all know how that went for them – remember those clear plastic furniture covers?  Their sofas never aged, but you had to bear the uncomfortable feeling of sitting on plastic stuff that had the tendency of sticking or sliding during the summers months.

The brand new covers are far from being like those old plastic ones grandma used to have.  Your search on the internet will yield various types of sites depending upon the method in which you are searching and the specific accessories you are looking for regarding your futon.  You must decide how you will place the cover on the item, find out what it is manufactured from, and discover what style of frame you are using now. There are so many different choices available for your selection. You may never experience boredom with your sofa-sleeper again.  There are also chaise lounge futons, futon mattresses, and futon chairs that have different types of patterns, colors, styles, and covering materials.

How You Will Use Your Mattress Will Have An Influence On The Style of Futon Cover You Select

Now, we will cover different topics and address some questions that surface when owning a convertible sleeper-sofa, home decor, and entertaining overnight guests. Consider this brief article your entrance to the spectrum of how a futon cover can provide you with its vital benefits.

Normal tear and wear is expected with your futon.  Your futon sofa may not need that extra protection.  It mostly depends on its usage.  Are you constantly entertaining guests?  Do you only have guests come over periodically?  The answer to these questions will determine if you need that extra protection.  Protecting your futon should not be strictly related to what function it serves, but also how fashionable it is.  You can add a flair and your personality to this aspect of the bedding accessories.

Futon slipcovers are available in different patterns that is suitable for a variety of tastes.  You can easily use the cover to improve the appearance of the room without being too overbearing. Covers are available from  solid colors that are related to primary colors, muted colors, and eighties colors such as neon or pink. Patterns are also available with flower designs, animal prints, and more sophisticated styles as well.

Consider The Function When Choosing Certain Fabrics For Your Futon Mattress Cover

Choices on fabric will also play a role when you are selecting your style of covers. It is wise if you go with a fabric that blends well with its most common uses. For example, going with a linen type or microfiber suede cover is not a good idea when you have kids and animals in the home.  This is where common sense should start to kick in. You will probably be better off with leather as it will bear the pressure and force of kids and pets.  Cotton blends and cottons with a patterned print is a favorable selection that will stand the test of time in a play area for children.

A recent surge has taken place with the popularity of futons in homes.  A shift towards contemporary and even that traditional Japanese look is currently taking place globally.  Basic frames and futon beds are very popular for collegiate dorms and provide a more utilitarian purpose versus a fashion cause. However, in more expensive residences, futon sofa-sleepers provide the perfect answer for singles and newlyweds that seldom entertain or have house guests. They function extremely well in a home, office, and guest room.  The futon is great if you happen to use yours to seat extra guests in a room that is used for entertaining.

Putting your slip cover on the futon gives you some options that you have never thought of.  Planning ahead should encourage you to purchase several covers.  You can change them whenever the mood hits you.  Select the cover with a bold color, patterns, and animal prints when you are looking for more spark in your home.  Selecting an elegant pattern or muted color is great when you are attempting to create a more subdued or intimate feel.

Covers for your favorite futon can be a reflection of your personality or creativity.  Home owners that are green conscious can choose from natural organic materials such as hemp as an option for a futon cover.  One’s personality will influence their creativity when its time to make a final decision for covering a couch or sofa.  Using covers is less expensive and less frustrating than painting the room or purchasing new furniture. You can easily order your cover, have it shipped expediently to your home, clean it, and start using it within one week.

Whatever your tastes are, you can shop confidently knowing that there are futon covers that will work perfectly for you.  Wishing you well!  Happy shopping!

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I’m sure that you already know that there are many different styles of futon mattresses available on the market.  If not, we’ll introduce you to some of those here.  If you did know this, then maybe you are just looking for a little more clarity on which one might be the best choice for you.  Hopefully, you’ll have a better idea by the end of this article as well.

Futons come in the ‘older’ cotton, poly, and wool blended foam infills as they always have.  These styles are more often than not the most inexpensive ones. These are the ones that used to get such a bad rap back when they first appeared on the market in the West.  You see, futons have been used for hundreds of years in Asian countries.  They are most popular in Japan and it is the traditional style of mattress there.  However, the Japanese futon mattress is actually quite a bit different than the style we use in the West.

The Traditional Japanese Futon

A traditional looking Japanese room with futons.

The traditional futon consists of two parts:  an upper quilted part called the kake-buton and the bottom, mattress portion, is called the shiki-buton.  The way that this system works is that they are both laid on a mat, a tatami, and slept on.  In the morning, they are both beaten, traditionally with a bamboo cane, to clean and then aired out to dry.  This allows them to be refreshed each morning.  It also allows the room in which they were used to be open and ready for other needs.  It is part of the lifestyle in countries like Japan where a more minimalist design is appreciated.  Photo credit

Like with many great designs, they become adapted over the years and with different cultures.  This is just as true with the traditional mattresses as it is with futon design.  In the West, we have taken the futon and made it into a more functional piece of furniture.  Here, we use them as both sofa-couches as well as beds.  The types of bed frames that can be used with a futon vary as well; we’ll discuss this below.   

