This bride's head is spinning...mattress on a budget help.
Jan 17, 2011 9:54 PM
Joined: Jan 17, 2011
Points: 4
Hi everyone,

 

I am getting married in several months and my fiance and I are starting to mattress shop - well, I am.  He is in medical school in a state quite a bit aways from the state I'm in which I'm completing graduate school, so we can't test mattresses together very well.  He won't be moving up here until two weeks before the wedding.  My current mattress in staying at my parents' house (no dice on taking it), and his mattress is a really awful one that wouldn't be worth the cost of transporting to our new home.  Our budget is probably $600; we should be able to swing $700 max.

 

I am almost always a side sleeper who very occasionally starts out sleeping on her back...but I end up on my stomach often, usually after I'm supposed to be up and have nestled under the covers in an effort to sleep just a bit more.  I am 5'7" and 130 lbs.  I have had back problems - have a spinal fusion from scoliosis, so if something is too stiff and lacks lumbar support I can't be on my back for long without discomfort.  No real day-to-day issues, but I sometimes sleep in oddly and give myself neck problems.  My current mattress is a pillowtop with springs that I think is moderately firm.  I like the mattress, but I do use a thinner pillow - a memory foam one just about killed my neck.

 

My fiance likes to sleep on his back (and snore), but will also sleep on his side (...and snore) about 50% of the time.  He is 6'0" and around 185-90 lbs.  He thinks my mattress is too soft, but he has slept on really, really bad, cheap, ancient mattresses his entire life (I was in agony after sleeping at my future mother-in-law's house one night).  He does have some neck issues and uses an almost flat pillow.

 

I have been looking at memory foam mattresses and was all set to order one of these:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Foamex-10-Inch-Premium-Mattress-Natural/dp/B001E972O8/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1RRTNV4PKME8Z&colid=WDDSHJ88QUQA

http://www.amazon.com/Memory-Foam-Mattress-Plush-Activated-Carbon/dp/B002AHX4PY/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3VHL1IJ1NYTMV&colid=WDDSHJ88QUQA

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod1990006&navAction=

 

...but after stumbling onto this forum, I now I realize I have no idea what I'm doing.  I am trying to research, but it is overwhelming.  Suggestions, advice?

 

 

This message was modified Jan 17, 2011 by cherryblossom
Re: This bride's head is spinning...mattress on a budget help.
Reply #1 Jan 17, 2011 10:35 PM
Joined: May 22, 2008
Points: 171
Well the 1st step is to go into some stores and start laying on some mattresses. Try to find stores that stock innerspring, memory foam, and latex beds, and know what is in each one. Then see what you like. Innerspring mattresses generally have some sort of foam in them, often its hard to really know exactly what. They can feel very different depending on the springs and the foams they use on top. Memory foam (which you seem to be looking at) feels very different from other beds. I personally really dislike memory foam beds; they start out cold and firm and end up too hot and soft for me. But a lot of people do like them. Latex also feels different from spring beds. With latex you should determine which type of latex you like better - dunlop or talalay. On all of these beds you should see how firm you like it. And try to separate "comfort" (how the top feels) and support (does the mattress keep your body inline). Don't be talked into buying anything! smiley Post back when you know your preferences...

 

Steve

This message was modified Jan 17, 2011 by st3v3k4hn
Re: This bride's head is spinning...mattress on a budget help.
Reply #2 Jan 18, 2011 9:08 PM
Joined: Jan 18, 2011
Points: 2
Hello Cherry Blossom:

600 - 700 is a tight budget but you do have some great options.

If you have your heart set on Memory Foam...Check out Dormia Mattresses (Some Mattress Folk refer to it as the Poor Man's Tempur Pedic).

Another great mattress is the Beautyrest Anniversary but you would definitely need to find it on sale and you could probably get it for 700 or so.

Just keep in mind that you can always add a really nice mattress topper to your mattress later on.  My personal favorite is the 3" topper from Pure Latex Bliss.  It's not Cheap probably almost $400-500 but most of their Mattresses come in at well over $2,000 retail. 

Good Luck!

Mattress Xpress

 

Re: This bride's head is spinning...mattress on a budget help.
Reply #3 Jan 19, 2011 3:26 AM
Joined: Jan 17, 2011
Points: 4
Thanks for the advice, all.  I am going to go mattress testing for sure.  So far I got as far as testing the ones on display at Sam's, but I haven't been to a mattress store since I picked out the one I currently have (a Sealy, I think) a few years ago.

 

Gizzy, do update!  The temptation to buy from a place where return is as easy as stuffing the mattress into a car and handing customer service my receipt is great, but I do love the prices of online shopping.  I hope your beds work out for you!

 

Mattress Xpress - thanks for the tip on Dormia - I see that there's a dealer nearby (who also carries Beautyrest).  They seem to be offering a special on a queen size memory foam mattress, so I might be in luck.

 

I do like memory foam...when I was in college, our dorm beds were awful things, so I had a layer of egg crate, and then a basic memory foam topper...my back and neck didn't kill after I put them on there.

Recent Posts