Ottoman: what is it and how to choose?

The main task of decorating your home has always been to create an atmosphere of beauty and comfort. Progress does not stand still, and every year more and more new design ideas or options for improving old ones appear. Currently, more and more manufacturers are mastering the manufacture of such an element of furniture as an ottoman bed. We will talk about what kind of furniture and what kind of furniture are in today's article.

An ottoman is a cross between a sofa and a bed, most often the back is not provided - instead, pillows are laid out in a row. You can find models with 2 armrests. It is covered with a carpet or any other material. An ottoman bed is such a double bed, in which there is one back across the head. Along the side, which is larger, is another back, pillows are leaning against it.

The described furniture was brought to Europe around the 18th century. It gained its universal recognition quite quickly. Initially, the ottomans had very large dimensions, but decreased over time.

Any furniture has its advantages and disadvantages, and the ottoman is no exception. Consider its most obvious advantages:

• today a wide variety of models will allow you to choose the design that fits perfectly into any interior;
• their use will significantly save space in the room;
• the described furniture is practical and comfortable;
• It has a low cost, which allows you to purchase it even with the most modest budget.

Now consider the negative features of this furniture:

• models with manual gear forced to experience some difficulties while lifting the mattress, especially hard if the product is made of solid wood;
• spring mechanisms quickly fail due to stretching of the spring;
• gas stops They serve much longer than springs, but the price is very high.

First, let's answer the question that has just arisen: “What is a sofa”? This is a rather complicated variety of upholstered furniture. Its feature is the location of the back and armrests at the same height. At first glance, it is not much different from an ordinary low sofa. At the same time, the ottoman most often has no armrests at all.

The first thing a potential buyer pays attention to when choosing upholstered furniture is the external difference between an ottoman and a regular sofa and sofa. At a glance, Ingoda is quite difficult to find differences in these furniture models.

There are several points to consider first.

• Sofas are characterized by a wide variety of designs and types. This is due to the fact that this type of upholstered furniture has a more pronounced ergonomics and sometimes the ability to transform. The ottoman is notable for its simplicity and durability, since it is made in the form of something between a bed and a sofa.
• Sof manufacturers Experiment with filler and interchangeable cushions for the base. At the ottoman everything is done like a regular bed.
• Residents of small apartments really need boxes for sleeping accessories in the base of sofas. Such constructive solutions are typical for ordinary sofas, but not in ottomans, since this furniture implies a location in the living room, hallway or on the veranda.
• An ordinary eurotour is not equipped with a complex folding mechanism. This can be taken as a significant drawback, although the described furniture itself is miniature and does not require additional transforming elements.
• The ottoman does not have a lot of unusual forms. The basis of such furniture is an ordinary couch, which is well located in the corner of the room or along the wall. The location depends on the type of back.

But do not think that modern ottomans do not have new improvements in their designs.

• Sometimes you can still find a similar type of furniture with the ability to turn into a place to sleep, but in this case the ottoman becomes very similar to a classic sofa.
• As filling material spring blocks. The best way to execute a spring block is when each spring is enclosed in a separate block. Due to this, an equal distribution of weight over the surface is carried out. There are also cheaper models of furniture that use inexpensive synthetic fillers, only this material quickly loses its elasticity.
• Ottoman implies the presence of some kind of cover or cape. This gives her an additional positive quality compared to a sofa, since it is much easier to remove and wash the wrap than to dry clean the upholstery. Changing the capes allows the designer to show their abilities.
• In this situation, minimalism can play a key role.. Many modern models have an elegant design, so they gradually become fashionable. Over the past few years, Parisian room designers have used the ottoman for their own purposes.

The described furniture has a large number of models that appeared recently, namely, at a time when such designs again became fashionable for designers. Some of the examples may look ridiculous and completely unsuccessful, but still they also have a right to exist, and perhaps consumers like them.

Consider the most popular types of ottomans.

• With a corner back. This model is considered the best option for all rooms. This shape of the back allows you to place it anywhere in the room.

