<p>D and her roommate have been talking about the possibility of getting some extra lounging item for their room. They will probably both loft their beds. D seems to think a futon would be great - I’m not totally sold and quite honestly it seems like a large item to haul and if we have to buy new (don’t know of any used available) could be a bit pricey to get something that is worthwhile and likely to last a couple of years.</p>
<p>Any suggestions/alternatives? My D doesn’t seem to keen on the round cushy chairs - they have a name but I can’t remember. What is worthwhile, what should we consider, what is worthless?! </p>
<p>I had a futon as the couch in my living room at school. It worked out well in a living room type setting - especially since then we had an extra bed if any of us had a guest spend the night. I don’t know how well it would have fit in a dorm room though. They sell covers that you can put on them which to me is nice because you can make it match any room. Mine has a black and white checkered cover on it right now, however I also have a purple one and it’s natural color is tan.</p>
<p>I still have the futon, it’s in my basement waiting to be moved out. I probably will use it in my living room temporarily until I get new furniture… then it will go to some kind of side room/basement.</p>
<p>If you go the futon route, invest in a decent futon mattress. I don’t remember the exact thickness of mine but I remember it was over $100 just for the mattress. It was worth it because I still have it and it’s not squished down or anything like that. My little sister bought one with a crappy mattress that it came with and has since replaced it twice (most recently with a thicker mattress like I have) In other words, don’t buy the ones that are 80 bucks for the frame and mattress together. You get what you pay for.</p>
<p>I think those chairs are a great idea. I had a padded one in my living room and it’s nice because you can pick it up and move it wherever you want. I don’t know how often it re-located into my bedroom for studying, or relocated into the kitchen as an extra seat, etc. We had two butterfly chairs and one circle chair like that one above.</p>
<p>abasket, are you thinking of “mushroom” chairs? They’re basically folding chars with big, round, comfy covers, which come in different thicknesses and “squishinesses”, and can be switched out. I love them . I don’t remember mine being particularly expensive, and since they fold up, I think they’d be managable in a dorm room. Target has some cute ones.</p>
<p>My S had lofted beds in his dorm room. They had a futon under one bed and their TV/dvd player under the other on a rolling cart. They really liked the futon for extra sleeping space for visiting friends. They had a lot friends from nearby schools who came to visit. Also sometimes on-campus friends would sleep over if they had been over late watching movies/playing video games and just didn’t feel like walking all the way back across campus to their dorm late at night in the winter. The futon was great for weekend football game watching too.</p>
<p>S got food poisoning his freshman year and was really sick for a few days and running back and forth to the bathroom regularly. Crawling up to his lofted bed was not an option and he was glad to have the futon to crash on while sick. </p>
<p>Their first futon was the metal frame kind (a hand-me-down from roomies sis). Halfway through the years and lots of large size college boys later, it broke. They trashed it and bought a wooden frame one from Big Lots that was much sturdier.</p>
<p>They also had a couple of those cheap folding camp chairs that were easy to stick under the bed/futon if not needed. Not very decorative (army green) but boys don’t care!</p>
<p>Go for lightweight and portable since the item will need to be moved many times. Many futons are pretty heavy and bulky and not much fun to move.</p>
<p>Agree with the chair not the futon. She might want to wait and see how much space there actually is before getting either one. Seems like most schools have access to Target, etc. Even my son’s in Boston had some buses to Target days during freshman orientation.</p>
<p>No futon or cushy chair for my son. He just got a notice saying the residents are prohibited from bringing any personal furniture to campus, especially mattresses. School says it is to prevent a bedbug infestation. </p>
<p>I am going to tell her to wait a bit - her school is only 75 minutes from home and we can drive down there (a good excuse!) and take her and roommate who’s from farther away for a road trip to Target or something to look for the right thing. I figure once she gets there and sees other people’s space she may have a better eye for what she wants. </p>
<p>I think she feels like she wants everything “set” day 1 - it won’t hurt to wait a couple of weeks…</p>
<p>There is a futon armchair/bed at Ikea for about $119. It has a pine frame and a futon mattress that comes with two covers: navy blue and burgundy. Check it out.
<a href=“Products - IKEA”>Products - IKEA;
. I don’t remember mine being particularly expensive, and since they fold up, I think they’d be managable in a dorm room. Target has some cute ones.</p>