Who is credited with inventing the sleeper sofa?

Have you ever found yourself in a hotel suite, deciding who gets the sleeper sofa for the night? No one wanted to lose that toss, as the pullout mattress was often far from comfortable. Fortunately, times are changing.

The concept of a bed that transforms isn't modern. Ancient Egyptians created daybeds by tying palm fronds together [source: Design Boom]. At Monticello, Thomas Jefferson built beds into alcoves, possibly using a rope and pulley system to lift them when not in use [source: Thomas Jefferson Foundation]. Guests at George Washington's Mount Vernon slept on a settee that could convert into a bed [source: George Washington Wired].

In 1885, a dual-purpose bed was first documented in the U.S. patent office. Sarah E. Goode, a former enslaved person, became the first Black woman to secure a patent for her design of a folding bed that fit into a writing desk. Her inspiration came from discussions with apartment residents at her Chicago furniture store, who expressed frustration over the lack of space-saving furniture. While there's no proof her design was mass-produced, it is considered a precursor to modern folding beds [source: California State Polytechnic University].

Today, numerous patents exist for sofa beds, most sharing fundamental features like a folding mattress and frame. Standard sofa bed mattresses typically measure 72 inches (1.8 meters) in length, aligning with common mattress sizes such as queen and full. Custom options can range from larger king sizes to smaller twin sizes.

Sofa beds come in various styles, from budget-friendly futons with fabric-covered mattresses to versatile expandable chaise lounges, catering to diverse preferences and needs.

History of the Sleeper Sofa

The late 1800s saw a surge in sleep-related innovations. Shortly after Sarah E. Goode's "sleeper desk" patent, Leonard C. Bailey, an African-American inventor, patented a folding bed in 1899. The design featured a metal frame and mattress that folded in half, resembling a sandwich. The U.S. Army Medical Board took notice, and the design became popular among soldiers and campers [source: Our Weekly].

By 1908, William Murphy introduced the pivot bed. Living in a cramped San Francisco apartment, he created a hinged mechanism to flip the bed into a wall cavity, freeing up space. As of 2013, the Murphy Bed Co. continued producing these space-saving beds [source: Soniak].

The modern sleeper sofa owes its origins to the American dream. Bernard Castro, an Italian immigrant who arrived in the U.S. in 1919, spent countless hours studying furniture at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1931, he began crafting his own line of sleeper sofas, distinguished by their seamless design that concealed the pullout mattress and frame, maintaining the elegance of premium furniture [source: Caceres].

After Castro's passing, the family sold the company in 1993, but his daughter Bernadette reclaimed ownership in 2008, shifting focus to promoting a versatile convertible ottoman [source: Castro Convertibles, Medina].

While modern manufacturers continue refining folding mechanisms, today's sleeper sofas remain similar to mid-century designs, with the notable improvement of more comfortable mattresses. Features like memory foam, once exclusive to traditional mattresses, are now attracting buyers to sleeper sofas [source: Solomon].