apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

we did this with our bed using the $200 memory foam mattress topper from costco. maybe not as great as a new mattress, but pretty close and so much cheaper.

Isn't the (additional) featherbed topper what "makes" a W Bed? At least, that has been my experience when I stay at a W (my fave hotel brand).

I sleep on a foam mattress at home and, to me, the W bed is not at all like a foam mattress. They're both nice - just different.

Sorry to tell you but memory and thermal sensitive foams (i.e. Tempurpedic) are probably the most toxic off gassing items you could introduce into your home. There is a clear link between domestic exposure to formaldehyde (used in polyurethane foam manufacturing) and increased risk of asthma in children. Add PBDE's (flame retardent chemicals) which accumulates in women's breats tissue and is passed along to both children in the womb and nursing children and you have a recipe for a lifetime of health problems.

Forget the mattress, I want the bunny clock! So cute!

Forget the bunny clock, I want the cat!

I'm starting to think that a plain vanilla mattress with a couple of featherbeds on it would be the best and cheapest sleep.

Sounds like the cat is pretty smart - I wouldnt want to get on that thing either...

Why didn't you get a Keetsa Mattress Rejuvenator?
http://shop.keetsa.com/products/keetsa-rejuvenator

westchesteral: thanks for the info. I'm planning to keep it sealed within one of those anti-allergy sealed covers to lessen the off-gassing. I guess if I had more room, I'd leave it out in a backyard to off-gas as much as possible before introducing as some customers had noted. Fortunately, we don't plan to have children, so that's one less worry (our darn cats are enough at this point anyhow).

The W mattress went kaput in "less than a couple years"? I thought mattresses were supposed to be a more durable, long-lived purchase. If getting even a nicer one is going to get me enrolled in cycles of repair and re-purchase, I'll just stick with my second-hand piece of free crap and take my lumps.

yeah, i agree with nora. that is really depressing to think a bed will last only a couple of years before getting sags. does anyone have a bed the absolutely love, and have had for years. my husband and i are in the market for a new mattress and cannot decide.

Our bed has the double-sags too. :-( We bought a really fancy expensive king-size bed, and now it has 2 troughs in it on the sides where we sleep (cats down the middle). So we have a less-comfy sleep, plus anyone who sees it will know we don't cuddle together in the middle!

Next bed, I'll just buy a cheap one and plan on replacing it in a few years anyways. I'll try to find something better for the environment.. but gosh! I need to get a good night's sleep!

bepsf: unfortunately the Keetsa model is out of my budget (almost twice as much as I spent on the model I purchased). But it's definitely one I would consider if I could afford it.

I think purchasing mattresses are a crap shoot. Some people purchase a top of the line mattress and see them last for decades, while others note a deterioration within a couple of years. I wouldn't purchase a "cheap" model ever again, as the last time I did, it aggravated my back for years. It's not worth it, as even a slightly dipped-in W Hotel mattress is still much more comfortable than the cheaper brand I purchased prior to it. As someone who once suffered from sciatica, keeping a comfortable bed within the realm of my budget is an important goal.

a feather bed made all the difference for me! i got the cheapest mattress i could find and put the feathers on top!

The tempurpedic only worked for bit over a year for us, though that year was heaven. Aches and pains in the morning are the sign its life is over. My husband thought I was lifted out of the fairy tale The Princess and the Pea and I, too, thought there was something wrong with me, but thanks to all you folks I know it wasn't me. I'm going for Ikea next purchase and am preparing to toss at the first signs of age.

i agree i think buying a mattress is a crap shoot.

not to change the subject but love the bookcase, did you make it or buy it? it's probably spelled out in your house tour but that would take me a while to find.
your cat is a sweetie to be testing for you, deserves more treats or at least union wages.!

For the people who say that their mattress started sagging, I'm curious as to how often your turn the mattress? I had a not-so-expensive mattress for almost 5 years and it never sagged, but I turned/rotated it at least twice a year, and I'm wondering if I just lucked out or if turning it actually helped.

We turn our mattress once a month or so, and it's still starting to sag. It's so disappointing...
I think it's definitely a crapshoot b/c we spent a lot of money on this matress, and I've owned cheaper models that lasted longer.

I think you just have to plan on replacing them every 5 years or so if you sleep in them nightly.

I love my memory foam mattress topper - and I'm hypersensitive to chemicals. I let it outgas for a couple of days before putting it on my bed and now have it in a cotton cover.

My cheapo super-hard latex foam mattress came with a 15 year warrantee. I don't get the "couple of years" for a premium product business at all.

Mattress pads can be cut with a good box cutter so you and you wife can each have it your way. That is, half of the original warmer pad for her and half the cooler one for you. As long as they are both the same thickness, this shouldn't be a problem as the fitted sheet you use should hold them in place.

I needed a memory foam pad because I have back issues but my husband didn't like the feel of it so we have only half of our queen size bed covered with one. It looks strange, but it doesn't shift much. However, we don't have a cover on it so the foam grips a bit better than if it has a slippery cover on it.

You probably don't want to buy a whole new mattress, but I've been really happy with the Sonno mattress from DWR. I've had it 5 years, and I don't have any dips or sagging. You don't have to flip it or turn it either, and it didn't offgas. I can't stand the feel of Tempurpedics, and in comparison the Sonno is a very temperature neutral. It comes with a 15 year warranty, too.

I have had a Stearns & Foster pillowtop-style mattress for about five years and it's still awesome. It thought it was pretty expensive when we bought it, but it's better than any posh hotel mattress I have ever slept on. I love it.

"I think you just have to plan on replacing them every 5 years or so if you sleep in them nightly."

I'd be overjoyed to get 5 years! We've had our rather expensive mattress for almost two years, and it's definitely starting a serious case of the saggies.

Yes, we rotate it, and no, we're not giant fat people or anything. ;) I guess it's just the luck of the draw.

i have a latex mattress that i bought online -- its super comfortable, and no sags.

Mattress and topper research based on alot of actual owner experiences...

http://www.sleeplikethedead.com