Or rather mattress talk today! Let’s go beyond the duvets and matelasse and linen and sheets and talk about what really matters…The older I get the more i know it matters..what lies beneath!
I believe this photo is an IKEA advertisement becaused i know this cute iron bed is from IKEA…see what i mean..i know more about bedframes and shams than the actual mattress. So educate me dear readers..which do you prefer?
Of course the Temperpedic is all the rage but wow $$$…I have also heard and read they get hot..Not a good thing in South Texas…BUT a local friend says she has never had that trouble. An other choice apparently is a LATEX Mattress..i have never even heard of such until recently. You can even buy them on overstock and at Costco. And of course you can learn a lot researching on the Internet and get very confused!
I have learned there is a bit (or more than a bit) of an argument that many mattresses…mainly tempurpedic have toxic chemicals and smells and just yuck you don’t want your body against for hours and hours..a solution..the NON TOXIC ORGANIC mattress..There is an amazing place in Houston called New Living that offers many green building products…including these organic mattresses! They are located on Kirby in Rice Village! Definitely something to check out if you are considering a big mattress investment. I am also a big fan of their Green Paint line especially for clients that are expecting or have children. This part of their store/offerings is appropriately named The Green Painter!
So tell me dear readers, what are your thoughts on mattresses..do you prefer coil or memory foam..did you buy online, big box or from a local furniture store?? What has your experience been with this important investment?
Oh wow. We were just discussing this today. We have always gotten ours from furniture stores, but never have been really happy with anything so far. We have been trying to decide on this as well, so I will check back and read what the others say.
My sister in law got one of those memory foam mattresses. Around the same time she noticed her tongue was swelling, like after a couple of days she couldn’t keep it in her mouth at all times kind of swelling. She figured out that she was allergic to the new mattress. I’m not sure if it was latex or what, but she got an all natural mattress to replace it. She loves it. We have a Serta with natural breathable fibers on the top layer and it has lasted a long time.
I’m so glad you asked! I went through this exact search two years ago and spent HOURS and HOURS searching. And in the end I came up with the perfect mattress for a shockingly cheap price. I wlll never buy another “REAL” mattress again and was kicking myself for all the money I had wasted through the years.
All of my research pointed to the Temperedic mattresses but the price is just astounding! I *almost* built the bullet and bought one at Christmas for DH. He really wanted one, we hated our bed, and hey, it’s where you spend 1/3 of your life! Then I found the most amazing discussion on fatwallet.com with a zillion comments. The title of the thread is “cheaper”-pedic where people were trying out various products to make a temperpedic-like bed but without the cost. There are tons of opinions in the thread, but what I found that it boiled down to was a solid base and a cushy thick top layer (made of memory foam).
Based on all of the discussion, I ended up buying this mattress (from Wal-Mart of all places!):
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Spa-Sensations-8-Memory-Foam-Mattress/12542630
for $269.99!
and then I got this memory foam topper: https://www.sleepwarehouse.com/sensus5lbmemoryfoammattresstopper.aspx
for $285.00
and, honestly, it’s the most heavenly bed we have now ever owned for $550!!!
AND THAT IS A FOR A KING BED! I think our last “real” mattress set was in the neighborhood of $1800!!!
Just gotta say that I actually look forward to going to bed every night. I’m surprised I love it so much.
Two things to be wary of (just to be totally honest):
The mattresses fold up into small-ish bundles that can be delivered to your door. I found that even I could carry in and set up without a guy’s help (granted there is a little huffing and puffing). BUT, once you open it (mainly the Wal-Mart one) and it expands, if you hate it, it’s not as easy to return. You are never going to get it back in the box to take it back to the store. You’ll probably need a truck. I was so excited about the price and reviews that I went with it on blind faith and I was relieved when it worked out (for that reason).
Also – next caveat – measure, measure and measure again. And check your sheets and duvet! You can buy both the mattress and the topper is various thicknesses and you want to get the right thickness so that:
a. you bed doesn’t look ridiculously tall or short
b. you can reach your nightstand and the bed is the height compared to the it
c. your sheets are deep enough to fit over both pieces together and your duvet is long enough.
I think I lucked out with our bed, but I just bought the same setup for our guest bedroom and the bed is wayyyyyy too high!! And the duvet also doesn’t fit. *sigh* Still gotta figure that one out.
