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There are a number of reasons to start thinking about getting futons and sofa beds. In this article, those reasons will be examined, along with what futons are and how they can be used effectively with the minimum of fuss and hassle.

Firstly, what is a futon? The name has Japanese origins – classically, homes in Japan are small with not a lot of floor space. Space is certainly at a premium, and as such, many people in this country cannot afford the luxury of having an actual freestanding bed that stays there, all day long. In fact, the idea would be alien to many people over there. Each night, before they go to sleep, people set up their futon onto the floor from its folded position (normally as a seat), put on the pillows and climb into their bed. In the morning when they get up to start their day, they put their pillows away in a closet, fold the futon up and return it so that it is a seat again. This way, a usable piece of furniture has dual uses in small spaces.

The futon sofa bed is usually a kind of mattress that is more akin to a large cushion (no springs in it) on a folding frame meaning that it can do double duty as a sofa and a bed. The idea about them is that you can have a usable bed, but when the bed is not needed in a room, it can be put to use as a comfortable couch.

Situations where people would choose a futon instead of another piece of furniture are when they only have a few rooms – like a small apartment, or college accommodation, and need to make the utmost of their space. Another reason for having a futon is that when there are spare rooms in a house (say a couple have got a larger house in the anticipation of having a family in the future), this piece of furniture can go into a room as a couch for the most part and a bed for when friends come over to stay.

Different sizes are also available. If you can think of a size of sofa (or indeed bed) – say a one seater, two seater or 3 seater, or on the other hand, a single, double or king size bed, then there is a futon that is available in that size. This allows you to scale up or down the size that is required to get the most use out of it.

Please note that if you have never tried sleeping on a futon, you should give it a go. It is different from sleeping on a mattress – there are generally no springs, so the slats underneath can be felt quite frequently. This is not necessarily something to put you off, but be aware that there are trade offs that have been made in order to get such a usable item. It is safe to say that a quite a few people would not want this item being their main bed (at least all of the time, anyway).

As with most things, there are a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors of futons and sofa beds from many different places. Shops specialize in them up and down the country, and of course, online is a great place to go to look before you leap, and gather some information about dimensions, cost and so forth.

All in all, if you want something that is dual use – can be sat on as a daytime piece of furniture, and can then be slept on comfortably when the need arises, futon sofa beds are for you!