What is a Futon?

Futon is the English name given to the Japanese traditional style of bedding known as “futon” Basically a traditional futon is the name given to Japanese bedding that consists of a padded mattress and quilts that are pliable enough to be folded up and stowed out of the way so that a room can be used during the day for purposes other than that of just a bedroom.

Futons in Japan consist of basically two elements, the first is a shikibuton which is the bottom mattress and a kabebuton which refers to the quilted bedcover. Futons are sold in Japan through specialist stores known as futon’ya and often come in sets consisting of blankets and pillows.

Futons sold in the west are based on the original Japanese futons but with quite a few differences, almost all western futons are constructed around a wooden or metal frame so rather than being folded up and put away as in Japanese homes they almost always double up as a sofa or chair.

Futons when laid out fully will often resemble normal single or double beds in terms of size and comfort, partly due to extra layers and banding that are used in the construction of western futons.

Western futons mattresses usually have a removable cover which is handy if you get spills or are using the futon as a sofa in your living room and fancy a change of décor, it’s much cheaper to change a futon cover than it is to change a traditional sofa for a new one or even the cost of professional recovering a sofa.

Futon mattresses are typically filled with offcuts of foam of various types and sizes but more recently in recognition to the environment, more eco-friendly fillings are used, although this does tend to be in the higher quality futons.

Sofa beds do differ from futons slightly, but were the line is drawn can be confusing, traditionally sofa beds looked exactly the same as a standard sofa, but underneath the cushions they had a fold out metal frame and a thin mattress, most people will find they will get a better night’s sleep on a futon when compared to a traditional sofa bed as the futon mattresses are much thicker and offer better support. Another point to note when comparing a futon to a sofa bed is the weight, the metal framed sofa beds are very heavy and if you fancy a change of colour scheme or stain them you cannot recover a traditional sofa bed as easily and cheaply as the more practical futon.

Futon Mattress types

There are a few different types of mattresses you can get for your futon, each with a different feel and comfort level.

The Cotton Mattress
This mattress is really just cotton, it’s filled with it and the cover is made from it. It a rather firm mattress but is still flexible so that it can be turned in to a sofa. Usually supplied with the wooden framed sofa bed making it easy to change the position from sofa to bed. It is prone to absorbing moisture so after a while it takes in the sweat when in use and need a good air out and flipping over every few weeks. The can occasionally build up lumps where the cotton has shifted when used and can make it hard to get it back to the original shape, the flipping helps prevent this.

Cotton Foam Mattress
This is normally the most popular of the futon mattresses, it hold its shape and form a lot better than the 100% cotton mattress and is rather cheap compared to other types. This mattress is firm an resilient to shape loss and still offers great comfort. The core of this mattress consists of layers of foam surrounded by cotton. Normally the more layers of foam that there are the softer the mattress will be. This shape hold for a long time it can last for 10-12 years before it needs replacing so for its price and life span it is a great one to buy.

Wool mattress
Not the best choice for a futon mattress as most people are allergic to wool, is it on the other hands a very good insulator so keeps you nice and warm. The mattress filling is not all wool as it does not hold its shape very; they try to stop this by adding foam layers to stop the wool from shifting too much.

Polyester Foam Mattress
Polyester provides a firm support which is what we look for in a futon mattress, they use a very small amount of cotton around the foam of the mattress to provide a bit of softness. The less cotton you use in a mattress the longer it will last. This mattress is good for all body types and can be more comfortable than Talalay latex mattresses. The polyester foam mattress is very resilient and holds its shape very well so maintenance is very low and will need turning over ever 4 months.

Innerspring mattress
Hard to label this as a futon mattress as it is more like a box spring mattress, in the centre are the springs surrounded by foam. They are not flexible so are not often found on fold out sofa beds but are used on sofas that have pull out extensions to make it a bed. More expensive than cotton and other futon mattresses but are more comfortable and will outlast and cotton mattress. It is worth paying a good price for theses as the can last up to three times longer than a standard cotton futon. Very simple maintenance will only need flipping every 6 months and are best used as your main sleeping area.