OK... I think we've made up our minds about the microwave. Now we are researching beds! What a pain in the behind!
A year and a half ago, we had to run out in a rush and buy beds for the bedrooms because my daughter and her family were arriving. In fact, the beds arrived the morning of their arrival. We bought three Simmons Yorktown IV Plush bed sets. We tested the beds out and they felt firm at the store. What was delivered was not, but I couldn't remember the name of the bed in the store that we tested so there was no proof of what we ordered. There was also no return policy so we were stuck.
We are using one of those beds for the guestroom. My mother ended up not liking her new (twin) mattress either so we put that in my office/guestroom. We gave away the 3rd queen and have decided to get a king sized mattress instead for our master bedroom.
However, we will take it a WHOLE LOT more carefully this time. We're researching the beds and trying them out carefully. Art says he could sleep on the ground so he doesn't care what we get. He wasn't happy about my not liking the bed we bought in the first place so he wants me to be absolutely sure I'll like this one.
He even said I should maybe just spend the money and get a Tempurpedic memory foam since somebody said that was great. Then we went to a mattress store and they said a latex bed is firmer, cooler and more resilient.
Then I started reading on the web and I'm more confused than ever!!! Arrrghh...
This isn't like a microwave. It costs a whole lot more and I canNOT afford to make a mistake again.
Well, we've got a whole slew of guests coming again this summer and fall but I won't be running out to buy the bed. We can sleep on an air mattress if we have to. I'm going to be a whole lot more careful this time but the process is making me crazy. I figure this is going to be the bed for the master bedroom and we'll be sleeping on this mattress for the next 30 years!
Does anybody have an opinion on mattresses?
no opinion-I'm in the process of buying inflatable air mattresses for our overnight guests mostly grandkids.
ReplyDeleteGet an uncomfortable bed - or they will stay too long! ;-)
ReplyDeleteAloha, Kay
Cloudia has an interesting and thought provoking point there, that's something to think about. I need to get one for my bed, been putting it off for six or seven months now. I think the one I have is giving me backaches.
ReplyDeleteI have the kind that is partly air baffled so it can be softer on my side and more firm on hubby's side. It isn't the really expensive one, but a similar mattress and it has worked out well for us since we got it 5 years ago...Michelle
ReplyDeleteLin: We have the Aerobed and it's great.
ReplyDeleteCloudia: Actually, the bed I'm looking for is for us. We already have the beds for the guests. I hate making these decisions.
dellgirl: I read on some site that if you lie down on your back and you can stick your hand easily under the small of your back, you're not getting enough support. I'm so confused about the whole bed buying thing.
Michelle: Air baffled? Oh gosh! I haven't heard of that one. I'm just struggling so far with latex vs. memory foam. Arrrghhhh! I envy you that you've found the perfect bed for you and your husband.
I'm with Art (uhh, I mean, in his opinion...). Sleep on the floor if you don't find a mattress. Didn't the Japanese use straw mats on the floor, easily rolled up? :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously Kay, you have my sympathy. I'd go crazy with all the research, shopping, decisions, and set-up you are having to do with a new house.
Actually, it's not a straw mat but hard cotton batting called futon. I wonder if they sell them here. Now that's a thought, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteOh really? So that's what futon really means.
ReplyDeleteI sleep on a firm foldable mattress on a very low foldable wooden base. That is what we call in good Hebrew "futon." :) It can be folded into a couch but I've never done it.
Fortunately it came with my little house and I didn't have to buy any furniture.
Yup! They sell futon beds/couches here in Hawaii, too. They're not quite firm enough for my back unfortunately. Ah hah, a Hebrew futon eh?
ReplyDeleteAlmost all my years abroad were spend sleeping on futons as they were comfortable, fit anywhere, easily moved, and I was often in Japan to get replacements. Those futon covers and Korean blankets are all we use for winter these days.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Art, I REALLY miss my futons & the floor, but the ones available here aren't nearly as good in quality.
Good luck! We need a new mattress too and I just keep putting it off--it's such a big important decision, such an expense, that oh phooey. But it has to be done.
ReplyDeleteI used to work with people who were chemically sensitive (many had chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, other problems) and learned that conventional mattresses were filled with plastics and chemicals that nearly crippled some of these people. When they switched to all-cotton futons, their symptoms improved dramatically. Same with removing carpets in favour of hardwood floors, and avoiding plastics. Something to think about, but I've always been more comfortable on a spring mattress instead.
Haven't tried the memory foam yet... AUGH! I need to do some more reasearch too!
I used to sleep in the Army (1953-1957) on an Army cot but was a lot younger. Sometimes I want to return to that sleeping style. I get these feelings about the same time I see my old Army trousers and wonder if I can still fit in them -- no way, not even one leg.