One more thing – I’ve had a memory foam pillow many years ago and I didn’t like it (it made my neck and back hurt), but with these mattresses, I prefer the memory foam pillows to regular ones. They are a bit ugly, so I hide it behind a more traditional pillow when I make the bed. If you order from sleepwarehouse, you get 1 memory foam pillow for free, so that’s why I ordered through them.
This was a Christmas gift for my hubby and he was thrilled after we got it and set it up. We both just love it. The Wal-Mart mattress is nice. . .a lot of people on FatWallet said that they got just that piece, but I found it wayyyyyy too firm for me. So I read that other people said they used that just for a foundation and then did the memory foam on top (which is what we did) and that is the piece that is just so heavenly!!!
Good luck in your search!
Last thing. . .I was going to give credit to the original fatwallet thread, but I can’t find it. Here is a similar thread (https://www.fatwallet.com/forums/deal-discussion/320543/) with lots of discussion although this is not the one I based my research off of.
OOPS. I just re-read my comment and realize I sound like a commercial. Sorry about that! I think I’ve had a bit too much coffee this morning. :o)
This is such a timely discussion–we desperately need a new mattress! I have all sorts of back and neck pain. We have been unsure about what to get, afraid that we need to spend a lot of $. Kelly–your comment was super helpful–thanks so much!!
I’ve been on a Select Comfort bed for years and still love it. The “air” portion of the bed allows you to change the setting as your body changes. I’m planning on upgrading to a king soon and will be doing Select Comfort again. Granted…this is not a cheap solution, but worth it.
We bought a mattress last year and I did TONS of research. We had a Tempurpedic for almost 11 years. We bought it when I was pregnant with Harry. In the beginning ti too a lot to get used to, then I thought I loved it. BUT BOTH my husband and I had sciatica the ENTIRE 11 years. We spent so much time and money at the chiropractor office. Once we got a new mattress…VOLIA NO sciatica at all!!!! They do get hot sometimes too but that was not too bad. One of my best friends has been complaining of sciatica and I was telling her about our mattress and her jaw dropped. She got a Tempurpedic last May and has been in sciatic pain ever since as well.
We went to that store on Kirby for an organic mattress but ended up buying something else.
I just noticed that I need to run but will come back to tell you what we did…
Kim
I’ve only really purchased a few mattress sets, one cheapie that was ok comfortwise at first, but then (when I started getting up with babies every night) we realized that it was breaking down enough so that we could tell when one of us rolled over, got out of bed, etc. Ended up getting a Simmons Beautyrest World class mattress, it’s only four years old but still as comfy as when we first got it. I seriously don’t like sleeping in hotels or other people’s houses…just not the same as my own bed (and our house has killer water pressure). We have a teeny house, but the bed and shower makes it worth being here 🙂
We also have the Simmons Beautyrest World class pillow top mattress. I am kind of emberassed to admit it but we have had for almost ten years and still really like it. There is some settling where we always lay but other than that I would buy it a again in a heart beat.
Sam’s club for 5 of our mattresses. Love ! Sealy’s . Price was fantastic! Mattress shops are creepy … What is the real price? They never really let you know, they size you up and haggle, yuck! Good luck.
We bought our latex mattress 8 years ago and I cannot speak highly enough about it. It is by far THE most comfortable bed I have ever slept on and will replace with another latex if/when we need to. I have friends who have taken the recommendation and also love it. It’s fantastic. Seriously – try it.
We got ours at The Original Mattress Factory.
We love our Sleep number bed we purchased 7 years ago. Has dual controls so both hubby and I are comfortable. Recently slept on a tempurpedic at a hotel and woke up several times with numb limbs (I tend to be a side sleeper). I usually have no problems with this. For a good deal, ask around for coupons or call their 1-800 number. We purchased our queen that had been returned by someone else. They replace the top of the mattress (remember, Sleep Number beds come w. diy assembly) Because of this, we saved hundreds!
Good luck to you! Isn’t it crazy how these decisions can be agonizing:)?
Sorry about that…I work from home and I had a client at my door…so I had to go. The organic place on Kirby had a great mattress (very pricey though). And they told me about how BAD Tepumpedics are for you (lots of chemicals). We went a few blocks down Kirby and got a great deal on a Sterns and Foster. We literally went to the mattress store like 4 different days and laid on the beds for long periods of time because I did not want to make another mistake. We made a very good choice. I love this one.
