Dear NYC LOVER, When I read your original posting asking for advice on a sleeper sofa/chaise I was happy to see it was the exact same thing I am looking for- style, size and everything! It's funny because I actually just came home from Jensen Lewis where I found the Cadet by Cerrito. It is the one I like the best, but it is just so expensive. I saw one at Macy's- Portofino by Max Home for only $1200. It seems comfortable and has a great flip-flop chaise so you can switch sides, but I am scared of the quality and I can't find much information about it online. I wonder why some couches are close to $4000 and others are only around $1000. I am very curious to know why you chose the Tyler by Carter. Did you see it at Jensen Lewis? I looked at it online and love the look, but what are the dimensions? I couldn't tell from the website. It seems like it might be 117" with the chaise. I can't go over 110." Also, you mentioned you saved $1000 over retail. How? Do you know if it is possible to find the Cerrito sofa online for less? I must decide soon if I should just buy the Cerrito or keep looking. Here is a link that might be useful: Max Home sofa

I vote for the aerobed. We've had one for about 5 years now. We host a family for a week every April. (Long story, they drive down for a church event.) At first they always brought their own camping mattress. However, the man was having back problems so we convinced them to try our pillow-top aerobed. Now, we just have it ready and waiting for their visits. DH and I (and at least one child) slept on it for a few weeks while we were moving. I liked it much better than our sleeper sofa. (BTW, sleeper sofas weigh approx. 300 lbs. I'll never have another one!) Our aerobed is the floor version, but if I had to buy a new one for guests, I'd buy the one on legs. If I had to buy a new one for my children's slumber parties, I'd buy another floor version. Be sure and read a few reviews to make sure you are getting the best model for your dollar. DH read a few reviews first and quickly discovered that not all aerobeds have the same quality.

Wellington, Im glad to here your experiences and that you have more knowledge compared to most retailers. And you make some good points and some that are not correct. Example is the link to the Chesterfield sofa. First how to you think they attach the row of buttons thats along the front edge of the seat, thats the first row just above the top seat border? I direct you to your site here: http://www.wellingtonsleather.com/furniture-catalog/sofas-a-loveseats/ball-in-claw-leather-sofa-detail.html I can just about guarantee that this sofa does not have coil spring 8-way hand tied seat. Thus not every sofa has 8-way tied spring coil seating. You mentioned using metal rods instead of twine. Metal rods is not exactly the correct terminology, its metal prong buttons and when a manufacturer (McKinley Leather is one and a number of others) that pre-tuffs; they either use the metal prong buttons or a pre-tied twine in a loop to a length that matches the thickness of the poly and using a slited plastic washer to hook and hold in the button. You said you never heard of "pre-tufting a seat. Pre-tufting is where they glue a piece of FLW or propex to the bottom of the foam that is pre-bored for tufting. Then someone, not an upholster, lays on the material (fabric/leather) where the position of the buttons is already marked by the cutter. This person then locates this mark on the material, takes a prong metal button and pushes the button through the material, through the hole in the foam (this hole must align with the correct mark on the material, through the FLW and bends over the prongs to secure the button into the foam near the bottom, doing all the buttons this way is how you make a pre-tufted seat. This person also folds over each pleat to finish up. Then all the upholster has to do is place it over the springs and staples down along the edges. Saves quit a bit of time and labor costs. This is how most major upholstery manufacturers do their button tufting. As far as how good 8-way tied spring coil seating is, its only as good as they the manufacturer makes it. Please know that the springs are held together with twine. Twine being a string. String can break. It breaks much easier than metal. Thats just the laws of physics. I have seen 100 times more often repairs done on 8-way tied spring coils that are being reupholstered than repairs done on no-sag springs. No-sag springs that are 8 to 8.5 gauge will not ever break or sag. Thats been tested by many of furniture labs. The issue with no-sag springs is how their fastened and what their fastened to. I have seen many times where no-sag springs have either pulled loose from the frame or the frame that holds the no-sag spring is broken. But its never the spring itself. Their is no better seating than a 8-way hand tied coil seating with a spring-edge front. Its the most comfortable, evenly support across the seat and will go a long ways in helping seat cushions hold their front edge shape and increase their life. The problem is very few manufacturers still make a spring-edge front any more. To make a spring-edge front requires at least 3 times longer than a just tying the springs directly to the top edge of all the seat rails. The image you show is close to being correctly tied. The twine should be knot tied at every point, its not in the image, its just every other point on the spring is knot tied. Now they do drop down on the last ring of the coils along the outside edge, thats good. Also should never be less than 4 rows deep and have a slight crown in the center. And this is where now so many upholstery manufacturers, in their spring-up department have gotten away from tying correctly, the way it should be done. The tying it the quickest and easiest way possible, just so they can use the term "8-way hand tied coil seating ". In a nutshell your sitting on the string/twine and not the springs. A seat thats flat with no ride, meaning its so firm that it offers little comfort, so your just sitting on the cushions and the twine, until the twine finally gives out and breaks. My point is don't always buy into the 8-way hand tied coil seat advertising as thats all it is: advertising. Now my case in point for a button tufted seat using no-sag springs. The fabric, buttons with the twine, dacron fiber, poly (foam) and springs should move together as one unit. TOP TO BOTTOM. And that won't happen if you try to button tuft a hand tied coil spring seat. Because the coil springs at the bottom do not move. And thats where you tie off the buttons also, at the bottom, unless of course its a pre-tufted seat. I strongly suggest that you connect with the upholster on this and come and see him actually build a tufted seat. Maybe take some photos and post them here.

I prefer futons. I have a very nice futon with a memory foam mattress that lays flat and people comment all the time how comfortable it is to sit on and sleep on. I tried out daybeds and looked at pull out sofas but the futon was the most comfortable. I have a flex room or the game room as we call it where the futon is housed we use it when I have more guests than guest bedrooms. I have found people downstairs in the flex room who were watching tv sound asleep. When I ask them what they are doing they say that darn futon is so comfortable it gets you every time. I can't find the exact one I have but this one is very similar. Mine folds down into a full queen size and the mattress is very thick. https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Somette-Ali-Phonics-Multi-flex-Espresso-Full-size-Wood-Frame-with-Bonded-Leather-Innerspring-Mattress-Futon-Set/8365989/product.html?refccid=GKG6BYEIEWAIRESI3TSU44Z2CY&searchidx=3