On a futon

[JeffH]

My mechanism is just "dowels in a slot", as in the previous post. Works great. Pretty comfortable as a couch, too. I imagine that the comfort level is pretty dependent on the quality of the mattress, too. We built ours specifically so my in-laws could sleep over, and my father in law has a bad back, so we sprung for a nice, firm mattress. By itself, it was about $150.00.

[Tom Miller]

Our futon mattress is more like a real bed mattress (has internal springs). It's waaaaay more comfortable for sitting and sleeping than the standard futon mattresses, but it's slightly more difficult to fold up from bed to couch. I'd say the mattress is what makes or breaks a futon. All your futon frame has to do is hold the mattress in place.

Especially after modifying our (store-bought) futon frame to better hold the upgraded mattress, it was easy to tip when sitting on the edge. I plan to add a flip-down leg on the sides to fix this. 'Til then, an appropriately sized box (foot stool, waste basket, etc.) will do.

Regards,
Tom

[JeffH]

Forgot to mention...mine doesn't tip at all.

[drumpriest]

I did some shopping today and found what I think is a great matress. 9" with inner springs for 130$. Very comfy, definately a TON better than the cheaper matresses. It is harder to close (I tried it on a show frame), but the comfort difference is well worth it.

One of the show room pieces tipped, the other didn't.
I didn't pick up the matress, as this is their normal price, but thought it beared mentioning. Value City furniture