They have a fabulous policy too. There was something wrong with the first mattress and so they brought out a totally new one about a month or two later and this one has been great. it is a year now and no sciatica or back pain. I will tell you though now my coverlet is too small cause these are so much deeper than my old mattress.
let us know how it goes:)
Kim
We’ve had a tempurpedic for about 5 years….We both haven’t slept any
better and it does get very hot. So hot you don’t need covers! It seems
very hard as well. Some mornings my husbands back is pretty sore. I’ve
noticed that as well. Seems I sleep better when we’re away. I would not
get another one thats for sure. Lots of money to spend and not sleep
well! So, I would review other options. Kelly your comments were
a great help!
I’ve had a foam mattress for years (two in the past 34+) and love it. But you have to get good foam. I don’t know if it is latex foam or not, but it isn’t memory foam. It’s about 6 inches thick, and I use another foam topper on it to soften it a little, since it is a little firmer than the foam mattress I previously had. I hope it doesn’t wear out because the foam store where I got it is out of business. The store made seat cushions, etc and would cut it to size. They had various degrees of firmness to choose from. I think it cost less than 200 for a full size when I got it. Maybe a lot less. Plus, it’s easy to turn over or turn end to end. I have it on a slatted futon-type base. I hate these current enormous, over-sized mattresses.
My parents have a Tempurpedic and love it, but I know that in their second home they have a Tempurpedic knock-off (from Costco, I think) that they love just as much. My mother is extremely hot-natured but doesn’t have problems with the mattress, or at least it’s worth it to her.
Because I have some chemical sensitivities that used to be much worse, we bought an organic latex mattress. At the time, no stores in Houston offered them, so we drove to Austin to try out a few. We ended up buying one online from Savvy Rest and have been really happy with it for around 4 years now.
The one thing I was NOT happy with was the organic Coyuchi sheets we bought. Ugh. They have literally fallen apart in less than 4 years. First the edges came off, and then they started getting holes and rips. Never again! I now have Pottery Barn sheets, and they are so nice.
Thanks for the tip about the Green Painter. I’ll go check it out and see if they can match BM Pashmina. I definitely want to use a safe paint while I’m pregnant.
We bought a mattress when we moved back into the country. We like firm beds so we have a Simmons Beauty Rest. But with out the Pillow Top. We did not get a pillow top mattress because I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Heavenly Bed from the Westin Hotel and instead of paying Westin hotel prices I did some research and made my own. The most important part of our bed is our Down yes Down Mattress topper. It is not hot at all but it is so wonderful to sink into at night. And unlike other topers when you get a ridge in it you just shake the whole thing out and flip it over and it is like brand new. We bought our down topper from The company store also where we buy all our down pillow and comforters. Which I have lots of pillows and good sheets too, but I love my mattress topper.
We slept on a memory foam mattress for a bout a month while we were in transition and honestly did not like it. They are not and soft, and we like firm mattresses.
Happy Hunting and sleep well.
We’ve had a Tempurpedic for about 8 years and love it. We have a basic one, not any of the “fancy” options. Took me about 2 weeks to get used to it, but now I can’t sleep on anything else. I agree with the person who said tempurpedic pillows are good with tempurpedic mattresses. And an interesting comment about sciatica. My husband treats LOTS of patients with sciatica, yet we’ve never had an issue with it and sleep on Tempurpedic every night. In the end, I think it comes down to what works best for YOU. We’re all made uniquely!
xo,
Linsey
Coach Head, I think pottery barn now sales the westin “heavenly bed” mattress..funny huh?!
Several years ago I desperately needed something to help me sleep without pain. I stumbled on chat room on my condition and many wrote of success with a memory foam mattress. Leary of spending so much with no idea if it would help, I decided to try a latex / memory foam combo topper that was on sale at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Immediate success. I’ve had it for three years or more now and love it. Now when I wake in the morning I say a little prayer of gratitude for food, shelter, clothing … and my mattress.
Sleep Number hands down baby. My husband and I can have whatever firmness/softness we want by the touch of a button. It’s the most amazing sleep ever!
I would never choose anything other than a sleep number! My husband practically sleeps on the floor his side is so soft! On the other hand I keep mine pretty firm with just a little give – I always wish I could take it with when we travel.
