The Walden Effect: Farming, simple living, permaculture, and invention.

Planning the elevated sofa

Ancient futon

The final living-room zone slated for an upgrade this winter is our ancient futon. We got the furniture used over a decade ago, and the mattress did a good job for the first few years. By this point, though, no amount of flipping and thumping keeps the cloth from sagging. Meanwhile, the bars are very much evident underneath your bum.

I took a slumpfy before photo without tidying to show the things I'd usually hide. Odds and ends are stuffed underneath, coats have a tendency to get draped over the edge, and there's a cinderblock replacing the middle leg. Mark tells me we can do much better.

Cat planning

The idea is to create a raised day bed/sofa with space underneath for seed starting, coat hanging, and general storage. Trailer ceilings are low and Mark is tall, though, so the structure won't be very raised --- just 28.5 inches from floor to the beginning of the bed supports. Stay tuned for details as the project progresses...and Huckleberry's notes on whether a raised day bed is as acceptable as an ancient futon for cat napping.



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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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I had a sofa with "saggy" cushions that I was ready to trash. I ordered on line firm foam then used the same cushion covers. Out with the old... in with the new. With a firmer foam you will not feel that metallic frame.
Comment by Gerry Tue Dec 27 08:16:42 2016

Polymer foams generally last between 5 and 15 years. After a decade, it would be a good idea to replace it.

The same goes for things like a foam matrass.

Comment by Roland_Smith Tue Dec 27 15:19:56 2016
i cut a piece of plywood to fit between the bars and cushin on my futon
Comment by ralph Tue Dec 27 18:54:44 2016





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