• With three backs. At first glance, such a decision seems unusual and strange. Most often, the dimensions of such a product allow you to nap comfortably on it, while the unusual "appearance" makes it an excellent option for a narrow room.

• One of the most popular types is considered orthopedic. This is a very good option for day or evening rest, therefore it has a specially curved sleeping place that repeats the correct shape of the spine. Such products should have a high-quality filler that will not lose their shape and elasticity over time.

• Models with an independent spring unit. The independent spring unit in the design of such furniture deserves special attention. This solution may be the most successful when choosing a comfortable ottoman. Each spring has its own separate shell, because of this, the weight is distributed smoothly and equally. Independent blocks are often removable, so if necessary, the spring block can be replaced with a regular orthopedic mattress.

• Ottoman with armrest. This option is controversial, since the absence of armrests is the main distinguishing feature of this type of furniture. Its presence makes it a cross between a sofa and a sofa. However, for the veranda or balcony, such an ottoman can be purchased to relax and rest if necessary.

This type of upholstered furniture is suitable for placement in the bedroom as well as in the guest room. In the daytime, you can just relax on it and watch TV, and in the evening - use it as a full bed. This model has a soft headboard and armrest.

In such models there are no mechanisms that tend to break. The roller system allows you to move the ottoman to any desired location if necessary. It unfolds quite easily. To do this, you need to extend the seat onto yourself and lower the backrest to the vacant seat. This option can be a good addition to the interior of a small apartment, when the presence of an extra bed may be necessary, but there is not much free space for it.

Transformer ottoman is another good option for small-sized apartments. To date, there are several varieties of this model, each of which has its positive and negative sides. But all of them are called upon to fulfill one main condition, namely, save space in the room.

This model is equipped with a fixed mattress. At the same time it has a high level of practicality and ease of use. Such a product can be placed not only in the bedroom or living room, but also in large kitchens. Most of these samples are for 1 person only.

Such models can be transformed from a single model to a double by rolling out an additional section. This option is suitable for those who often have guests stay overnight or relatives come.

Over such a long history, the ottoman has undergone a number of changes and improvements. At the moment, new ways are being invented to betray this element of interior additional ergonomics.They are trying to realize this by introducing new transformation mechanisms.

Transformer couch can increase the number of beds to accommodate late guests. If the described furniture is located on the veranda or in the gazebo, then there is no sense in additional folding.

Of all the available types of folding the ottomans, only 2 are popular. They practically do not change the stability and quality of furniture.

• Roll-out. The mechanism is very easy to use and understandable. When unfolding this system, the berth simply pushes forward. Next, the soft back should be lowered to the vacant seat. As a result, you can get a full one and a half place to sleep. This layout option is very similar to a sofa-eurobook.

• Eurobook with a more complex folding mechanism. To increase the sleeping bed, you will need to position the back horizontally. In this case, the main part of the couch begins to rise for the subsequent activation of the main mechanism and only moves forward a bit to get a berth.

On sale you can find more unusual and interesting options. You can find an ottoman model, as similar to a sofa. In this case, the retractable mechanism will be pulled out from under the seat.

However, such systems, although they look unusual and interesting, can still have a very significant drawback that will immediately erase their functionality and originality of execution, namely, instability of the structure. This can lead to a quick failure of the mechanism and damage to the appearance of all furniture.

Just like the main part of the furniture currently being manufactured, various materials are used for upholstery and frame fabrication, the correct choice of which is very important. Often meet combined solutions, and this may apply not only to the upholstery. Consider some of the most popular materials that are used to make ottomans. The described furniture can be made of solid wood. The whole base provides maximum strength, stability and product quality. Such a model is characterized by small dimensions and does not have additional mechanical parts.

A couch made of wood is considered a classic. Most often, this method of product execution is used if the design includes a folding or extension mechanism. In this case, the soft part is in the wooden frame. As a rule, such tree species as oak, pine, cedar, walnut are used. The final cost of the product depends on the choice of a specific option.

