apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I just Googled - and found several types here:
http://www.foamorder.com

FOAMORDER.COM
1325 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

I bought a tatami bed from Thousand Cranes 6-7 years ago -- it wasn't cheap and it took awhile for it to be delivered (they're made to order), but I love it. (I have a mattress, not a futon.)

I've seen a few listed on SF Craigslist lately.

We actually have the very bed in that picture. Ordered it online from haikudesigns.com about a year ago; haven't broken it yet!

~Q

I bought a different, non-tatami bed from Foam Order and they were great to work with. Prices are negotiable!

I'm curious about the appeal of these beds. I've lived in Japan for nearly 20 years and the exotic nature of tatami is easily overwhelmed by the presence of "dani bugs" (dust mites) which must be bombed with toxic chemicals regularly or their dung will cause respiratory problems.

Since most people aren't sleeping straight on the tatami itself, I can't see it as being favorable from a comfort point of view nor from an aesthetic one as the tatami will not be in view if it is covered with a futon or mattress.

I agree with Orchid! Even my husband's family in Japan switched to Western beds ages ago. Those bugs are really nasty.

I bought the same bed from a guy on craigslist a few months ago, he regularly sells them new for $350, a lot less than the stores. He is based in SF and you can easily pick them up. They are very solid and easy to assemble, as far as I know he doesn't have the tatami mats. My legs are a little higher than shown in the picture but I'm considering getting a friend to cut the legs shorter on his table saw, only thing is if I do that then the top of my mattress will be below my nightstands and it might look a little odd.

I just bought a queen sized tatami mat set & a full futon set from Matsu. I like them a lot. I have 2 futons, one is 100% cotton and the other is a cotton/wool blend. I really like that they're locally made out of natural materials. The people working at Matsu are really great. They were very knowledgeable about how the futons would wear over time and they helped me choose colors for the covers that I bought.

Matsu also sell bed frames, although I just have the set on the floor of my studio.

I bought this set because I live in a studio and the ability to fold up my bed and sit on it adds a ton of space to my apartment. The low profile of the bed also helps to add a feeling of space even when it isn't folded up. I just bought these things so I don't know anything about dust mites. I will say that I've known European style mattresses to get dust mite problems so it's not like tatami mats are special in that regard.

Thousand Cranes is also nice, although it's crowded in there all the time. There's another shop on College, near Claremont that sells Japanese style futons as well.

No one has really mentioned the appeal of these beds over something like say a platform bed.

As regards the dust mites, they are far worse in tatami than in other materials. One of the reasons people in Japan air their futon out everyday and pound on them (like rug beating) is to get the dust mite dung out as the mites infect the tatami that lies on the floor.

While other materials may also get such mites, tatami is uniquely vulnerable to serious infestation.

Bah, I meant to say "infect the futon that lie on the tatami" in the previous post.