Futon Sofa-Sleepers - Creating Space in a Small Room

Guest rooms and childrens' rooms can be a challenge to furnish, particularly when we need to maximize open space to give the room a larger feel or preserve room to play.

Futon furniture can offer big advantages in small guest rooms. Futon sofas perform double duty as sofas and beds for sleeping. Futons are much more comfortable than any hide-a-bed could ever be because the mattress doesn't have to compact down under the couch cushions.

Futons began as triple folded mats in a stack, and that's how many people still think of them. The futon industry has grown and changed, and today we're finding great looking sofa sleepers for all kinds of tight spaces. 

Futons today are attractive, multi-functional pieces of real furniture, suitable for any living room, bedroom, guest room, or kid's room. They actually create space by folding into a sturdy sofa by day and opening to a beautiful sleeper at night.

Some are designed for adults as attractive guestroom furniture. Other futon couches are designed for very small guest rooms where we don't always supply our most elegant and expensive furniture, but want something comfortable for overnight guests. 

Guest room futon sofas offer the distinct advantage of "showing" a guest room with a nice sofa and plenty of space to move around. Only at night does it need to expand to fill the remainder of a small room. In the morning, the bed folds up into a futon sofa or a comfortable lounger.

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ill other futon sofas have kids in mind! Kids' futons are smaller and more lightweight. Some kids' futons are entire foam couches and sleepers by night. Foam sofa sleepers come in wonderful bright solid colors or cheerful patterns with race cars, soccerballs, princess themes, camouflage, starry nights, or cuddly teddys for the littlest children. There are so many from which to choose! No little heads will suffer a bang from a sofa-bed made entirely of foam!

Children's futons also come in loungers close to the ground, if you have little ones who are likely to roll onto the floor. A 3- to 5-inch drop won't cause any problems as will a two-foot high bed. Parents of small children should check them out!

Kids' futons also come in bunk bed form, with a twin bunk on top and a double or twin futon bed below. House two kids in one room successfully, and enjoy a couch on which to read to youngsters at night. But when it's time to turn off the light, open out the sofa to a comfortable sleeper bed and tuck them in. Since they're already there in bed, it's less of a transition to bed for little ones.

For older teens and college students, wonderful lounger futons will fit below loft beds. College dorm rooms benefit from futon beds that tuck neatly into a tiny room but provide a couch and, when opened, a twin or full size bed.

All of these futon sofas will fit in a space where little other furniture will succeed. They are all available on web retail sites that sell futons. All of the futon sites seem to provide free shipping, so the price you see if the price you'll pay to get it all the way to your door. There may be some assembly involved, but you won't need to pay additional for delivery or rent a truck to get it home, then struggle up the stairs to position it where you want it.

Why squeeze a bed and chair or couch into a small room, when one piece of furniture will do it all and look great, too!

Mary Engle is a contributor and author for the website Futons and Beanbags