In Japan there were so many beautiful sofa beds for so cheap. In fact my bed for the year was a sofa bed because I hated sleeping on the floor on a futon.
This sofa bed was only $100. Western beds were too expensive so me and Henry had to sleep on this single sofa bed for the year. I didn't mind too much.
My house was very old and traditional with rice paper sliding doors and tatami mat floors.
Futons in Japan are NOT like futons in the west at all! Here in Australia you have a wooden slat base and then a thick "futon" mattress on top and they come in singles, doubles and queens...well in Japan it is a thin mattress that goes directly on the floor on your tatami mat and they only come in singles! You can pile up a few futons to get your personal desired thickness, but I tried having 4 on top of each other and by morning I would only have 2 because the others had moved far away from me.
Japanese Futons set up for a couple. Does that look comfy? NO way!
The stacking of futons for personal comfort
Western style futon bed. I had one of these in my student years, and it was super comfy!
The first time I saw real Japanese futons I was really shocked. It was when we stayed at a traditional ryokan (like a bed and breakfast) the first time we went to Japan in 2005 for a holiday. I was expecting the futon to be similar to the ones back home...Well obviously they weren't. Then when I moved to Japan in 2006 and first lived in Nova accommodation (the company I worked for, which is now bankrupt) they gave me a free futon. I slept on it for the month I lived in their accommodation, but I was never comfortable and I dreamed of owning a bed. So as soon as I moved out of their apartment and into the guesthouse 4 minutes away from work I got the sofa bed. I had so many to choose from and all were so cheap. I wish I could send it over here to Australia because I cant find any like it at all. The ones here are all grey or brown and fold out into a huge double bed when all I want is a "click clack" style sofa bed for when I have my sister down from the country or guests from Japan (next year Hilary is coming and maybe an old student of mine) I don't want a sofa bed to take up the whole lounge room when it folds out.
Ebay find
This retro 1950's sofa bed was almost perfect, except it sold for $407.05 and the pick up was ages away. Also white would be too hard to keep clean, and I'm not sure if it would be comfortable to sit on, yet alone sleep on. I love that its a click clack style sofa bed though.
Ikea's offerings are all disgusting and Freedoms are all too brown.
Does anyone know where I can get a cool looking, comfy and cheap sofe bed in Australia? Otherwise I'm going to have to look into getting my sofa bed shipped over from Japan. (sorry Gabe, you might not have a bed to sleep on soon) *I gave my housemate the sofa bed when I moved out.
Ebay find
This retro 1950's sofa bed was almost perfect, except it sold for $407.05 and the pick up was ages away. Also white would be too hard to keep clean, and I'm not sure if it would be comfortable to sit on, yet alone sleep on. I love that its a click clack style sofa bed though.
Ikea's offerings are all disgusting and Freedoms are all too brown.
Does anyone know where I can get a cool looking, comfy and cheap sofe bed in Australia? Otherwise I'm going to have to look into getting my sofa bed shipped over from Japan. (sorry Gabe, you might not have a bed to sleep on soon) *I gave my housemate the sofa bed when I moved out.
aw i wish i could help you out, but uhm I live in belgium... ^^
ReplyDeleteHello Hayley - its nice to find someone so enthusiastic about japan as we are - you left a comment on my blog about my son - was that pic taken in Harajuku? - well i think you already know the answer - YES! What a wonderful place, I have travelled all over the world and I must say the people, the fashion and the lifestyle is soooo cool you just want to pack up and move our there don't you....I can't believe you recogonised it from just the pink background, but then if you have spent alot of time out there (lucky you!) then I can understand - well i could talk to you for ages about how fab Tokyo is - I think we will be friends for life! especially as my name is Hayley (alias Happy) too. Ill add you to my blog, I love interesting people....take care, Luv Happy xx
ReplyDeleteHayley, facing the same quandary.
ReplyDeleteThe best I've come across so far is the IQ-I and IQ-II Sofabeds sold by SEED furniture @ 357 Bridge Road, Richmond. Clean design lines, and most importantly, very comfortable. The downside to the IQ-I (which is an armchair that folds out into a generous single bed) is that the leg base is sharp and square, exactly matching the seat profile above, so that when one swivels, as one is wont to during moments of buttock-clenching exuberance, the edges show ....... needlessly posing the risk of injury, albeit minor.
The IQ-II (which is a matched set of the above, that opens into a king size bed and a variety of other almost 'too preciously clever' configurations) is too big for my purposes.
Both are very comfortable and have somehow managed to avoid the dreaded 'bar of death' where the clack clicks. Worth investigating? Yes!
The other contender which provides comfort + design grace is the Danish Actona sofabed sold by Plush Sofas - but it only comes in one colour - and the salespeople appear altogether too vapid.
In the absence of a suitable choice, I have chosen instead to donate my sofabed budget to idepfoundation.org and to sleep on the floor, on a Persian rug .. which I am finding immensely more satisfying than the prospect of having to sleep on a badly designed monstrosity.
Hope this helps in your search
peace
To choose the right sofa bed is not as easy as it sounds. You will learn here the different types of sofa beds and their comparisons for usage purpose, firmness and their origins.
ReplyDeleteDo you live in a small dorm or studio apartment? If you do, you are probably familiar with the difficulties of trying to combine style with functionality. This may be a particular problem when you want to add a little pizzazz to the central piece of furniture in your dorm, studio or efficiency apartment. click clack futons
ReplyDeleteThese sets are uber contemporary. Special mention goes to the Japanese futton. It is a timeless classic of the Orient.
ReplyDelete