Majestic Sit & Sleep carries a number of beautifully-crafted bunk beds that offer a safe sleep for your children.

There are three main aspects of bunk bed safety for children that you need to consider:

1. Guardrail Spacing – One of the main common threats to a child’s safety is the guardrails on the bed. The reason is that if they are not installed properly there is plenty of opportunity for injury. For instance, if they are placed too low, there is a risk that a kid can roll right over and off the top bunk and fall to the floor when sleeping. Also, if the space between the rail and the bunk are too wide, it is possible that the head of the child can become lodged between them, which can, in very extreme cases, lead to suffocation. Thus, make sure there is a rail on all four sides of the bed and that the gap that exists between the bottom of the guard rail and bed frame is not more than 3.5 inches. Moreover, the bed rail should be a minimum of 5 inches higher than the surface of the mattress to prevent children from falling.
2. Support for Upper Bunk – If there isn’t enough support for the top bunk it can fall down and lead to injuries. Therefore, it is imperative that the supports that hold up the frame, mattress and the child are strong enough to do so. It helps to include cross ties underneath the mattress foundation for more security, as well as additional slats.
3. Size of Mattress – It is essential that the mattress you obtain for the beds are the correct size. A wrong sized mattress can lead to falls and increase the space between the frame and the safety rails. As a general rule of thumb, the mattress should fit tightly against all four sides of the bed frame.

A few other useful safety tips for bunk beds that you may want to consider include:

• Make sure the ladder is secured to the bunks and replace any broken rungs immediately.
• Bunk beds should be inspected on a regular basis to make sure they are sturdy and so any broken parts can be fixed.
• Children under the age of 6 should not sleep in the upper bunk or be up there unsupervised.
• Kids should be taught the importance of always using the ladder to get to the upper bunk and not use chair or other furniture.
• Provide children with a nightlight so they can see when they climb up and down during the night.

Finally, keep in mind, to avoid any of these unfortunate occurrences, make sure you obtain a product that passes the US Safety Inspection, as this will help to increase bunk bed safety for children and guarantee quality.

Futons are extremely versatile and comfortable, both for sleeping and entertaining, and help to make small spaces feel bigger.

1. Paint your room. It may seem simple, but the color of paint on the walls of your bedroom can make all the difference. You want something pleasing but not dull, but also, something you find soothing. Greens and blues are often good for a bedroom, but a good red color can promote romance. Add what you think works best but avoid anything too bright or busy (if you prefer wall paper).
2. Get new bed accessories. Once you have chosen a wall color, you want to pull your room together with new sheets, comforter and pillows. Don’t forget about new drapes as well. These do not have to be expensive, but they do have to match your new room. Get something to compliment your wall color. If you choose mustard yellow, for example, a light teal blue will go well with it. Get a new comforter, drapes, and throw pillows in complimentary colors and your room will look amazing.
3. Evaluate you wall hangings. If you have pictures of your family and friends in your bedroom, you could be ruining a good night of sleep. Anything hanging on the walls should be a décor item. Save the pictures for other rooms. When thinking about things to hang in your bedroom to spruce it up, choose a few larger pieces that you love and make you feel calm. Avoid large clusters of small items and busy prints for your walls.
4. Add space. While it might be impossible to add more room to your bedroom, you can make it feel bigger by choosing to have a white ceiling and white trim no matter what wall color you have chosen. This opens up the room and makes it seem bigger. You can also add mirrors around the room. They reflect light and make a room appear larger. Another great suggestion is to use a futon in your room that can double as sofa. Futons are extremely versatile and comfortable, both for sleeping and entertaining.
5. Get one new piece of bedroom furniture that you love. You don’t have to spend a lot, but go out and get one new piece of bedroom furniture to match with your new room. You can find a great end table or perhaps a new dresser that you love or perhaps a free standing, framed mirror. Something new can certainly add renewed excitement to a room that has seemed dull and lifeless thus far.

Futons are a perfect addition to a smaller living space because of their versatility to function both as a bed and a sofa or loveseat.

Space is something that is not always in abundance, especially when it comes to living quarters. A nice, breezy house is a luxury for some people, and for others it is just a way of life. If you are young and just starting out, chances are good that you do not have as much space as you hope to have one day. If you are in college, you probably will find you never feel as if you have enough living space. There are some great ways to save space, and buying a futon is one of the best.

A futon is a bed that converts easily into a sofa or loveseat. Because they are so versatile, you save space that would ordinarily be taken up by your bed and a sofa. Not only that, they can be taken apart and stored in a normal sized closet if you really have to open up some space and you don’t have any other options. The futon mattresses are thick enough to be comfortable, but can generally be folded in half so that they can stand upright behind a door if needed. For some people, space is that tight.

Space saver futons also come in handy when you have some space, but you have to have a bit more on special occasions. These types of futons can be opened and used for guests, and the pushed away for the rest of the time. If you only have guests once in a while, and you do not have a spare room to reserved for guests, or you just do not have them often enough to warrant a guest room, a futon is certainly a great option to be sure you are prepared when guests do arrive.

