Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Bought a Mattress

Another big milestone in my new home set-up: I finally purchased a mattress so I can actually take advantage of the bed I've had for almost 2 months now!
Shopping for these big items is tough. It took me a long time to commit myself to a bed frame. And then it's just been sitting there-- I did put the inflatable air mattress on it, and actually slept on it like that a couple of times, but I didn't find the air mattress very comfortable. The rest of the time, I'd continued to sleep on my old futon.
Partially, the delay was due to not finding the time to go shopping for a mattress. But I was also just procrastinating because I couldn't get my head around how to shop for a mattress. I don't think there is any foolproof way-- ultimately you just have to try different mattresses and find one that feels comfortable for you. You can read about what coil counts and wire guages mean, but it still doesn't tell you much about whether you'll feel comfortable, and I find this kind of subjective shopping to be very frustrating! If I'm going to shell out several hundred dollars for a major long-term purchase, I want to be able to do some research, check the Consumer Reports ratings, and walk into the store knowing exactly what I'm looking for, preferably in an environment where sales people are not incentivized to hound you. Mattress shopping is exactly the opposite of all that.
As it is, I know I tend to be more comfortable on firm beds when I stay in hotels, and I had a price range in mind, so when I finally managed to force myself to actually go into a store, I let that guide me to a few appropriate models. I tried a few out, spending a fair amount of time lying on them in various positions. One felt pretty good, so I decided to stop farting around and just buy it!
We'll see how this approach works out-- I hope my $700 will be well-spent, but I also figure after sleeping on futons for the last 7 years or so, anything would be an improvement! So far I've slept on the new mattress for two nights, and am still getting used to it. It's quite an adjustment to sleep on something that is actually flat, rather than the saucer-like shape my futon had taken on.

And if it doesn't work out, maybe I'll exchange it for one of those $40,000 beds from Hästens that have been advertised like crazy over the last few months...

6 comments:

The Travelin' Man said...

I sleep in a lot of hotels, and I have become a major bed snob because of it. Like you, though, when I am home, I sleep on my couch primarily (not a futon, but the idea is the same), which is horrible for my back.

I have been giving serious consideration to plunking down the money for the same style of bed that is in the hotel rooms that I like (either the Westin bed or the new Marriott bed). I know that the marketing of the hotel branded will cost more, but there must be a knock-off or a bed produced by the same manufacturer to similar specs. My thinking is that if 1/3 of my life is going to spent in bed (theoretically), shouldn't I spend decent money on the things that I would get the most use out of?

Enjoy your new purchase. I would ask which one you bought, but I know that choosing a bed is such an individual decision that what works for you may not work for me. Besides, it may take away some of your anonymity! :-)

Anonymous said...

Travelin Man - I love the Heavenly Bed too. If you try out some good pillowtops and add some good sheets you can get very close to it. I'm not sure the pillowtops are great for my back though.

I'm bed shopping too right now. Did you consider the new foam beds, or go traditional? I'm thinking Costco maybe as well.

Madame X said...

I didn't get a foam bed or a pillowtop. I've slept on pillowtops and been comfortable, but not necessarily all that much more comfortable to want to spend a lot more to buy one, and I've read they can get flat and lumpy after a while. I just went with a mid-range Serta mattress.

The Travelin' Man said...

Anything would be better for my back than sleeping on the couch! My biggest fear is that I would plop down $$ on a bed, and still sleep on the couch!

Anonymous said...

I learned from someone in the industry that hotel beds are actually low-end models and that the hotels just constantly replace them.

I did the mattress thing about a year ago and ended up with a Sealy Springfree which is a latex mattress and I've been very happy with it. It's the best bed I've ever had in terms of comfort and a lack of motion transfer and it doesn't make me hot at night like the Tempurpedic and other memory foam ones did. Supposedly latex will lasts longer than innerspring mattresses do. Beware if you have disc problems though because apparently latex offers the wrong kind of support for that.

memory foam said...

Hi The Travelin' Man,

I like your ideas. I think this sleeping on a eco friendly mattress is the best way to sleep.

- Jonathan G.