Because the platform bed, headboard, and night stands were built in in our master bedroom, this meant that we would have to get a new bed, and Rocky decided he wanted a new mattress, too. Shopping for all this could have been a nightmare, but good fortune was with us and it turned out to be a breeze.
I researched latex mattresses on the Internet and since neither of us is allergic to latex, and because decades ago the first mattress I ever purchased was a Sears foam rubber mattress which I was very pleased with, I decided all natural latex was what I wanted. I loved the Sears mattress and said I would have another one someday. But they went off the market, probably because they crumbled into tiny bits eventually. However, they have now refined the manufacturing process, and use a variety of techniques to make them feel softer, yet remain firm for good spinal alignment.
The highly advertised Temper-pedic is a latex mattress plus. They add "memory foam" which conforms to your body shape. They also use a variety of chemicals in the production process which are petroleum based. However, they are too soft for many people and one of the negatives is that they can be difficult to turn over on, and that the latex is preferable for people with hip and spinal problems, which is me!
A big negative for all three well-known mattresses, Sealy, Simmons, and Serta, is that they are very expensive, close to $3000 for a Queen. Our contractor suggested we try a store in Bristol with the unfortunate name, Sleep Cheap. I went there last Monday and I saw when I walked through the front door a beautiful mattress, all natural latex with soy fibers and silk as fillers that soften it, and a cover made from bamboo. How environmentally conscious can you get? But it was made by a company I'd never heard of. Carolina Mattress Guild. And it was half the price of the well-advertised department store selections, $1500 for a Queen. I asked how they could sell them at that price, and the answer was that they don't make as great a profit on them as the other stores.
I really think that the advertising makes all the difference in the world. Carolina Mattress Guild doesn't advertise, and Sealy et al does. Go figure!
By the way, the current advertising is an urban legend. The memory foam beds were developed by a Swedish firm, and not NASA for the space industry. NASA has never developed any kind of bed to be used on the space crafts. Yet, the mattress manufacturers continue to use this false advertising. My information comes from Consumer Reports and other objective mattress buying guides I found on-line.
And to top it all off, I knew the Sleep Cheap store owners! We had purchased appliances from their store way back in 1984 when we built our house.(No, they weren't called Cook Cheap, or Wash Dishes Cheap, or Refrigerate Cheap.) But from our experience with them then, we knew they are reputable, honest retailers. I pulled my credit card out, and just like that, I had purchased the mattress. (I researched Carolina Mattress Guild that night on the Internet and thankfully found nothing negative.)
And Kathy, the female partner in the store, when she heard I was also shopping for a bed, gave me the directions to another store, West State Street Furniture, which is selling discounted QUALITY furniture. There are plenty of discount furniture stores around here, but everything is so cheap. These store owners make a weekly trip over to North Carolina where the furniture manufacturers are and buy close outs, remainders, overstock, one-of-a-kind pieces from manufacturers like Broyhill. The store looks like a little antique store, but inside it is chock full of beautiful furniture pieces, not arranged in suites, but just anywhere and everywhere they'll fit. They also have a large warehouse nearby.
I looked at a dozen beds and then I saw THE ONE. I fell in love with it instantly, and will try to take a picture soon to post. I couldn't get matching night stands. Well, I could have but they weren't in stock and to order them would have cost me more than twice what I paid for the headboard, footboard, and rails for two of them. The bed is in a beautiful matte finish mahogany (to match the knotholes in all the knotty pine we've used) so I found two wonderful mahogany shaker-type nightstands, each with three drawers which will help out with storage.
So all furniture was delivered yesterday and we slept in our new bed on our new mattress for the first time last night. Together.