There are not only a number of space saving benefits of futons, but they save money too. You can buy a futon that is relatively comfortable for a few hundred dollars. You can buy some cheaper, but they won’t be quite as nice to sleep on. They may never rival a really nice mattress, but they can certainly do the job when needed. In fact, they can be much more comfortable than a sleeper pull-out sofa bed, which will cost quite a bit more and is always quite a bit heavier. When considering all options, the futon is a great way to go.

Buying a new, colorful futon cover is an excellent way to spruce up a dull room and add a splash of color.

Some people try to buy a futon to match the room in which they think they are going to place it. That is fine, but these colors can be very limited. You may end up with white, beige or black if you do that, as you think those are neutral colors and won’t hurt your current decor. Those colors can be neutral, but at times they can destroy an otherwise great room. If you want to easily spruce up the appearance of your room buy a futon cover in a color that adds to your space rather than takes away from it.

You can always start fresh and use the color of your new futon cover as the starting point to choosing colors for your room. You might want to start with a color wheel and choose one color that you love. To choose the other colors in the room, you can either go with the color opposite on the wheel, which would be a contrasting color, or the colors next to your chosen color, and those would be complimentary colors. You can also find a color on a paint strip and use all colors that come with it on the same strip. That often works well and is a fool proof way to choose something awesome.

If you do not want to start from scratch, but rather wish to add a splash of color to a room that seems too plain or boring, you can find a color in the room and go with that color. You can do this by looking at your art work. If you have anything you love, choose a color from within that art to choose your color. You can also use the above mentioned color wheel to choose the complimentary or contrasting colors for the colors that already exist in other furniture, the rug, or even your favorite drapes.

One of my favorite things about a futon is its versatility in both its function and design. I have a selection of futon covers, different in both colors and textures. This gives me the ability to change the look of my living room quickly whenever the desire is there. For example, last weekend I bought a new painting for my living room – a beautiful field scene with red poppies. Well, off came the old futon cover and on went my microfiber red futon cover that makes the color of the poppies in the painting jump right off the canvas. It looks stunning and has given my room a renewed look and feel, just in time for summer.

Originally from Japan, futons are thin mattresses and were typically designed to be spread on special kind of flooring common in Japan known as tatami. This flooring was in the form of mats that were made of rice straw. Tatami covered the floors of most of their houses. The actual word “futon” in Japanese means bedding, and included the futon mattresses and duvet coverings or comforters.

Futon Space Savers, such as this futon loveseat, make small spaces larger and more functional.

In Japanese the mattress like structure that is today referred to as futon is known as shikibuton while the duvet is known as kakebuton. Original Futons were slightly different in structure. They measured about two or three inches in thickness and were made of long staple cotton which happens to be the most valuable part of an unprocessed cotton ball. This long staple made the futon sturdy and prevented any bumps or pulling apart of the mattress. As a ritual, the Japanese took their futons to what was then known as a futon specialist who removed the outer covering, washes the cotton and returns the covering. The same was done for the beddings used to cover. This practice was carried out once every year.

A daily practice among the Japanese involves rolling out futons every night to sleep on and roll them up again in the morning. They are usually stored in closets during the day or put out to air in the sun. Apart from the fact that they were comfortable, Japanese people like the portability of the futon and this was due to space being very important and well regarded in ancient Japanese culture.

The Futon concept has been adapted in various cultures by becoming common bedding in many parts of the world. Unlike in traditional Japanese culture, other cultures use futons for various uses and not only for sleeping on. In America the futon began to gain its foothold in the late 1960’s and early seventies. What started with a few Japanese people introducing it to American friends turned into a flourishing industry. Futons started being hand made in America through cottage industries, which distributed them to different locations.

The concept started being slowly adopted by people outside the Japanese culture owing to its comfort and its ability to save space. As the industry grew, the popularity of the futon created the need for formal regulation. Federal standards began to be complied with in the mid seventies and required the manufactures to carry out similar standardizing texts as conventional mattress makers. The irony is that the western style futons are now just as popular in Japan as they are in other parts of the world. Modern futons are now mass produced all over the world in various shapes and styles.

Majestic Sit & Sleep is proud to provide the best quality organic and natural latex mattresses. Our new line of green living mattresses help to lower the CO2 levels in the air all while getting you the rest you deserve in a healthy and clean sleeping environment free of chemicals.

Small Space? We have the solution! Majestic Sit & Sleep carries a large selection of futons and space saver sofa beds. Whether it’s for you, the last minute guest, the sudden roommate or the inlaws, we have something that fits whatever your style and needs may be!

Visit Majestic Sit & Sleep with two convenient locations in Vancouver, British Columbia. View our full selection of mattresses, bedding and furniture online through our website www.majesticfuton.com.