ReplyDeleteAnd then I can't begin to tell you the number of times I slept on the traditional Japanese Futon taken from a small closet and laid out on the rice straw mat floor. And in came a ceramic hibachi pot reeking with carbon monoxide to keep me warm. But in the end, after waking up more than once, with a mind boggling, blinding headache, I ask, in a nice way to take the hibachi out -- and they always did. But the futon was wonderful I guess because I had the back for it then. It was more like a modern down-filled comforter than any kind of mattress.
When I was in the hospital, in November and again in December, my wife said she bought me an expensive piece of foam for the top of my bed. And she could not wait until I came home to try it out. It is that memory foam stuff and abut four inches thick. And it makes my bed about four inches higher.
If you want to give your guests a treat, go to Walmart and spend $140.00 or so, for one of those things. They really do work for me and might for your most finicky guests.
Thanks for visiting my "gobsmacks" blog and for commenting there.
Hi Kay! I have been thinking about getting a 'Sleep Number' bed. I like the idea that I can regulate the softness or firmness. A friend has one and loves it. I tried it, only for a short time, and it was nice. The only thing I don't like is the frame. When getting in and out of bed, you can really feel that.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your selection. Lisa
I also posted about bed problems several months ago. We ended up with a Sleep Number bed, but they are very expensive. Hubby likes it better than I do.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, latex foam is cooler and firmer than memory foam; memory foam is softer. I think it is not possible to tell from a short visit in a store how you will like sleeping on it day after day. Just take your best guess. You can add a foam topper (of each or both) to get more softness later.
Good luck.
We have been sleeping for a very long time on a Seely Posturepedic. It needs to be replaced. But new mattress are so deep they make the bed so high.
ReplyDeleteIn Europe we sleep on a cotton pad about three inches thick over a wooden frame and are perfectly comfortable. But I still want to use my kingsize bed frame and headboard. I don't know what to do either and have been putting it off.
I heard something about how many hours of one's life is spent sleeping so a good mattress is indeed very important! However, it is so hard to tell from laying on a bed in a store! Too bad stores didn't offer overnight visits :) Good luck with your bed!
ReplyDeleteMike S: The thing is... we have a lot of bugs in Hawaii. I just don't think I want to be on the floor where there might be something crawling around at night. I don't see them often in the house but I'll bet they're out there.
ReplyDeleteSusan: The latex and memory foam are supposed to be hypoallergenic. Arrrrrrghhh! But then again there's the organic latex perhaps that's supposed to be bettter than manufactured latex. But where do you get those? Arrrrghhhhhhhh!
Argggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!
Abe: You know.... That is a good thought. I was wondering if the latex was a bit too firm but the topper could help that. Thanks so much!
Lisa: I really appreciate your comment about the sleep number bed. We hadn't even looked at those and it was one more thing added to the equation that was killing me. Since I get up to use the bathroom at night, the frame would not be comfortable for me. Thanks a bunch.
Jo: I can't believe how expensive the beds are. The one we gave away was $900.00. Art is still not happy with me about that. I love the foam topper idea! The only trouble is our mattress is so thick (in the guestroom) that to add a foam topper would raise the bed so high I would need a stool to climb up. And how do you find sheets?
Linda: I'm just hoping a king sized bed will go up our stairs. Arrrghhhh!
Cheryl: One place does offer a one month comfort garantee. But you pay big restocking fee.
haha. You won't believe this, Kay, but David bought a Simmons bed last night from Slumberworld and I blogged about it today -- before even reading your blog entry about beds! How's that for a coincidence!
ReplyDeleteMemory foam.
ReplyDeleteHands down.
No comparison.
You'll never want to get out of bed again!
Some of my friends watch movies from my bed instead of the living room because it's soooooooo comfy.
I bought a new queen-size mattress/box springs a over a year ago. It's a big thick Simmons and I sleep better than I used to. I hesitated because it cost what was a lot for me. As I was dithering in the store, it hit me and I told myself: "Girlfriend, this is the bed you're going to DIE in so shut up and buy it!" And I handed my debit card to the nice man. The downside was that I had to buy new sheets because it needs the kind with deeper corner pockets.
ReplyDeleteGigi: That is a very wild coincidence. We were at Slumber World, too. I'm so confused. I do like that one month comfort garantee offer...
ReplyDeleteLisa: I was really leaning to that memory foam but $8,200.00 is a whole lot of money. Still...I think there are other brands other than tempurpedic. Argghhhh!
Kay: True, true. I want this to be our last bed, too. Art says it's the last bed no matter WHAT!
When we lived in 'buggy' areas in Asia we kept pet geckos and the bugs were never a problem. The little lizards are unobtrusive and the kids loved them.
ReplyDeleteMattress decisions were a challenge for me until I discovered Temperapedic at the Relax the Back store. It took me more than a year to decide, but I've slept amazingly well the last decade that I've owned mine.
ReplyDeleteHugs and blessings,