Purchasing a futon cover is an easy task for many. Look over a couple of fabrics, point to one and say that’s it. For others it’s the difference between a room well laid out or a sheer chaos of colors if the shade isn’t quite right. Having sold futon furniture for over 15 years there are always things that seem to be certain truths when shopping for a futon cover.

Can there be too many choices? Believe it or not there are actually quite a few manufacturers making futon covers and some of these suppliers can offer up hundreds of different designs. Picking the futon cover I’ve found always seems to be more time consuming than selecting a new futon frame or mattress. For example if the customer is presented with built in wall shelving units that have ready-made futon covers on them. The choice of cover is often selected within ten to fifteen minutes. However, when presented with hundreds of swatches in fabric books customers often spend hours looking through them or make trips back to the store to try and decide on a cover. Are too many choices then a bad thing?

Let’s say you’ve owned your futon for about five years. Often times it’s not a case that your futon cover has worn out, has seams blowing out or any number of issues that could warrant a change in cover. What it comes down to is people have stared at that same pattern or color for many years and in all truth simply desire a change. In fact I had a couple one time tell me that they had owned a futon for ten years and that the covers were still in great shape. They simply became bored of the look and wanted something fresh. So it’s safe to say as a truth that most futon covers will hold up well over the years until we all become bored of looking at them. That’s kind of sad for the aging futon cover.

What should one look for in a futon cover? In all honesty that is really up to the individual. There are so many different textures, patterns and colors one could choose from. Personally I’ve always purchased machine washable covers. Why you ask? Well quite simply I myself can keep from spilling food and drinks on my futon, however I’m not so sure about my guests. It’s true, some of the company I run with can be slobs at times.

One time we were having a family get together at our home. There were so many kids running around it felt like our house had become one of those adolescent pizza party restaurants. The only thing we were missing was inflatable kiddie slides and skee-ball games. Maybe the aroma of sweaty white socks too. I digress though. One of the young children at our house had been running around with a bottle of red Kool-Aid their parents had brought along. Yes, you guessed it, ended up all over my futon sofa. The futon cover happened to be a spot clean only cover. The spill was more than a spot and ruined it. I ended up purchasing a new cover and machine washable was one of the selling points for me.

The nice thing about futons is if you ever have something happen to the cover or if you simply become bored of the look, you don’t have to buy a whole new sofa. Simply replace the futon cover with a new one and change your look in a snap. My advice to someone shopping for a new futon cover is simple. Have fun selecting the cover. It’s not a permanent decision in the direction of how your futon looks. Pick something you like now. In a few years look at it again with a lot of thought and see how it’s working out. If you want to try something new go for it. Remember, there’s always a chance a Kool-Aid filled bottle by a child could end up all over your futon sofa. I guess keep that in mind when you’re shopping for a new futon cover. Oh yeah, I always do.