In order to learn how to make a jack knife sofa comfortable, you need to know how they work and what makes them uncomfortable to sit on in the first place.
If you’re in a hurry, we love to use a folded quilt or a mattress topper to quickly make a jack knife sofa more comfortable.
Let’s take a deeper look at what jack knife sofas are and how you can make one more comfortable easily.
What Is A Jack Knife Sofa?
There’s some confusion regarding what a jack knife sofa actually is, especially when you consider that a sofa bed is something completely different
A jack knife sofa is a sofa that turns into a bed, but it does not contain a mattress like a traditional sofa bed. Instead, the backrests simply fold back while the seat cushion comes forwards to form a flat surface made entirely from the part of the sofa you would sit on normally.
What Benefits do Jack Knife Sofas Have?
The main benefit of a jack knife sofa is that they are extremely easy to use.
Unlike a sofa bed that requires some work to make the sofa into a bed, a jack knife sofa will simply fold out into a bed within seconds.
Another reason why jack knife sofas are great is that they take up very little space, which is the primary reason why they are used in RVs and motorhomes so much. If you have children there aren’t many better options, but you need to know how to make them more comfortable to make the most out of them.
Why Are Jack Knife Sofa Uncomfortable?
Despite the previously mentioned benefits of jack knife sofas, there is one main problem that many people debate to this day – why are jack knife sofas so uncomfortable?
Jack knife sofas are uncomfortable for three main reasons, let’s take a deep dive into them.
Gaps
When you sit on a jack knife sofa in the sofa position you won’t notice any gaps, like with any other sofa.
Due to the design of Jack Knife sofas, when you put them into the bed position there is a clear gap between the backrest and seat cushions. This is why they are considered uncomfortable, as sleeping over gaps in a bed can be very uncomfortable for the back and neck.
Luckily this is quite easy to overcome with some of the methods we’ll explain later in this post.
Dual Use
Like most things that are designed to do two things at once, a jack knife sofa doesn’t make for the comfiest sofa in the world or the comfiest bed.
This is quite reasonable, however. If you were looking for a sofa you wouldn’t buy something that could be used as a bed and vice versa.
There always has to be a compromise and in this case, the compromise is in comfort which is made up for by the ease of use and space-saving capabilities.
Materials
The materials used in a jack knife sofa are usually the same as those used in a sofa, with slightly softer cushioning to make laying down more comfortable.
This causes an issue with how comfortable it is in the bed position. A typical bed would have a mattress. potentially a mattress topper with sheets on top. A sofa cannot be made from these materials though and this is no different to a jack knife sofa.
Jack knife sofas are typically made from leather or linen upholstery which aren’t especially great to sleep on.
Ways to Make A Jack Knife Sofa More Comfortable
Luckily there are a lot of ways you can make your jack knife sofa more comfortable that doesn’t come at a massive price, let’s take a look at our top methods.
Mattress Topper
Mattress toppers are arguably the best way to make your jack knife sofa more comfortable.
Mattress toppers are used heavily in the hotel industry and are usually around 2 to 3 inches thick consisting of either a layer of foam or a polyester fabric similar to that found in an actual mattress. By using a mattress topper you can make the surface of your jack knife sofa even and much more comfortable – it should feel very similar to sleeping on a proper bed.
The only thing to consider is the size of your sofa as you’ll want to measure this first to make sure that the topper fits correctly.
Use A Quilt
Although mattress toppers aren’t the most expensive, they can still be an unwanted price to pay above the price of your jack knife sofa. This is why we have included using a quilt as a cheaper option.
Quilts are great because the chances are you’ll have a spare one in the house that you can take along for a start, and even if you need to buy one they can be very cheap.
If you decide to use a quilt a great way to make the most out of it is to fold it over before you lay on it. This way you’ll have extra padding beneath that will help to hide the gaps between the backrest and seating cushioning.
It might even be worth using two quilts, one as a topper for the bed and the other for warmth when you’re sleeping.
Cushions
Cushions are another cheap and easy way to make a jack knife sofa more comfortable. We personally love to use them because they are handy both in the bed position for sleeping and the sofa position for when you are sat down.
Everybody knows how to place cushions when you’re using a sofa, but you’ll want to use them a little bit differently for a jack knife sofa in the bed position.
You can easily use a cushion to cover the gaps if you don’t have a mattress topper or thick quilt. This can sometimes be a little bit awkward to work around but if you change your sleeping position around the pillow then it’s much more comfortable to work with than a huge gap.
Seal The Gaps With Pool Noodles
This one might seem a little random, but pool noodles or floats are really good at filling the gaps on jack knife sofas and they’re really cheap to buy as well. If you happen to have any of these hanging around the house then they can be put to good use on your next road trip!
Simply push the pool noodles into the gaps firmly to secure them into position, it’s really easy to do.
If you want the utmost comfort from your jack knife sofa you could even use pool noodles to fill the gaps, and then a folder quilt or mattress topper on top.
Frequently Asked Questions
Due to how hotly debated jack knife sofas are, there are a lot of questions that are asked around the topic.
We’ve decided to round these up below so you can easily find the answers to any other questions you might have around this topic.
How Do You Cover A Jack Knife Sofa?
We touched on this in the tips to make a jack knife sofa more comfortable section, but the best covers are either a mattress topper or a folded quilt if you are planning to sleep on it.
There are some other options though if you’re just looking to cover a jack knife sofa. For example, a sofa cover will work wonders if you want to keep the entire sofa clean when it’s not being used.
You could even use a blanket to cover your sofa if you needed to, although this is more of a temporary measure.
How Do You Use A Jack Knife Sofa?
Jack knife sofas are used as either a sofa or a bed, depending on which you need to use.
As standard, they will be in the sofa position, so if you are using it for this purpose then you won’t need to do anything. To turn a jack knife sofa into a bed it will usually require simultaneously pushing the backrests while pulling the seats out.
There will typically be a button to press on either side of the sofa as well.
Always consult the instructions of your sofa, but usually, this is the way that most of them work.
Final Thoughts
Thank you for taking the time to read this article.
Remember that a mattress topper or folded quilt will be the best option when it comes to making a jack knife sofa more comfortable, but there are some other options you can consider as well depending on your situation.