The futon from heaven and the ladder that leads to it…

So the wool and cotton futon I ordered a little while back (from Small Wonders) is WONDERFUL. I was so excited when it came, that I couldn’t wait for help and hauled the thing down the driveway, through the 21 3/4″ door and up the loft by myself (probably a lot easier for the burlier-than-I folk out there). I’ve been sleeping on it every night in Little Yellow since the day of its arrival and it’s like being on a queen sized, non toxic cloud.

It did take about 2 hours to fall asleep the first night and I woke up every 30 minutes or so to marvel at that I was actually sleeping in my house, but I chilled out and it’s been perfect from that day. This may seem like a strange thing to be happy about, but this futon smells amazing. Sort of like…I don’t know. But really nice 🙂 My previous beef with futons was the weird foamy smell that’s usually present, so I’m very glad there’s nothing like this on mine. I guess it’s because of better ingredients.

It leaves me with about 10″ or so of storage space on each side and at 6″ thick, I think it’s the perfect loft size. It’s also got those got those sewn down pocket things to hold the fibres in place, more like a mattress than a futon, so it feels really normal to sleep on. I absolutely love it! Quite an exciting thing to go to sleep these days 😀

And I have a shiny new ladder to get up there now! A very generous carpenter in town, and an acquaintance of Flemming and my dad, gave up his time and trouble (and an 8′ white oak board) to make one that is so beautiful and well done it’s crazy. More on that later!

 

Of futons and good small companies…

Today, I ordered my futon! It recently occurred to me that I had best get something comfortable to sleep on if I am going to be living in Little Yellow, so I began to do some research on bedding options. My requirements were 1. something that wasn’t made with foam or unnatural materials, 2. something that wasn’t too thick so as to leave more head room in the loft, and 3. something that wasn’t hysterically expensive. 1 and 2 weren’t so terribly hard to come by, but 3 was difficult and the combination was almost impossible.

Almost, because then I found a company in Montana called Small Wonders Futons. They use only natural fibers (cotton and wool) that don’t offgas, and make each one by hand. Their founder studied traditional futon making in Japan, and they have continued to follow those high standards since starting in 1981.

What I like best about Small Wonders is that they are a small company with their priorities in order. The owners are nice, helpful, and actually answer the phone when you call. The wool they use comes from local sheep, the cotton is American grown, and they are a fine example of a company that still upholds quality over quantity.

Another great thing is that they are pretty darn affordable as bedding goes. Everything I came across with strictly natural materials seemed to be at least $1000 and was made and shipped from who knows where.

They do custom futons in addition to standard sizes, but my loft fits a queen perfectly so I’ll be getting an extra nice, double wool and cotton one that is 6″ thick for the extra headroom. Check out their website and have a read about what they stand for, because I think these guys are just wonderful. Can’t wait to receive it! http://www.smallwondersfutons.com/