Ottoman: features and varieties

Nowadays, a variety of furniture allows you to achieve a successful combination of style and comfort. This is especially true of the bedroom or living room, where the central role is played by a bed or a sofa for relaxing. At the same time, it is precisely the sofas that enjoy unchanged popularity due to the large choice of forms and models. On the other hand, simplicity, brevity, minimalism and practicality in the design of the room still have not lost their relevance. In this case, bulky sofas are not at all suitable for a simple day rest or get-togethers in the living room, so the ottoman forgotten by many comes to the rescue.

It may seem strange to some people to argue that an ottoman is a long-forgotten household item. After all, the definition itself "couch" it is very often used by us, but in most cases they can call it a small sofa or even a bed, without having the slightest idea what the real ottoman really is.

The fact is that this uncomplicated piece of furniture is really imperceptible for everyone to disappear from the apartments, giving way to all sorts of modern furniture. But the ottoman represents almost a whole cultural heritage, as it was known several centuries ago and came to us from the regions of Asia. Years ago, the ottoman was in almost every home, and at one time was considered a symbol of wealth, luxury and well-being.

Traditional ottoman looks very laconic and unpretentious. It is a low furniture without any supports or armrests, as a rule, with one back and a small berth, designed for one person. Of course, such an interior object does not have a special functionality, again, compared to sofas. However, in a modern apartment, an ottoman can still be a reasonable solution to the issue of the situation due to its compactness and ergonomics.

Surely many of us were wondering how to better equip a small cozy corner for a day out. Especially this problem is relevant for owners of private country houses or villas.It is often necessary to choose between a simple round table with chairs that have long become boring to everyone or a bulky and ridiculous sofa. In this case, an ottoman becomes the best choice for a veranda or porch, especially considering how far forward all sorts of design solutions have been.

The first thing that most buyers are interested in choosing the right furniture is the fundamental difference between an ottoman and a classic sofa. Indeed, in some cases, to find serious differences, in addition to size and the presence of armrests at first glance, it is quite difficult. But you should immediately pay attention to the following points:

• For sofas characterized by a greater variety of species.. This is due to the fact that this type of furniture has a pronounced ergonomics and, as a consequence, the possibilities of mechanical transformation.For an ottoman, simplicity and strength are more characteristic, since it is a peculiar hybrid of a sofa and a sleeping bed;
• Sofa makers also love to experiment. with all kinds of fillers and removable pillows at the base. Ottoman in this regard is more like a standard bed;
• Many of us know bedroom furniture.in which boxes for storage of bed linen are provided. Such models of sofas became especially popular. But when choosing an ottoman, you rarely find such an innovation, since this compact furniture is still more suitable for a living room or a veranda;
• Also standard eurowalk does not have complex folding mechanisms. On the one hand, this may seem to be a serious disadvantage, however, the furniture itself is compact and does not need additional possibilities for its assembly or disassembly;
• No intricate shapes. At the base of such furniture, as a rule, there is a standard couch, which is very convenient to put to the corner or near the wall, depending on the type of backrest.

Do not assume that the modern versions of the ottoman can not offer anything new compared to its predecessor:

• Available may be one of the most simple and successful mechanisms for the transformation into a berth. In this case, the furniture is made more like a sofa;
• Professional spring blocks are usually used as a filler. Ideally, each spring is in a separate unit, thereby achieving a uniform distribution of body weight. Of course, you can find cheaper furniture options that use primitive synthetic soft filler, but this couch will very quickly lose its elasticity;
• Ottoman allows you to use different covers and cape.and, which gives it a noticeable advantage over the same sofas or sofa, because it is much easier to remove and wash the covers than to do a full dry cleaning of all furniture.In addition, the ability to change the cape reveals a variety in terms of design;
• Minimalism in this case may have its advantage. Many modern models look very elegant, thanks to which they regain their fashion. For example, in recent years, many Parisian residential designers have used an ottoman in their projects. They argue that well-chosen couch of this type can easily emphasize the subtlety of style, which cannot be achieved from sofas.