I am so glad to see this post. I need a new mattress desperately and soon. Currently I have the Simmons Beautyrest World class pillow top mattress also and I have liked it quite a bit but it is 12 years old and needs to be replaced. Don’t sleep as well on it anymore.
I would never buy a Tempurpedic because of the chemicals. UGH! If I can afford it (probably not) I will get an organic mattress. Otherwise the nearest thing. And I want to sleep on a Westin mattress before I buy. I like a bed that’s not too soft and not too hard. Good beds are so expensive but we do spend about 1/3 of our lives in bed – or maybe it’s 1/6 of lives in bed for mamas of little ones and busy wanna be mamas! 😉 😉
12 years on a “sleep number” bed. THE BEST! You never have to replace it.
We bought a Simmons Beauty Rest for our guest room last weekend. It gets delivered next week but I swear after testings mattresses….I think the one in our Master has its days numbered. This mattress felt incredible!
After having slept years on a mattress that was about 25 years old, very soft yet very comfortable, we bought a Tempurpedic. We didn’t even get the most expensive one and it was around $4000 so they are extremely expensive. I didn’t like it at first, mainly because it wasn’t my old mattress. After having slept on it now for a year, I have to say I love it. I have inflammatory arthritis and my shoulders and hips are usually very sore. They don’t hurt at all in this bed. I love it and am glad we got it, but I still can’t believe we spent that much money on a bed. It darn well better last me for decades!
My husband and I went through 2 new mattresses within about 2 and a half years. The first was an upper-end Serta with a pillow top. After a year, there were two indentations I referred to as “sink holes” of where we each slept, and it became very uncomfortable. The furniture store came out to measure and said it had failed, so we had a store credit to buy a new mattress. Assuming that the problem was due to the pillow top, we then purchased an extra firm top of the line Sealy. The same thing occurred, and we both started experiencing back pain again. The sink holes of where we slept were too deep according to the manufacturer’s warranty, and again we were given a store credit for a new mattress. I should mention that my husband and I are not heavy people, in case you were thinking that. We bit the bullet and purchased an upper-end Tempurpedic. The first couple of weeks did take some getting used to, but that is true of any new mattress as your body needs time to adjust. There was a slight smell that only lasted for a week or two, but it was nothing overpowering that got in the way of our sleep. We have both felt much less back pain and look forward to getting into bed each night. Furthermore, we have had it a year now and there are no sink holes in the mattress where we sleep, so I think it will be the first mattress that can actually last the amount of years the warranty says it will. Worth the extra $!
I’m no expert on mattresses. We had house guests last weekend and the husband said that our old mattress…which we got when we got married…and a double at that…was really comfortable. We hear that all the time. It was made by one of those small mom and pop mattress companies. On the other hand, my average sized body has created a ‘hole,’ which you can see when the bed is made, in our fancy Beauty Rest pillow top mattress. Ugh. I read that mattresses need to be replaced every 5 years. Ours now is showing its deterioration.
I’ll look forward to seeing what you learn.
We bought a Tempurpedic Cloud Supreme mattress almost 2 years ago, and my husband and I both agree that it’s the very best mattress! We’ve never slept better and no more backaches or joint pain. We’ve let some relatives try ours out for a night, and they gave all fallen in love with it. We hate to sleep anywhere else now, and can’t wait to get home to our bed. There’s a big difference in models as far as heat and comfort. We chose the cloud supreme because it had the softest feel along with the Tempurpedic support. And it has more padding in between us and the foam, so we don’t get hot. It is by far the most comfy bed we’ve ever slept on!!!
We have been very happy buying mattresses from the Original Mattress Factory. If there is one where you live, you might give them a try. No sales pitch, straightforward buying process, and good customer service. But mattress preferences truly are very personal!
Paula
You will be making a terrible mistake if you buy anything but a Sleep Number bed by Select Comfort. We have had our king size for about 18 years & it is just terrific. No problems at all with the bed. What’s better than being able to adjust your own side to the firmness you need! They are absolutely the best!
We bought a Tempurpedic knock off at a local mattress store about 7 or 8 years ago and LOVE it….we were in our early 30s at the time and were already waking up with sore backs. That went away with the purchase of the mattress and we still wake up without any aches and pains. I think it was around $500 or $600 at the time for a queen – we simply couldn’t afford Tempurpedic then.
