and I can't imagine anyone finding it offensive in their interior design. During the testing period, I came across no defects on stitching or other details.
The dreaded metal bar used to prop up other sofa beds doesn't feature in this product. The sofa bed simply lays out onto the floor, so keep that in mind if you or your guests aren't as spry as you used to be.
The stitching of the sofa bed means you can't access the bottom of the sofa bed segment attached to the sofa base. In fact, you can't reach far around that side of the bed at all.
This means you'll want to stick with non-fitted sheets. Even so, it would be nice to have more space down the side of the bed to ensure the linen stays in place.
Each armrest comes with a built-in compartment that perfectly fits the included sofa bed cushions. It can also be used for blankets, linen and anything else you need stowed away.
Emma sofa bed review: What's it like to use?
Image: Frank Duignan/Finder
This sofa bed ranks as one of the most comfortable I've ever sat on. I'm no osteopath, but the seating shape of the sofa seems optimised for maintaining good posture. I had no trouble at all sitting on the sofa comfortably for hours on end.
As an owner of the Emma Comfort mattress, I was even more interested to get down to the business of laying on this bed.
Okay, Emma hasn't quite managed to stick one of its mattresses into a fold-out sofa bed. But it's one of the most comfortable sofa beds I've ever slept on.
It's less firm than the Comfort mattress while still offering a solid level of support. Every night spent on the sofa bed delivered an excellent night of sleep. At the end of the testing period, I was ready to return to sleeping on my mattress, but it's tough to imagine any house guest complaining about the quality of their sleep.
This product's design is also optimal for sitting up in bed. The base of the sofa becomes a high, sloping backrest that supports good posture and a high level of comfort. Bonus features like this and general attention to detail make it easy to see why Emma Sleep is a respected brand.
To reiterate, there's no metal bar in this sofa bed. It's always a plus to not have a giant chunk of steel digging into your spine as you sleep.
The Emma sofa bed will serve as a great living room centrepiece and there's no doubt that any guest who stays over will be pleasantly surprised by the quality of their sleep. That sounds like a winning sofa bed to me.
The only caveat is unfortunately a big one. $3,999 is a large chunk of change to blow on a sofa bed. It's a solid offering, but nothing quite jumps out to justify its being so much more expensive than other products on the market.
But if you do decide to take the plunge, you're unlikely to regret it too deeply. It's a stylish sofa bed that does an excellent job serving its dual roles.
Should you buy the Emma sofa bed?
Overall, I had an excellent experience using the Emma sofa bed. I can say without reservation that both sitting and sleeping on it were pleasant, comfortable experiences.
The 1.5-star deduction is simply the result of its sizable price tag. With some of Finder's selections for the best sofa beds on the market coming in for less than half the price, I'm not convinced the Emma sofa bed justifies this cost.
With that said, Emma Sleep is known to frequently offer large discounts on its products. In fact, at the time of writing the Emma sofa bed is available for pre-order at a 50% discount.
If you are able to scoop up this sofa bed with deals like this, there's little reason to hesitate.
Pricing and availability
Specifications
Construction and materials
Size and weight
How we tested
My family and I used this sofa bed over a period of 1 week. As part of the testing process, I slept on the sofa bed for 3 nights. I compared my experiences using it to other sofa beds I've used in the past.
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