Black Metal Futon Frames – Giving Futons a Bad Name
Having worked in furniture for many years, I have always firmly believed that you get what you pay for or that the value of what you are buying is in direct relation to the quality of the product and the price that is assigned to those goods or services. . I also believe that some products are capable of giving an entire line of furniture a bad name for their lack of specific quality and unfairly because one type of product does not represent the qualities of an entire line of furniture. You can’t say a better example of this than what black metal futons have done to the futon industry in the last 10 years. In this article, I will explain where I stand on the negatives that these metal frames provide and why it would be better for consumers and retailers to stay away from these frames that are giving the industry a bad rap.
Futons as a category were born almost 25 years ago in the form of wooden frames. These frames were simple and offered conversion from a sofa to a bed by the operation of the frame. Wood frame designs have come a long way over the years, eventually giving rise to wooden futon frames that look like conventional furniture. Many of these pieces of furniture borrowed real-world furniture construction techniques in the form of tenon construction, French dovetail joints, and steel-on-steel hardware connections offering greater quality and flexibility in design and quality. The workmanship of these frames can be easily seen in the higher end models offered today and justifies the retail price you see for these pieces as being the highest quality available in this category of furniture.
However, the problems that exist in the futon industry are the result of specific manufacturers wanting to take a low-end, low-price approach to making products that can be retailed in big box stores at the lowest possible price. Metal futon frames have long been a staple of being “the” mass commercial offering in futons as a category. Unfortunately, many consumers purchase these frames as an introduction to the futon furniture category and were quite disappointed in the quality and construction of these futons made to fetch a fair price. The problems with metal frames lie in several design issues.
Metal futons are constructed of hollow metal tubes. The arms are hollow and on these arms pockets are welded to attach the rails of the stretcher. Steel hinges are attached to the inside of the arms and the hollow metal seat and back frames are attached to the hinges with regular screws. The problems start in the seat section. The hollow tubes and spot welded bars that form the base of the seat section are prone to shedding from the seat section. Spot welding is not enough to prevent these bars from coming loose and is a result of the low cost approach to building these covers. Another problem that results from the hollow tube of the seat section is that it is prone to bending due to normal use. The hinges that are attached to the arms suffer the same fate as over time customers have brought them into stores displaying them crooked.
This is not just a problem with a particular manufacturer. We have seen this from 4 different metal futon manufacturers that offer these frames. There simply aren’t enough materials or build quality to justify these frames as a viable furnishing solution for consumers. It should also make people question buying one of these frames when they only have a 30-90 day warranty. Any manufacturer that guarantees a piece of furniture for this amount of time does not expect it to last long and neither do you as a consumer. 98% of our futon related service issues over a 10 year period were due to black metal frame failures. Often within the first year of ownership.
So why ask if futon retailers continue to display these on their showroom floors if they know they are a poor deal? An interesting question. Futon retailers are usually specialty stores that carry a dozen or more futons. Be it an online store a physical brick and mortar store. Most of the frames you’ll see are made of wood and are offered with various arm designs and typically a half-dozen or more mattress options. There are hundreds of upholstered and fabric covers to cover the mattresses of these structures. These retailers are serious about offering consumers everything available in the world of futons. Sometimes they take this literally. I would hope it was the same reason our store had them. We wanted to show everything available and we didn’t want mass merchants showing the product and a customer walking in wanting one and not being able to get it.
Our store stopped selling black metal frames a few years ago for many of the reasons listed above. We decided to move away from low-end products and focus on quality-tested, well-made high-end products. Many people stop by our furniture store and when offered a futon frame as a possible piece of furniture for their home, the customer tells them, “I bought one of those years ago at [insert mass merchant name here] and it was the most uncomfortable setting. It just didn’t last long.” The experience of owning a black metal frame has put off a large majority of consumers who would have found happiness and delight in owning solid wood frames that are built to last. It’s really a shame, as futons They offer great flexibility as they are both sofas and sleepers.
Have worked in retail and have worked in furniture stores transporting futons. I can honestly say that as a retailer it is very frustrating to learn that stores still carry low end black metal frames. My intentions in this article are not to be harsh, but I do hope that retailers realize that low-end products made to fetch a certain price point are not doing themselves or consumers a great service. Consumers deserve well-made, quality products at reasonable prices based on the materials and workmanship that went into that product. When this does not happen, expectations are not met. Disappointment and dissatisfaction soon follows and the consumer is left with a negative feeling towards the product. The intent of this article was to present the experiences I have had with this line of products, not only from retailing it, but from what customers have shared with me about these products. I strongly believe that both retailers and consumers should avoid black metal futons. If you’ve had a negative experience with these frames, I recommend that you don’t judge the entire futon industry by these particular products. If you are a consumer, I encourage you to shop at a futon retailer or futon specialty store and discover the “real” world of futons and what they have to offer for you and your home.
