Beds

[Mark]

I don't really know enough to know what's good and what's just a marketing gimmick. I don't want cheap and nasty - I'm after comfortable, supportive, and good quality. Given how much time we all spend in bed cutting corners just doesn't make any sense to me. So, I'm budgeting for between £500 and £1,000 for a double bed. As I knew this was coming I already have two full sets of bedding so that budget is just the bed itself.

Now, the questions start - what should I be looking for in a good bed?

I'm obviously going to shop around too but I'm afraid some sales guy is going to try and sell me a dud because he's on commission.

PS - Sorry Pigmo, waterbeds may be comfeh but the mere suggestion scares me. :)

[goldilocks]

is your set price to include a mattress as well? or is that just the frame?
my parents recently bought all new beds / mattresses for their house - iirc, a mattress is about £600...

[BBx]

When i moved in I bought a new mattress for the frame in my bedroom (will get a new frame when I have the wonga).

It was £349 for just the mattress. This was the cheapest mattress with Sensafoam on it.. I wanted Sensafoam. It is incredibly cosy and you feel like your in a nest! Obviously though... nice and snug in the winter also means quite warm in the summer.

It depends on what you prefer I guess.. before I saw the Sensafoam beds I wanted a really firm mattress, but the woman in the shop said I was too young for 4* firm beds and that I should go for medium :(

However like with everything it differs from bed to bed. For the second room we bought a Divan set so the drawers, bed and mattress which came to £349. I haven't slept on that one yet.. but a few of the guys here have done ;) tbh its probably more comfortable than mine, but I wanted sensafoam... he hee... the make of the Divan and the mattress is Myers.

When I lived round my friends for a bit two years ago, her bed was well comfy and that was a Myers too..

Like I said I probably would have gone for something firmer, the best nights sleep I ever had was in Novotel in Leeds... it was the most comfortable bed I have EVER slept in!!! And it was firm... but the lady was adamant that I shouldn't have a firm bed Biatch!

I would suggest you go for a Divan as they are much more sturdy and would last longer imo :) and you deffo don't need as much dosh as you have budgeted.

Ooops..! Gone on a bit :) sorry!!!

BB x

PS they are both double beds. One other thing I will point out, the mattresses and beds in IKEA are prob european sizes and are slightly bigger than our standard double bed size - which is the reason why I need to replace my bedframe. My boss bought a bedframe and it looks totally hideous!!! Like one of the hospital beds in Alcatraz!!! Seriously... what a div! oh well.

[Mark]

Mattress and frame (with the mattress expected to be by far the most expensive part). Probably going to go for a frame this time rather than a divan. I suspect they're more likely to last.

I'll go with 'moderately firm' (as in not too firm but not likely to go saggy round the edges - especially given my weight). Don't like warm beds though (part of the reason why I try to keep the bedroom cooler than the rest of the house).

[Matblack]

There are 3 main types of mattress these days, the foam ones that BB has mentioned which appeal to some people and are worth trying to see if the suit you. Then there are two types of sprung mattress, the cage sprung and the pocket sprung. Cage sprung are big rectangular wire forms which are then covered with a mattressing material around the out side. If you place a weight on these frames they will dent for a distance around the weight, imagine a bowling ball on a trampoline. Pocket sprung mattresses are different, they still use springs but they are not part of a network and operate independently, so a bowling ball would only depress the springs on which it sits, the ones around the area are less effected. The more springs the smaller area which will be effected and also the more expensive the mattress some contain upwards of 1500 separate pocket springs. Both sprung types come in various levels of hardness but this is subjective to he weight you are.

For example for me a medium mattress with appear as a soft mattress to Heather because of the pressure I will place on it. So the heavier you are the firmer you will want. To combat this most manufacturers make 'zip together' sides to make a double

MB

[Mark]

From what I've been told in the past foam mattresses tend to last longer (dunno how true that is because I was told it by a salesman and I have a right to question whatever salesmen tell me :), but I guess there's some logic there), but as BB points out they also tend to be warmer which would be a problem for me (can't sleep in warm beds).

I've seen demonstrations both of the cage-type spring system and pocket springs. I've seen people recommend pocket sprung before but I only have experience with the other type.

Does going for a frame type bed make sense? I've always had divans in the past and while I did replace the mattress on this one as a stopgap measure they do recommend replacing both together which makes sense as divans do have springs in the base. Its those that are snapping on me now.

[Matblack]

Bed frames tend to have slats anyway and these replicate the springiness that you get in the bottom of a divan, pick what you think will look better or is most convenient. For us a bed frame was an aesthetically better option but it was also easier to get upstairs as divans tend to come ready assembled.

Theres little doubt that pocket sprung are more comfortable, especially if there are two of you as it pretty much eliminates 'roll together', but you need to chose what is best for you, my suggestion? Go and give them a try :)

MB

[Mark]

I'm off out to do just that.

Just read the sleep council leaflet too, and while they don't specifically recommend anything they do give a good idea what to look for. :)

Edit - abandoned the idea of going out today. Getting rather dark outside. Couldn't buy a bed today anyway so its no loss. Just hope the old one holds for a month or two (I suspect it will), though there's always the sofabed if it doesn't.