It would be foolish to believe that for so many years of its existence, the ottoman would not be changed. To date, attempts have been made to add a little more ergonomics to this simple element of the interior. The choice, of course, fell on all sorts of transformation mechanisms. As in the case of sofas, the ottoman-transformer has the property to increase the sleeping space, which is very convenient only when you need to receive guests. If the furniture is located on the veranda or in the living room and is used only for sitting and daytime rest, then there is not much sense in such functionality.

Nevertheless, today, two of the most successful mechanisms that do not spoil the stability and quality of the ottoman are popular:

• Retractable couch It became the most simple and understandable solution to the problem. With this mechanism, the main berth is simply pulled out somewhat forward, and the back, the back of which is as soft as the couch itself, goes down onto the empty part of the frame. As a result, you get almost a complete analogue of one and a half or double sofa;
• The Eurobook has a slightly more complicated mechanism.. An increase in the sleeping area is also achieved due to the horizontal arrangement of the back, but in this case the main couch is raised to activate the mechanism and only partially shifted to create additional space.

There are other more interesting transformation options. For example, there are models that are as close as possible to sofas, in which the spare berth is located inside in the form of a lower unit that can be pulled out and raised. It should be remembered that any such functionality has its drawbacks.The fact is that many mechanisms, for example, by the type of eurobook, in fact prove to be very unstable and can quickly break down, which takes your ottoman out of service.

It should also be noted the variety of types of this furniture, which appeared relatively recently, when the couch again began to gain popularity among designers. Some solutions may seem completely unsuccessful, however they have a place to be, and, therefore, there is a demand for them:

• With a back in the form of a corner. This model is a canonical solution for any ottoman, since it allows you to arrange it very well in any room and thereby save a lot of free space;
• Three-back couch may seem like a really weird designer decision. But this is only at first glance. The fact is that in most cases the dimensions of such a model make it easy and convenient to take a nap on it. But the quaint appearance makes this couch an ideal choice for narrow rooms with niches;
• One of the most popular options is an orthopedic ottoman. It is best suited for daytime sleep and rest, as it can have a special curved sleeping plane that follows the curves of the normal spine and neck.Of course, the filler in this case is also chosen appropriate, so that the elasticity is not lost over time;
• Also separately worth noting furniture with independent spring block. Such a solution is most successful if we speak directly about the comfort of your ottoman. Each spring is a separate “capsule”, so the distribution of body weight occurs very evenly and smoothly. Very often, independent blocks are replaceable, so that you will always have the opportunity to purchase an orthopedic mattress for replacement;
• An ottoman with armrests is the most controversial option. The fact is that their absence is a distinctive feature of this type of furniture, and with armrests the ottoman turns into a very unique hybrid of a sofa and a sofa. On the other hand, such a purchase can be a very good solution for relaxing on the veranda or porch.

It is considered that any ottoman is compact. At least, this is the standard adopted for this type of furniture, which is its hallmark. However, today there is a fairly large selection in size, up to the order in certain sizes, suitable for your bedroom.Sizes like “mini” - this is just a standard ottoman, which corresponds to proportions that are more common in Asia. It is quite narrow and its width can not exceed 120 cm. Most often, it is these models that have armrests and corner backs. At the same time, such an ottoman in the unfolded version is almost a full-fledged single or one and a half-sleeping bed with dimensions 90x200.

A one-and-a-half or double ottoman, if you are interested in it as an additional place to sleep, may have a width of 140 to 180 cm, which is quite enough. Most often there are models with parameters 120x200 cm., 140x200 or 180x200 cm. It is worth noting that most manufacturers specify parameters separately for the ottoman and for sleeping places. This is convenient, since very often such furniture is purchased to save space.

