Ikea LYCKSELE LÖVÅS: The armchair that replaces the sofa bed

Many people living in cities face the same issue every day: hardly any space, yet still the need for a proper bed for guests - without forcing a bulky sofa bed into the room.

In major cities in particular, rents keep climbing while living space keeps shrinking. Sofa, bed, home office, storage - somehow everything has to fit into a handful of square metres. With the LYCKSELE LÖVÅS, Ikea now offers a piece of furniture that tackles exactly that problem: an armchair that turns into a real single bed in seconds, making traditional sofa beds look outdated.

Why classic sofa beds so often get on your nerves

Anyone who has tried living with an inexpensive sofa bed will recognise the usual weak points. In the showroom it all looks clever and practical - but everyday use tends to reveal the reality.

• They take up a lot of floor space, even when no one is sleeping on them.
• Opening them out can be heavy, awkward or noisy.
• The mechanism wears quickly and starts to stick.
• The sleeping surface is uneven, too firm or too soft - setting you up for back pain.

This is precisely where Ikea steps in. The LYCKSELE LÖVÅS isn’t trying to be “just another sofa bed”; it’s aiming to be a different approach for small rooms.

The Ikea armchair that replaces the sofa bed

At its core, the LYCKSELE LÖVÅS isn’t a sofa at all, but a compact armchair that pulls out. By day it sits in the room like a standard lounge chair; at night, a few quick moves turn it into a full single bed.

“The big difference: the armchair stays slim, barely takes up space day to day, and transforms into a flat sleeping surface without any effort.”

The design is intentionally understated: clean lines, a low profile, and no wide, bulky body. That makes it easy to work into very different interiors - from a Scandinavian, pared-back living room to a colourful house-share bedroom.

The conversion takes seconds: pull the seat forward, fold down the back, done. No heavy metal frame and no fiddling with hidden levers. It almost feels too simple - and that’s exactly why it works so well in everyday life.

Perfect for home office plus guest room

This armchair is especially useful in rooms that need to do more than one job at once. Typical examples include:

• a study that occasionally becomes a guest room
• a studio flat where every square metre has to work twice
• a teenager’s room where friends stay over at short notice
• a one-room flat where a “proper bed” would take up too much space

Instead of placing a large sofa bed across the room, the LYCKSELE LÖVÅS can simply be pushed against a wall or into a corner. That leaves the rest of the room free for a desk, dining table or storage.

Comfort without compromise: a mattress rather than a stopgap

A lot of space-saving furniture demands a trade-off: less space used, but less comfort. With the LYCKSELE LÖVÅS, that compromise is noticeably less severe than you might expect.

Inside is a polyurethane foam mattress designed for both sitting and sleeping. It’s intended not to feel saggy after a few months, and to hold its shape even with frequent use.

“The sleeping surface is flat, and the foam is dense enough - the goal is to feel more like a basic mattress than an emergency bed.”

When used as a chair, the backrest gives clear support around the lower back. If you often move from your desk to the armchair while working from home, or you spend long evenings reading, you quickly notice how much that matters for your back.

What it’s like to sleep on the armchair-bed

Pulled out, it becomes a level single-bed surface. The foam is balanced so you don’t sink in, but it also doesn’t feel like a wooden board. For occasional guests - or even everyday use in very small homes - that is usually more than adequate.

A practical side benefit: because the chair is narrower than many sofa beds, it’s often easier to position the bed in the room - for instance, across under a window or lengthways along a wall - without blocking the entire space.

Swap the covers instead of throwing the furniture away

A key feature of the LYCKSELE LÖVÅS is its replaceable covers. Ikea uses a system where the cover can be fully removed and swapped.

• The fabrics are machine-washable - ideal for stains, pets or children.
• New covers give the armchair an updated look at any time.
• Seasonal style changes (lighter in summer, darker in winter) are quick to do.
• If you move, you can adapt the look to your new home without buying a new piece.

“Instead of replacing the whole piece of furniture, only the cover goes into the washing machine - or gets replaced when needed.”

The standard cover is deliberately neutral and suits most homes. Beyond that, Ikea offers multiple colours and textures, from subtle to more statement-making. If you enjoy interiors, you can change the look significantly without spending much.

Price, guarantee and sustainability

At 249 euros, the LYCKSELE LÖVÅS sits well below many premium sofa beds, without slipping into bargain-basement territory. For people paying a lot of rent per square metre, a “2-in-1” piece like this can make real financial sense: it can remove the need for a separate guest bed or a large sofa.

Also notable is the ten-year guarantee Ikea provides for the furniture. That level of cover suggests the mechanism and cushioning aren’t meant only for occasional use, but are expected to withstand many conversion cycles.

From a sustainability point of view, the concept brings another benefit: using one piece of furniture to handle two roles reduces how many items you buy overall. Less production, less transport, and less bulky waste at the end of its life. The changeable covers further extend the usable lifespan.

How the armchair fits into real micro-flats

The LYCKSELE LÖVÅS becomes most interesting where space is genuinely tight: in 20 to 35 square metre flats. In places like that, every step of usable floor area matters. A typical sofa-bed “block” often claims an entire wall and can make the room feel even smaller.

This Ikea armchair can be approached differently:

• as a reading chair by the window that only becomes a bed when visitors arrive
• as a bed in a house-share room that barely looks like a sleeping area during the day
• as an add-on next to a slim two-seater sofa, giving flexible seating or a guest bed
• as a corner piece paired with plants, a side table and a floor lamp

If you use houseplants, you can deliberately build the chair into a “quiet zone” - for example beside a large-leaf plant that makes the room feel more welcoming. That creates a small retreat that turns into a practical bed in the evening.

Practical tips for everyday use

A few simple habits help you get the most from it day to day:

• Plan storage: keep guest bedding in a box under a shelf, or in a wheeled drawer unit placed next to the chair.
• Choose lighter blankets: thin, easily compressible blankets are much easier to store in a cupboard.
• Use a neutral cover as your base: add colour with cushions and throws rather than choosing a bright cover immediately.
• Air the room regularly: especially in small spaces, fresh air helps prevent the mattress from developing a musty smell.

If you use the chair as your everyday bed, you can also add a thin topper. In the morning it can be rolled up and put away, noticeably boosting comfort without undermining the space-saving idea.

Who the LYCKSELE LÖVÅS is genuinely worth it for

This piece is clearly aimed at people who have to make limited floor space work hard and choose every item carefully, including:

• students in small flats or house shares
• single people in big cities with high rents
• couples who want a separate study that can double as a guest room
• families who want to combine a cosy seating area with a sleeping spot in a child’s or teenager’s room

If, on the other hand, you have a large living room and regularly host several guests at the same time, you’ll likely be better served by a wide sofa bed or a dedicated guest room. The LYCKSELE LÖVÅS isn’t a family sofa bed - it’s a well-thought-out single bed in an armchair format.

Why this approach is the better choice for many

The thinking behind this Ikea armchair suits a time when living space is scarce and expensive. Furniture isn’t just expected to look good; it has to perform in real life: comfortable, adaptable and durable. The LYCKSELE LÖVÅS matches that set of requirements - and shows you don’t necessarily have to default to squeezing a large sofa bed into the room.

When furnishing a small home today, many people think in functions rather than individual items: sitting, sleeping, working, storing. Ikea’s armchair-bed hybrid covers two of those needs while still keeping the room feeling open - a trade many city residents will find genuinely tempting.