How To Easily Make The IKEA FRIHETEN More Comfortable
If you love hosting get-togethers and sleepovers, a guest room is a must-have. However, the reality is that most homes don't have the luxury of having an extra room for guests. Luckily, sofa beds and convertible sofas provide an excellent solution. These versatile pieces of furniture allow you to effortlessly transform your living room into a welcoming guest room when needed and back into a regular living space with ease. Of course, the home furnishing giant IKEA has several of these. One of their best sofas for your living room is the IKEA FRIHETEN. However, several buyers have pointed out a significant drawback: its firmness. While a firm sofa can be comfortable for sitting, an overly firm mattress might lead to backaches. Addressing this issue, TikTok user zaiafuentes shared a clever hack: she layered the FRIHETEN with memory foam and a mattress pad and then secured it all with a fitted sheet.
The hack is simple and easy to implement, making it an ideal solution for those last-minute guest scenarios. If you're using your IKEA unit as both a sofa and a bed daily, this low-effort adjustment can make a big difference in comfort without requiring a permanent change. The few minutes it takes to set up is a small investment for a considerable increase in comfort, making it not only a handy short-term fix but also a viable long-term solution for the discomfort the FREHETEN causes.
Lay the memory foam on top of the sofa
While you can reupholster your couch, it could cost you up to $1,000 to $1,500. This price can vary depending on the fabric, padding, other supplies, and the extent of repairs needed. However, a simpler and more cost-effective solution would be to enhance the comfort of the sleeper sofa by adding a memory foam mattress pad.
Given that the IKEA FRIHETEN sofa bed measures 55 x 80 inches when unfolded into a bed, selecting a full-sized memory foam mattress pad with standard dimensions of 54 x 75 inches would be an excellent fit. This size provides near-perfect coverage, ensuring comfort across the entire sleeping surface. While it's a bit smaller than the sofa bed's dimensions, this size can still offer ample coverage for your FRIHETEN.
Layer with a mattress cover
The thickness of your memory foam plays a significant role in the comfort and support the hack will provide. For added comfort, you might consider layering a mattress topper over the memory foam. This extra layer can enhance the plushness and support of your sleeping surface. Moreover, the memory foam the TikTok user has is uncovered. While this is okay, using one without a mattress cover or topper exposes it to bacteria, dirt, body fluids, and dead skin cells, making it hard to clean your memory foam mattress. This exposure not only makes it dirty faster but also reduces its lifespan.
It's worth noting that while the TikTok user mentioned using a mattress topper, the cover in question seems more akin to a mattress pad than a traditional mattress topper. Mattress pads often appear as thin layers of quilted padding attached to a fitted sheet, primarily offering protection and minimal comfort enhancement. On the other hand, mattress toppers are typically thicker and are designed to add a significant layer of plushness and comfort to a mattress.
Cover with a fitted sheet
After positioning the memory foam and mattress topper or cover on your sofa bed, the next step is to secure them with a fitted sheet. Accessing the corners of the sofa bed can be difficult if it's pushed against the wall. Pull the sofa bed slightly away from the wall when placing a fitted sheet.
The thickness of your memory foam mattress and the cover you choose will determine the type of fitted sheet needed. If these layers are particularly thick, you might require a deep fitted sheet, which is designed to accommodate and snugly secure thicker mattresses. If a deep-pocket sheet isn't available or if you prefer a different approach, you can use a flat sheet. Simply drape it over the layers and tuck it in tightly around the edges of the sofa bed.