Best place to buy a futon from in the UK

There are many shops on and offline that sell futons of all shapes and sizes but if you’re looking for the cheapest place to buy your new futon from then online is the best place to buy from.

Buying your new futon online will save you £’s compared to buying a futon from your local furniture or department store just choose your style, double or single, metal or wood constructed futon and then compare prices from a few futon companies. Futons are usually considerably cheaper than traditional sofa beds and best of all the range of covers and fabrics add a modern and stylish look to any room. Plus an added bonus with futons is the interchangeable covers so should you spill something that just won’t clean off or simply fancy a change of look just replace your futons cover with a new one, works out much cheaper than replacing a whole new sofa bed.

The most popular style of futon is the two seater or sometimes referred to as a twin seat futon. These two seater futons make great use of confined space yet are still large enough to provide comfortable seating for two adults as well as opening up to become a useable sofa bed size sleeping area. Futons are especially good for small apartments, bedsits, student dorm rooms, or as a guest bed in a spare room that can be quickly and easily converted to a bed for unexpected guests staying over.

Need to buy a futon in a hurry look for a futon company who carry a selection of futons in stock ready for immediate dispatch. Choose a futon that’s in stock and your
new futon could be with you in 2-3 days. Futon sofa beds that are already in stock are most likely available at very competitive prices because the retailers would much rather move stock on than have it sit around gathering dust.
Fabric choices for futons will affect the price you pay, choose a hard wearing but plain fabric as these will last longer and be cheaper to buy when compared to the cost of a more stylish but less hard wearing cover.

Traditional Sofa beds do differ from futons not just in looks but also in prices, traditionally sofa beds looked exactly the same as a standard sofa, but underneath the cushions they had a fold out metal frame which is reason for the extra costs. Plus most people will sleep better on a futon when compared to a normal sofa bed this is because of the futon mattresses which are much thicker and offer better support than the thin ones sofa beds use. Another point to note when comparing a futon to a sofa bed other than the actual price is the weight, the metal framed sofa beds are very heavy, buy a futon much cheaper and they are much more funky to look at.

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.