A couch made of metal is quite rare. This option can be a budget and durable replacement of solid wood furniture. Metal allows for greater structural stability. At the same time, it remains possible to equip the ottoman with various folding mechanisms. This embodiment of furniture is well suited as another sleeping place, which can be placed in the living room.

It is believed that the ottoman is a very compact product. However, today you can buy a model of almost any size, and if the desired option was not found, then it can be custom made. A mini-ottoman is exactly the small model that is familiar to Asian countries. The average dimensions of the "eastern" ottoman are 80x190 cm. At the same time, it is rather narrow, and its width does not exceed 120 cm. It is these models that are equipped with armrests and corner backs. In a fully unfolded form, such a berth does not exceed the size of one and a half or single bed (90x200 cm).

If there is a need for an additional place for sleeping, then you can look at the wider version of this furniture, which has a width of 140 or 180 cm.These parameters will be quite enough for a comfortable accommodation of 2 people. The most popular sizes of such berths will be 120x200 cm, 140x200 cm and 180x200 cm.

When choosing a suitable ottoman, one should take into account its stylistic orientation. Such furniture should harmoniously fit into the existing environment. It is necessary to follow the combination of styles.

• Classic. Classic-style furniture should be made of natural and expensive materials. There should be nothing catchy and fanciful. The best choice would be light, neutral tones. The presence of various wooden elements with carvings is allowed, but in small quantities.

• High tech. This is a modern style for which plain, discreet-looking versions of upholstered furniture with leather, leatherette or any other practical material upholstery are well suited. It is allowed to use metal in a small amount and some functional additions.

• Minimalism. A modern design in which all objects are made as simple, strict and monotonous as possible. As a rule, no additional decorative elements are applied. The room is filled to a minimum with the most useful and important things.

• Modern. An ottoman made in this style will look great with quality leather trim and rounded shapes. Allowed to use 2 or 3 different colors, but subject to their "overlap."

• Baroque. This style is intended to showcase luxury and wealth. It uses expensive and rare materials. In such an environment, it is advisable to find extremely expensive, high-quality and beautifully looking furniture.

• Provence. This is the style of the French province, cozy and welcoming. In such an environment, high upholstered furniture with light upholstery is used, which is decorated with stripes, flowers and any other pretty designs. It is desirable that the furniture used be made from natural, environmentally friendly materials.

• Ottoman "Rubin 1". This is the most popular model among all other designs from the Belarusian manufacturer Pinskdrev. The product has dimensions 190x90 cm and is equipped with a folding Eurobook mechanism. The structure is made of solid wood using chipboard and chipboard. The Bonnel spring block was used as filler, the upholstery material was velor fabric, flock and jacquard.

• Ottoman bed from the producer "Milena" can become the main decoration of the bedroom. The whole structure is made of solid wood of high quality. The headboard is straight and decorated with a laconic pattern. The bed is protected from moisture and mechanical damage by a special Italian-made varnish.

• Ottoman Bed Siesta in a modern design from the manufacturer "Ormatek" fits perfectly into the living room of a small apartment. This model is equipped with a soft back, which will provide additional comfort during sleep and rest. A good addition to this model is the lifting mechanism, which gives unhindered access to the laundry drawer.

If you want to buy such furniture for yourself and at the same time not make a mistake with the choice, then these tips will help you:

• measure the place where you plan to install the ottoman, and choose a model based on the dimensions obtained;
• determine in advance the style and color of the product;
• if you get an ottoman as an extra bed, it is advisable that the pillows fit the interior of the room;
• decide on the desired folding mechanism and choose just such a model;
• Do not forget about the quality certificates for the goods.

• The ottoman made in 2 colors goes well with a beige wall and dark curtains. The whole room is made in soothing colors, and the upholstered furniture, which is ideally suited for colors, gives a feeling of cosiness and warmth.

• The ottoman with soft side sections, made in purple, is located almost in a white room. Attention is focused on her and on the silver carpet with a high pile. This combination looks very impressive, but with purple and purple you need to be very careful.

See how to make an ottoman bed with your own hands in the next video.