December 30, 2006 Subscribe I sleep on a futon mattress directly on the (carpeted) floor, in the basement. I think the coldness of winter seeps through the basement floor and into my mattress. How can I keep from freezing when I want to get to sleep? This article is about the Japanese mattress. For research bias, see FUTON bias. Japanese-style futons laid out for sleeping A futon (布団?) is traditional Japanese bedding comprising a quilted mattress that is usually laid on the floor. A bedding set consists of both a mattress (敷き布団 shikibuton?, lit. "spreading futon") and a duvet (掛け布団 kakebuton?, lit. "covering futon"), although the word "futon" is also used to refer specifically to the mattress. Both elements of a futon bedding set are pliable enough to be folded and stored away during the day, allowing the room to serve for purposes other than as a bedroom. Western-style futons, which typically resemble low, wooden sofa beds, differ substantially from their Japanese counterparts.
Originally written as "蒲団" (futon; lit. "cattail" + "round"), the word "futon" originally referred to a round cushion filled with cattail leaves. Today, futons are generally filled with cotton, and the character "布" (fu; lit. "cloth") is now generally used as ateji in place of "蒲" (fu; lit. A Japanese futon is a thin mattress with a fabric exterior stuffed with cotton, wool, or synthetic batting. Futons are sold in Japan at specialty stores called futon'ya (布団屋?) as well as at department stores. They are often sold in sets that include the mattress and the duvet. Other usual bedding items include a blanket (毛布 mōfu?), a taoruketto (タオルケット?, a summer blanket resembling a large towel), and a pillow (枕 makura?) generally filled with beans, buckwheat chaff, or plastic beads.[] Futons are designed to be placed on tatami flooring, and are traditionally folded away and stored in a closet during the day to allow the tatami to breathe and to allow for flexibility in the use of the room.
Futons must be aired in sunlight regularly, especially if not put away during the day. In addition, many Japanese beat their futons regularly with a futon beater (布団叩き futon-tataki?) to prevent the padding from matting. A futon-beater is a special instrument, traditionally made from bamboo, which resembles a Western carpet beater. Futon are available in single, semi-double, and double sizes. The Western futon is based on the Japanese original, with several major differences. It is almost always placed on a configurable wood or metal frame for dual use as a bed and a chair or couch. Typically, the frame folds in the middle, allowing the futon to be used as a couch, and flattens for use as a bed. It is usually filled with foam as well as batting, often in several layers, and is often much thicker and larger than Japanese futons, resembling a traditional mattress in size. Western-style futons are an alternative to a bed or other furniture, and are often sold in sets that include the mattress and frame.
Futons normally feature a removable and replaceable cover in a variety of colours to match evolving modern decorating tastes. Western futon mattress fillings vary from the economical offcut pieces of foam to the higher quality eco-friendly natural fillings of felt and wool. End of Year Clearance Sale! Introducing the Hidden Bed, Made in Oregon! Buy One Latex Cloud Pillow Get One Free! July 22-24 Bed Sale! Telephone Outage on 7.12.16 Memorial Day Weekend Sale!April 22 - 24th Why Buy a Natural or Organic Mattress? Why shop at Cotton Cloud Natural Beds and Furniture? We believe that there are many great things that set us apart from others and we are committed to offering natural, sustainable and organic mattresses and furniture to the Portland communityBelow are just a few of the reasons why you'll love shopping with us! All Natural Latex Mattress and Spring Sale! About Our Pacific Northwest Wool manufacturing facility in NW Portland, Natural Felt, processes wool
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Futons and sofa beds sacrifice comfort so they can be multi-functional. The good news is there are ways you can make enhance your sofa bed and make your futon as comfortable the bed in your master bedroom. I just bought a small sleeper couch — one that converts easily into a full-sized bed. A rather stiff and uncomfortable bed at that, but that was to be expected. I knew that the make-shift bed would suit friends that were crashing or visiting for a day or two, but I knew that it wouldn’t be comfortable for longer stays. Especially if my mom and grandma came to visit me. So I started doing some research how I could augment the bed so that it was just as comfortable as a mattress. Pillows, sheets and a down comforter were no-brainers, but even with the most comfortable pillows, warmest down comforter, and sheets with the highest-thread counts can’t make up for a stiff bed. Some suggested placing an air mattress on top of the bed — kind of like a mattress pad.
That was out of the question: not only do I find air mattresses uncomfortable, but they require too much work before and after. Even so, adding something on top of the sleeper was a sound idea. I obviously couldn’t just place a regular mattress, so I went looking for comfortable padding that didn’t require too much effort and was easy to store it away when I wasn’t using it. Just Add Padding: Memory Foam and Mattress Pad After comparing several different mattress pads and bed toppers, I ultimately invested two hundred bucks on a memory foam mattress pad from Memory Foam Solutions ($115) and an extra plush fitted mattress topper ($100) by Exceptional Sheets. I placed the memory foam mattress on top of the sofa bed and secured it with the mattress topper. The combination of both the memory foam and mattress pad completely transformed the sofa bed; as soon as I laid down into the bed, I sunk into the 3-inch deep memory foam all the while being hugged by the pockets of down alternative from the mattress topper.