We have a Tempurpedic that my husband bought 8 years ago, back when the only choice to make was the size and thickness of the mattress (and prices were a bit lower!). We LOVE that thing! We do not find it hot and we, too, live in the Houston area. We do use our ceiling fan every night and have a very thin duvet inside our duvet cover but sleep with a sheet, blanket, and duvet each night and are perfectly comfortable even in the height of the summer heat.
Temper-pedic is generic memory foam…..Try a KEETSA. It’s about 1/2 the price with the same feel and the same 20 year guarantee. I now own two, and they are the best. Swedish made, organic cloth tops, terrific customer service in San Francisco
We have had our new mattress since December after a lot of research. We went with a Simmons Beautyrest from a local furniture store. Simmons has a 60 day no questions return policy and we took advantage of it. The first one was a plush-firm but there was NOTHING plush about it so we swapped it for the same one but in plush. We LOVE it. And we didn’t do the pillowtop… aren’t a fan of those.
We have a Select Comfort sleep number bed and love it! We bought it 6 years ago and haven’t had a problem. We hate having to sleep at hotels. etc, because it just doesn’t sleep like our bed!!
I’m going to have to bookmark this one as we’ll be in the market for a new king sized mattress once we move. I don’t even know what type of mattress we have – that’s so bad. All I know is that we can’t wait for our upgrade and will refer back to this for some advice.
Tempurpedic! It’s worth every penny. We bought ours last year and to this day we believe it’s one of the best investments we’ve made. I owe you an email. 🙂
I moved back to the US about 3.5 years ago. Every mattress that my family had “stored” was returned in unusable condition, so…. I had to replace mattresses for a family of 7. After researching and shopping the local market, I purchased middle of the line Stearns and Foster for the kids and the best firm Stearns and Foster Pillow Top for the master bedroom. Well, 3 years later, 2 of those mattresses were returned due to significant sagging. Both returns were queen size. My daughter selected a pillow top Beautyrest as her replacement of choice and after much more research, my husband and I selected a Sealy Embody Prophecy Memory Foam Mattress as our replacement. (the return policy was that we had to select a mattress currently offered by the store… they did carry tempurpedic – man those are $$$!!! – for the Embody, we only had to add a few dollars to the “credit” we had received for the defective mattress. And in the end, my husband and I liked it better anyway. ) It did take a few weeks to get used to sleeping “in” the memory foam mattress – but when we got used to it, I will say we never looked back! I have a really bad back (thanks to my genes) and had not really had a good full night of sleep in nearly a dozen years. Additionally, I always woke up stiff and in pain. That seems to be all behind me for the moment – I have had the new mattress for almost 1 year. I sleep and when I wake up, the pain and stiffness is just not there as I had grown accustomed to. What I notice most, is that neither I or my husband toss and turn anymore. Where we fall is where we sleep. I am a fan!
My husband and I have a Tempurpedic. We LOVE it. It absolutely does not get hot — and we live in Houston.
love Sleep Number- especially since my back sometimes bothers me, so I can adjust the firmness to feel better while it’s acting up.
love, love, love, love our tempurpedic. life-changing. we got it when i was pregnant with my last {i was 31}–and i was having so many physical problems. took about a week to get used to it. i had a blood-hound sense of smell during pregnancy, and i did notice a “new mattress” smell for a few days after we got the mattress. anyway, now my hubs and i have a hard time sleeping on vacations and such. we can hardly wait to get back to it . . . i will NEVER buy anything else.
We bought tge cheapest mattress without all tge horrible chemicals in it from the New Living store and love it. It is vet firm but for back sleepers it is perfect! Also I highly recommend getting an organic mattress for infants and children. I have done hours of research and SIDS is most closely linked to mattress fumes YUCK!
I am in fact pleased to read this web site posts which includes tons of useful information, thanks for providing
these kinds of statistics.
Superb post however , I was wanting to know if you could write a litte more on this topic?
I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit more. Bless you!
memory foam mattress durability memory foam xl mattress pad
memory foam mattress density memory foam mattress non toxic memory foam mattress getting used to
memory foam mattress made in america
bike review giant seek bike reviews men bike derailleur reviews bike reviews
kestrel bike vermont reviews bike review overdrive