The best sofa for an afternoon nap

A sofa for sitting and a sofa for napping ask for slightly different things. For a nap, five details matter most:

• Length. You want to lie down with your head on one arm and your feet resting on, or just over, the other.
• Seat depth. A deep seat lets you lie on your side with your knees bent and still feel held.
• Arms. Soft, rounded or padded arms double as a pillow. Wide, firm arms work well with a cushion on top.
• Comfort. A soft seat you sink into feels like a mattress topper; a medium seat feels more like a firm bed.
• Back cushions. Plump back cushions you can pull out give you more width to lie on, and make a ready pillow.

Fabric matters too. Warm, soft fabrics such as bouclé and fine corduroy feel lovely against your cheek in an air-conditioned room.

A common rule is to look for a sofa at least as long as you are tall, measured from arm to arm, if you like to rest your head on one arm and your feet on the other. If you prefer to lie fully between the arms, add another 20 to 40 cm. As a rough guide:

A chaise changes everything: lying along it, your legs are fully supported and the length of the sofa matters much less. Our Nuage chaise sofa is 262 cm wide with a chaise 152 cm deep, and the Comfo chaise reaches 229 cm in total depth.

Seat depth is the distance from the front edge of the seat to the back cushions. For sitting upright, about 50 to 56 cm suits most people. For napping, deeper is better, because when you lie on your side your shoulders, hips and bent knees need room.

• Around 58 to 60 cm is comfortable for a nap on your back or side.
• Around 65 cm gives generous room to curl up with your knees bent.
• Over 70 cm feels almost like a single bed, with space for a child or a cat beside you.

Pulling out one or two back cushions instantly adds depth on any sofa, and gives you a pillow at the same time. Our guide to sofa seat depth and height explains how to measure what suits your body.

Every sofa comes in Cocoon or Classic comfort at the same price, whichever it starts in. Each sofa page has a "Will it fit?" tool to check the size against your wall, and a "How it feels" guide for the seat.

Our two seat comforts suit two kinds of nappers:

• Cocoon is very soft: you sink in and feel wrapped. It is wonderful for a short, cosy nap under a throw, and for anyone who loves the feeling of a deep mattress topper.
• Classic is medium: you lie on the seat rather than in it, and getting up afterwards is easy. Many people find it more like a bed for a longer afternoon rest.

If one person in the house naps and another mostly sits upright, Classic is a happy middle ground; a soft cushion on the arm makes it just as cosy for the nap. Our article on soft or firm sofas compares the two comforts in detail.

A sofa bed gives you two kinds of rest in one piece. By day it is a comfortable sofa for an afternoon nap; when you want to stretch right out, or when guests stay the night, it opens into a real bed.

Our Snoozo is a low sofa bed in fine corduroy, 190 cm wide, with a 36 cm seat that gives a relaxed, lounge-like way of sitting. Its lower part slides forward to make a generous, almost square bed as wide as the sofa itself, in seconds. It suits a home office, a guest room, a smaller living room or a children's playroom where everyone ends up lying down anyway.

Fine corduroy is soft and calm under your cheek, and it brushes fresh along the ribs after a long nap.

• Turn the sofa away from the strongest sun. A sheer curtain softens the afternoon light, and a blackout blind turns any room into a nap room.
• Find the gentle air. Place the sofa where the AC reaches it softly rather than blowing straight down on it.
• Keep a light throw close. A cotton or linen throw is just right in a cool room; a knitted one feels cosy in winter.
• Add one good cushion. A medium cushion on the arm supports your neck better than a decorative one.
• A side table within reach for water, a book and your phone on silent.

After a long Friday lunch with the family, a slow summer afternoon or a busy Ramadan night, a well-placed sofa becomes the favourite place in the house.