The style of mattress that we have built is a stretch from this traditional style.  What we done is make them more like a conventional mattress; adding inner coil springs, memory foam and even toppers.  So, the futon of today is nothing like the kind that you may remember from your high school or college days.  The reason why those got such a bad reputation was because of poor infill materials leading to a very thin mattress that quickly flattened.  This ultimately led to the mattress being uncomfortable and non-supportive, as well as having the bed frame pressing into your back.  It wouldn’t be too uncommon to wake up with back pains or other aches related to sleeping on a poor quality mattress.

Futon Bed Frames

The more common types of frames are made of wood.  Some manufacturers or mattress stores will include a bed frame with your purchase.  These are often less desirable in terms of quality, but this is not always the case.  Some frames are made of tubular steel and powder coated to help them resist rusting or corrosion that could damage your futon cover.

A custom mahogany frame with storage.

You can always have a custom bed frame built just for you.  These will almost always be more durable and fit your needs and specifications more precisely.  Often, these incorporate storage or shelving.  They may also include headboards and or other unique features like under-mattress storage.

These frames are typically found in bi-fold or tri-fold styles.  The difference in frames comes down to how they will be folded to create the sofa position.  It affects the mattress as well.  It will be much simpler to purchase a futon that you plan on using more for a sofa to get a tri-fold design.  The reason behind this is that it can fold easily into a smaller profile and the mattress will be made of the more flexible materials, like cotton and wool, with the foam inserts.  Photo credit

If, on the other hand, you plan on using your futon as your primary sleeping arrangement, then you can utilize either a bi-fold frame or a fixed-platform bed frame.  The material used for such a mattress could be one with the inner-coil springs or have a thicker profile.  This is what you should consider to make the mattress a more comfortable and longer lasting one.

It is still more likely that your conventionally manufactured mattress will last longer than a futon.  Some factors that go into this are the in-fill materials, synthetic fabrics and the frame of the mattress itself.  More often than that, however, you will likely be considering a futon mattress as a secondary sleeping situation or for extra seating in a home office or entertainment room.

Alternative Futon Bed Choices

If you share the concerns of many about these off-gassing ideas and threats, then you should examine some of the different alternative forms of futon beds and mattresses.  These include things like the organic cotton futon and materials made with hemp.  The organic cottons are the easiest to come by and have the  most trusted names in the field supporting them.  The materials like hemp, bamboo and even choices like wool or latex foam are also available.

You might even be considering a kid’s futon for your child’s first ‘big boy’ or ‘big girl’ bed.  This is an exciting time for both the parents and child, so it should be a special bed.  The more popular choices for these first beds are the themed beds; cartoon characters, movies, or playful frames made of race cars, princess carriages and the like.  These are more for the child than the parent, but the mattress is an important thing to consider as well. Another option is a bunk.  There are futon bunk beds that serve the same function and work in just the same way as a traditional bunk bed does.  This could have also been included in the discussion of the futon frames above.

You can start with a twin and move up to a full futon when they grow or their room space allows.  There are many options here and considering which one is the healthiest way to rest your little one’s head down on each night is of the utmost importance.  Research does show how important sleep is and it is even more important for it to be free of gaseous by-products and other harmful chemical residues, regardless if it is for you or your child.

Cost

One main factor affecting cost will be the size of the mattress.  The smaller it is, like a twin, the less expensive.  There are queen size futons, but you will be harder pressed to find a king size mattress in this style.  There are custom orders available for larger individuals, though.  In fact, you might be surprised to know that many athletes prefer futons because they can be custom ordered to fit them.

For the more simple versions of this type of bed, you can think in terms of the low $100s USD.  This would include styles that are made of just cotton, cotton-poly’s and wools with the various styles of foam padding.  For a more luxurious type of futon, with inner coiled springs, memory foam, toppers and the like, you can expect to pay upwards of $500 USD or more.  Also, you’ll pay more for the organic cotton futon beds and the alternative materials because they just aren’t as heavily sought after as of yet.  These things will change as well.

As your browse around, consider what it is that you really want to use your futon for and then find the manufacturer or site that can best deliver that for you.  Brand names, such as Sealy™, Simmons™ and Beautyrest™ all make futon mattresses, so you shouldn’t feel uncomfortable with the quality that is available.  Also, you can shop the larger online retailers like Amazon and Ebay to find a better deal.  Thanks for stopping by and get a good night’s rest.

