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Help me buy a mattress/bed
Brew
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Dear H/A
I am moving into a new apartment with my girlfriend at the beggining of next month. We are not living together right now; I am sure it will be exciting ;-)
Between the two of us we have most pieces of furniture we might need barring few notable exeptions: Namely a bed for two and a big TV. The TV picking shouldn't be a problem...
The bedroom in the new apt is a little oddly shapped:
It should fit a King size bed without a problem. The Closet A door will come off and be replaced with a courtain to allow room for a night stand. I would really like to have a king size bed there.
I'm unsure of what sort of a mattress to look for. The sheer amount of different, amigously-named mattress combinations out there is overwhelming me a little. I can't seem to even find a reasonable price-point for starting comparisons (I can probably spend a few grand... I just don't want to spend them for nothing more than brand name or a salesman's pitch).
I don't think either one of us is looking for anything extreme (super soft or hard as wood) in terms of comfort/surface on the bed. I like to sleep on my stomach. She sleeps on her back or side.
Anyone have any experience or wisdom learned from purchasing a mattress? I'd appreciate any pointers
I am moving into a new apartment with my girlfriend at the beggining of next month. We are not living together right now; I am sure it will be exciting ;-)
Between the two of us we have most pieces of furniture we might need barring few notable exeptions: Namely a bed for two and a big TV. The TV picking shouldn't be a problem...
The bedroom in the new apt is a little oddly shapped:
It should fit a King size bed without a problem. The Closet A door will come off and be replaced with a courtain to allow room for a night stand. I would really like to have a king size bed there.
I'm unsure of what sort of a mattress to look for. The sheer amount of different, amigously-named mattress combinations out there is overwhelming me a little. I can't seem to even find a reasonable price-point for starting comparisons (I can probably spend a few grand... I just don't want to spend them for nothing more than brand name or a salesman's pitch).
I don't think either one of us is looking for anything extreme (super soft or hard as wood) in terms of comfort/surface on the bed. I like to sleep on my stomach. She sleeps on her back or side.
Anyone have any experience or wisdom learned from purchasing a mattress? I'd appreciate any pointers
1st ever "Penny-Arcade Hero Academy Tournament" Toilet Bowl Champion!
"You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should."
"You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should."
Brew on
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While this is true, don't skimp out on bargain basement mattresses if you intend on keeping it for awhile. Spending money on a good quality mattress+box spring that will last you many years is a lot better than buying one that goes to shit in 2 years and needs replacement. Obviously if you intend to move and sell/scrap/leave the bed in the next few years, take that into concideration.
As for exact types of bed? Who knows! What do you like? I have a nice firm pillow top mattress because it gives all the support I need, and the pillow top gives it that nice soft feel to be comfortable.
I don't know much about those gimmicky looking beds, like the sleep number or adjustable beds, etc. They may be good, or might not be... hopefully someone else has some experience with them if you have interest.
I was thinking that I should spend the money for a mattress that I will keep for years. After living in this apartment the next step will be buying a house. A king size bed is something I will want when I own a house.
I don't mind spending the money now... Just don't want to get ripped off on some gimmick.
"You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should."
I'd avoid anything fancy if you are planning on moving into a house. A plain metal frame with a metal center bar (as opposed to the ones with cheap wood center supports) will extend the life of the box spring and by association the mattress. Those are dirt cheap however compared to anything fancy, just be aware of it and most places that sell larger beds will give you those kinds with the box spring (1800 mattress, etc).
As for gimmicks, if you are just looking for a bed. I'd suggest just looking for a plain top/pillow topped mattress with a decent firmness. If you go plain topped be prepared to get something to put on top to soften it to your needs.
If you get something with a specific top, make sure to get one that specifies it doesn't need to be turned, or else you will wind up with a droopy mattress that "sinks" and you can't flip it over very well to compensate.
1. If you buy a name brand bed such as Sealy, Serta, Simmons, Restonic or the like, they are all equally well made. Cousin Bob's used mattresses, not so much. They will all be pretty similar in the different price points.
2. You really do get what you pay for in beds. More money means better materials and usually more of it in the case of mattresses. Cheap mattresses will tend to sag and the material will lose it's resilience much quicker then a more expensive one.
3. You normally (at least when I quit the furniture industry) can't find a model that you like and then look around for the same model at the same price someplace else. The different mattress companies will use different covers and different names so that you stores can show the same beds with different names. So don't spend too much time looking around for the same bed.
4. Hard =/= firm! People used to come in and thing they needed the hardest bed possible for a bad back. Good support is what is necessary. Any of the previously mentioned beds will have a good support system. Padding is just an option, depending on personal preference. If hard is what you want, sleep on the floor and blow your money on a new computer.
5. LAY ON THE BEDS. This doesn't mean sit on the edge and bounce. It doesn't mean half lay down. If you think you have a bed that you might want, lay down on it like you would to sleep and spend a few minutes there. Take your GF with so you can feel what it is going to be like when one of you toss and turn. If you don't listen to anything else, take this advice.
6. Get a good mattress pad or Scotchguard on the mattress. I know that a lot of times add ons are rip offs, but if you stain your mattress at all the warranty is void. That might not seem like a big deal now, but children happen. I bought a brand new bed and spilled Mountain Dew on it the first week. I would have been screwed. (Speaking of warranty, they won't normally give you a mattress warranty unless you buy a boxspring too.)
7. If you get a queen or king size bed, the warranty normally requires some sort of center support. Keep that in mind if you need a frame.
8. Full size beds = 54" X 72". Queen = 60" X 80". King = 72" X 80". On average anyway.
I can't think of anything else right now but if you think of a question I will answer it if I can.