It is not so easy to choose the right color of furniture for the living room, bedroom or veranda. In this case, the ottoman is still very similar to the sofa, since it must first of all harmoniously fit into the overall interior. However, the brevity and compactness of furniture make it not the most noticeable, so it often happens that the choice of a particular model is based only on the dimensions.As a rule, it is enough to choose an ottoman so that its upholstery, whether it is too colorful or monophonic, harmonizes with the color of the walls in the room. If you want to achieve the greatest success in independent design, then pay attention to the following tips on choosing the color of upholstered furniture:

• Corner office furniture or the living room in the style of constructivism, techno, may have a pronounced blue or carmine-red color. But in the classics or baroque it is better to refuse such decisions;
• Very often, an ottoman is chosen to emphasize minimalism. or in the case of the Gothic style. Then simple gray or black furniture will be an excellent choice;
• White, brown, golden, saturated blue - all these are basic colors for those who love sophistication and prefer rococo, baroque, renaissance styles;
• For modern style is better just pick up an ottoman lighter tones, for example, beige;
• In the event that you furnish the living room According to the principles of hi-tech, white or any bright acid color is best suited.

Like most modern furniture, an ottoman can be made of various materials, the choice of which sometimes plays an important role. Very often you can find combined solutions, for example, the main frame of wood and the internal sliding mechanism of metal.

• The wooden couch is considered the most classic option.m. Usually this option is used in the case when it comes to an ottoman with a sliding or folding mechanism. In this case, the soft part is simply located in a simple wooden frame. Quite often used pine, oak, cedar, walnut. Depending on the type of wood, the cost of the furniture may vary;
• The ottoman can also be made of solid wood. The solid base ensures maximum stability and quality of the furniture. This option, as a rule, has small dimensions and is devoid of any mechanical addition;
• Metal couch is not as common. Nevertheless, it can be a great and more affordable alternative to solid wood furniture. Again, high-quality metal allows you to achieve better stability, besides the possibility of combining an ottoman with a folding mechanism. Especially well suited in the case if you are looking for an inexpensive but reliable extra bed in the living room.

Most furniture of this type is quite simple. As a rule, they consist of a main body and a back fastened to it, without which the ottoman turns into a standard low couch, in which the soft part is removable. Exceptions are models that are made from a solid solid wood, so only the soft part can be detached from them. Also, certain problems can arise with an ottoman, which is equipped with a retractable or even more complicated folding mechanism. In order to disassemble the ottoman, it suffices to find the element that secures the backrest, if any. If you have furniture of the “Eurobook” type, then you can detach only the armrests, if they are available for this model and the withdrawable mechanism itself. The back and the seat with this type of transformation are always interconnected.

Ottoman - a compact and versatile part of the interior, given the fact that it can serve as an extra bed. Most often, such furniture can be arranged as follows:

• In a country house, the best place for an ottoman is a veranda or porch.. There it will serve as an excellent place for a day rest or sleep, moreover, due to its simplicity, such a “bedside” will not stand out, unlike the same sofa;
• If you live in an apartment in a high-rise building, a balcony will be a great place for an ottoman. You can comfortably sit and relax on a warm summer evening;
• As a rule, it is also placed in the living room. At least, it was for large rooms and living rooms that the ottoman was conceived, as it fits easily into any interior, saves space and does not attract too much attention;
• In the end, you can arrange a new “bed” in the bedroom.. For this purpose, any angular model with three backs will suit;
• Also an ottoman with armrests can fill an empty niche in a narrow room, since such furniture usually does not differ excessive depth.

If you decide to purchase a high-quality ottoman and do not want to spend money in vain, then consider these tips before final purchase:

• Immediately calculate the required dimensions of the furniture and choose the model which best suits them.Also note that many professional shops are ready to carry out an ottoman to order according to the measures you specified;
• Accurately determine the desired style and color. For a children's bedroom, any teenage furniture with variegated motifs on the back and seat can fit, and in the living room it is better to choose something for the overall design or color of the walls. Do not forget that it is best to buy an ottoman, which provides replacement covers. So in the future it will be much easier to update the interior and monitor the cleanliness;
• If you buy an ottoman as an extra bedit is better to immediately look at the options with pillows for the overall style of the furniture;
• Do not forget about the materials! Not all metal structures are as reliable as wood;
• Decide on a folding mechanism if you purchase a transforming model. Be sure to consider the location of the ottoman in your house and consider whether all the facilities are provided for folding it into a double or one and a half-sleeping place;
• Do not forget about brands and quality marks. Today, ottomans from such brands as "Ikea", "Soleiman", "Frogi", "Soft", "Julia Lux", "Freya", "Elegy".

In the next video - an overview of the ottoman.