Futon Frames

The traditional Futon - a cotton mattress on top of rice pallet laid out at night for sleeping- is long gone. Now when we talk about Futon it means a small frame raised from the ground with a mattress on it. Untill recently in the western countries a Futon has been considered an comfortable, ugly, cheap type of furniture. Now you can have a wide selection of quality and style to fit your budget. Futons are available in metal, metal and wood, and all wood. Futons can also be divided by the type of construction used when assembling the different parts. Each Futon is unique and different.

Metal Futons are mass produced and so fairly inexpensive. They have a limited design style and color. They come in some modern arm designs that can be complimentary to a contemporary decor. Metal Frames work on spring hinge mechanism that will let the Futon change positions from the front of the Futon. Metal Frames have metal arms and decks. The decks meaning back rest and seat section are made of round metal bars, this can be a disadvantage to metal futons. If you do not use a good quality mattress with the metal Futon it can be very uncomfortable as you will feel the metal bars from the under.

The second type of Futon Frames available are a combination of the metal frame and wood arm rests. This type of Futon looks like an all wood Futon but has the round metal bars on its deck, meaning the back rest and the seat section. Due to the wood arms these Futons are more expensive than the all metal Futons. They may have a better appealing look but are just as uncomfortable as all Metal Futons. For the quality and comfort you would get from these Futons is best to avoid these frames. One of the better quality metal and wood Futons is made by Night and Day Futons in their Currency Collection.

The all wood Futon frame are the most polpular Futons on the markert.These wood Futons can be further divided into soft and hard wood. The soft wood utons are generaly made of Pine or Aspen wood. These soft wood Futons are lower priced since you can buy them unfinished or unstained. Each of these Futons is unique depending on the knots and variations of the wood used. Some disadvantages of the soft wood are that they can get dented easily in everyday used as the wood is soft. Also due to the sofness of the wood you will not find a lot of intricate desing pattern.

The hard wood Futons are slightly higher price than the metal or soft wood Futons but worth their price. The most common woods used for this type of Futon are Oak, Maple and Ash. With good finish these Futons are more durable in everyday. The hard wood Futons will allow for more ornate detail work on its arm rests.

The Wood Futons are avaiable in a variety of finished colors and style. These are the best quality Futons you can invest and which will last you for generations to come.

You will find an extensive collection of solid wood Futons in the Premium, Standard, Rattan, Seasons Scooter Collections at bedsfortoday.com each with a unique feature.

All metal futon frames are mainly metal tubes welded together but six parts are combined to make a Wooden Futon Frame : Two arms, two rails, a seat, and a back. Manufacturers use the same methods for the stretcher rails. To connect the arms to the rails, barrel nuts and steel screws are used. In the arms, there are two series of grooves on the inside, which connect to the back section. Rollers on the back section move in these grooves. These are the features that all wooden futons frames have in common. From here each maufacturer has a different style of finishing the futon. To attach the outer pieces some manufacturers use staple guns, especially for soft wood. Another method common in most imported Futons is to dowel and then glue the slats. The best mothod is to dovetail joint slat sections into the seat and back of the frame. Not many manufacturers use this method due to increase labor costs. This type of construction makes the Futon more durable to everyday stress and more like a regular piece of furniture. The type of construction will affect the price of a Futon.

Another way to divide Futons is by their frame design either bi-fold or tri-fold. The fold reffers to the number of section that support the futon mattress. In a Bi-fold the mattress rests on the back and the seat section or 2 sections that fold up to become a sofa. In the tri-fold the frame folds inot three sections to become a sofa and all three parts support the mattress. The trifold frames fit inot tighter spaces much better. Both the bi-fold and tri-fold frames are available in Queen, Full and Twin sizes. The bi-fold is the most commonly found frame in the market. You will find more sizes in this typr of design like Chair and also Loveseat. The bi-fold frames look just like conventional sofa when in a sofa position and are available in almost the same dimensions.

Some more factors to consider about Futon frames :

• Most Futons now allow easy conversion from sofa to bed and back from the front, all in a few quick steps.
• Couple of other points to consider about the Futon frames is the servicing after you own that Futon and warranty on your Futon. The metal Futons have a higher level of failure rate compared to hard wood Futons. The hard wood Futons do not need any real servicing. Night and Day Futons carry a whiloe line of the metal and wood, hard wood Futons. All of their Futons come with clear, completely illustrated assembly instructions. They also have a handy pouch that sticks on the inside rail to keep the allen key needed for tightening and the assembly instructions.
• Another factor to consider is the warranty. Many manufacturers will put a limited warranty on their Futons to stress the point that their Futons are realy worth the price.