For quality, there are two things to look at, the structure of the box spring and the spring structure used in the mattress. More springs = more lasting support. Something I personally felt more important was a spring structure that didn't leave ends of springs exposed, though attached, to the structure. In my mind, it just seems to me as though a completely interconnected system will lead to less failure as the mattress ages.
For comfort, look at the pad on top. They're likely to have all different kinds of firmness, pillow top being the softest and some kind of foam being the firmest. Test it out, see what you like. If you decide to stick with your "middle of the road" preference, then go with something in the middle (obviously).
Another thing to consider is something the saleswoman pointed out to me (something I'd never thought about) about something all her mattresses featured which was usability regardless of which side of the mattress you slept on. She pointed out that some of the name brand (they had examples of the name brands in the show room to compare) mattresses only put the pad on one side. Having the pad on both sides of the mattress will let you periodically flip the mattress, which should help prevent the springs from being excessively worn out over time.
Last but not least, find out about a return policy. I'd suspect few places will let you explicitly return a used mattress, but the place I went had what they called a 30 day comfort guarantee. If I decided within 30 days that the bed wasn't the right feel, I could bring it back and swap it for another bed in the store. Luckily, I picked the right one, so it hasn't been a problem.
Don't be afraid to ask for the technical specs of the mattress. The spring structures are reasonably standardized, as I recall. You can get the spring gauge as well as a firmness rating. Take those numbers and find comparable beds at other places to make sure you get the best deal. No reason to not save as much money as possible, right?
Buy some nice sheets without telling your girlfriend you bought them. So when you get the bed home, you can surprise her with 40gazillion thread count Egyptian sheets.
Alright, that may have crossed the line on what amount of advice you were looking for, so I'll stop now.
Mind if I ask how big of a mattress you bought and for how much moolah?
I saw an ad in the paper from JCPenney for this weekend. They are having a sale and have a Sealy Posturepedic (Sweetwater Branch LTD GOLD) in your choice of comfort: Ultra Plush Euro Pillowtop or Ultra Pillowtop... O_o (confusing lingo... Euro pillow top = better? softer? harier??)
$1299 for king size and 2 cents for the acompanying 2-piece boxspring set.
is $1300 an excessive amount to pay for a mattress? is a department store a bad place to go to in the first place looking for a mattress?
Silvertree - are there any perticular sales pitches I should be weary off when I head to the furniture store? (Ex: 5 year extra gold warranty... but only if we feel the mattress is broken, not when you say it is)
Thanks for the help
"You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should."
Unless it's a matress that isn't designed for this (e.g. pillowtop on one side only, etc.)
I just bought a Queen-size bed and boxspring (Sealy), and I spent around $1000. I'm supremely happy with it. I also went to a store and picked up a nice matress pad for it.
I don't believe it - I'm on my THIRD PS3, and my FIRST XBOX360. What the heck?
Sometimes I think they just make stuff up to make their beds sound better. Mattresses really don't generate a lot of excitement on their own. I don't think that any of the lingo really matters, other then "pillow top" or "plush" will let you know what you will see when you arrive to look at it.
I can't think of any sales pitches to avoid at the moment. The industry standard for warranty was about 10 years if I remember correctly. A certain amount of body impressions are expected. Normally what they did was stretch a piece of line out and measure how far it was compressed with a ruler when it was held tight. If it was over a certain amount, it was sagging and under was normal (can't remember exacts on that). Otherwise obvious defects like springs poking out and stitchings that let loose are hard to debate. Like I said, if you stick with a reputable brand, you will be OK. Strangely, our Sealy rep was the biggest prick to deal with when it came to returns, but then we had the fewest amount of problems with their beds.
I think that is a very reasonable price point. Any of the big names will make a great bed at that price. As a rule of thumb, I felt like I was doing a customer a disservice when I was selling them a mattress and box spring set that was under $699-$799.
My store didn't have much competition from department stores, so I didn't comparison shop there very often. I can tell you that most furniture store sales people work on commissions while department stores don't. Normally that means you can run into pushy people in traditional furniture stores (not all of them) but they usually know their stuff. Department store people usually don't have as much incentive for learning all of the information. I normally ask a few basic questions (warranty length or something like that) and if they can't answer I move on.
So, with my experience as bias, I'm going to say $1300 is bit too much.
I bought it from The Original Mattress Factory. Looks like they have locations around the midwest and east coast.
Turns out we cannot agree on a bed. She insists she needs a firm mattress and I like the feel of a really soft pillow top but not foam top.
We think we might be able to meet half way by getting a mattress with a really soft top part that sinks down into a firm support middle. Heh, we even tried the sleep-number bed thing... that didn't do so well :P
We're going to have to go to a Sleepys or some mattress place like that and kidnap a salesman for an hour or two and have him show us every mattress in the store.
I had no idea this was going to be so tough. Just buying one for myself would be hard enough. I did not my GF's taste in mattress to be the complete opposite of mine O_o
"You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should."
Do you really need a king? Queens are pretty big and I think easier to find sheets for and stuff, and probably cheaper without a considerable loss of space. You both will need to reach a conclusion on the mattress type(although I find anyone who doesn't like their mattress at least a little firm a sick human coughyoucough but whatever)but look at like a Mattress Giant Clearance Center, it's where they dump old models of mattresses
not used, just unsold and have been superseded by newer "models." I got my mattress from there for like 480 bucks, and it was probably 1000+ when it was brand new. Conn's, an electronics store, sells mattresses oddly enough, but you won't get super cheap like if they were on clearance(but pretty cheap for new mattresses). Mind you the sales teams at those places are BRUTAL, just disregard anything they say, they'd sell you your own liver after cutting it out