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Sometimes, there are more important things to consider than just the price.  Is this the case with a futon mattress?  You can decide that for yourself, but let’s just take some points to heart and see where they lead.  It is never a good time to waste money, we would all agree on that.  Needless markups and phony sales, these are very common fears that people have regarding the mattress industry.  Futons are no exception to this.  Maybe you are wondering if your futon is from overseas, built with inferior products and made to less-than ideal craftsmanship standards.  More legitimate concerns.

In fact, there is something to be said for paying for quality in the case of futon mattresses and we’ll tell you why.  If you are not sleeping on a quality mattress each night, then you will be waking in the morning not feeling as rested or

rejuvenated as you possibly could.  This will affect not only your physical well being and energy level, but your emotional well being as well.  This is how important a good night’s sleep can be.  And, it is very possible that a cheap futon mattress might not be affording you this opportunity.

A Cheap Mattress Doesn’t Mean A Poor Quality Futon

Don’t be fooled, you can find a good quality futon mattress at a good price.  The whole point of this article is to show you that cheap as in poor quality is not the way to go.  True, poor quality does translate into a cheap price as well and this is the problem.  If all you are doing is shopping for your mattress by going for the cheapest, then that is exactly what you’ll get – get the point?

Please don’t misunderstand the point.  Hopefully, you will find the cheapest price for the best choice of futon that you like to suit your sleeping and home decor style.  After all, there are many that come with great deals on futon bed frames, covers and mattress combinations – they’re hard to pass up.  However, wouldn’t it strike you as a bit odd if you found a mattress for under $100 USD (new)?  Wouldn’t you be a little suspect as to its quality, materials and craftsmanship?  Again, that’s up to you and your discretion.

With the different types of futon beds that are available now, just shopping by price may cost you in the long run.  You can get a futon mattress now that has the same type of memory foam and mattress topper found on conventional mattresses.  In addition, you can get a futon covered in any number of fabric patterns and materials that would make any interior designer proud.  To wrap this article up, shopping for a cheap futon mattress is one way to go, it just might not be the best way to go if you plan on using your futon for you or your child’s primary sleeping arrangement that’s all.

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There are really many ways to benefit from better sleep.  In this article, we will discuss really 7 key tips to keep you rested and feeling rejuvenated upon waking in the morning.  The ideas presented in this article were brought to our attention from an article written by a chiropractor.  You would think that they have some idea as to what to do to keep your body aligned properly and positioned correctly in order to get a good night’s sleep.

Well, you would be right in that regard.  Though this doctor did not mention the “futon mattress” specifically as a way to achieve better sleep, he did mention many aspects that can easily be applied to the futon.  You’ll shortly see why.  However, first let’s briefly mention what this article is going to address.  The topic of sleeping position, pillows and mattress choices are all discussed in other posts here on this site.  You can find them through the appropriate links.

This sleeping environment includes a stuffed animal.

So, consider these ‘lucky 7 tips’ the best ways to maximize your chances – your chances of having the best quality sleep.  Isn’t that really the trick.  We have all had times when we crashed or passed out but didn’t feel particularly rested or rejuvenated in the morning.  Always a problem with the bed, probably not.  Okay, so listen up and take note, you don’t want to sleep through these great tips.

1. Maintain a schedule:  Your body runs in cycles.  Sleep is one of our body’s main and important cycles.  By going to bed and waking up at about the same times each day, your body’s cycles can be maintained and reinforced.
2. Eat right and avoid heavy meals:  This is especially true regarding dinner.  You don’t want to eat a large meal within a few hours of your bedtime.  Also, spicy and greasy foods are not the best choices to help you have restful sleep.  If you have a small or sensitive bladder, you will also want to avoid too much fluid just before bed.
3. Get regular exercise:  You already know this, but exercise has many benefits, one of which includes better sleep.  However, do NOT exercise just before bed.  Your heart rate and energy levels will be up making it difficult to rest.
4. Create a serene environment:  Your bedroom should be your little sanctuary.  You should feel calm and centered even laying in your bed.  Make sure that the sights, sounds, smells, etc. are all such that it facilitates restful sleep and peacefulness.
5. Avoid sleeping during the day:  You can take a 30 min nap in the middle of the day, just avoid a long one.  Excess sleep in the daytime will cause your internal clock to go haywire again.
6. Get yourself a bedtime routine:  Whatever you do (take a bath, read a book, do your breathing exercises, put on your soothing music, etc.) make it consistent.  Also, having your lights dimmed will help your body make an easy transition to sleep time.
7. Go to sleep when ready:  How you know you are ready is that you should fall asleep fast, within 20 minutes or so of when you lay down.  If you are not asleep by then, get up and do something that is not too stimulating, then come back to bed when you are tired.

There you have it, the 7 lucky tips.  See, it isn’t too much of a stretch to suggest that futon mattresses could play an integral role in helping you with restful sleep as well.  These tips could be applied to any bed.  However, we know that the advances with futons and their general level of flexibility make them a great choice for sleeping or otherwise.

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