$ for Zzzzs.

August 24, 2009 8:34 PM

Buying my first king sized mattress. What should I know?

I need to buy a mattress and boxsprings. I decided to upgrade from my old queen sized mattress to a king sized one.

What should I know? What should I avoid? Recommend me a mattress. What price range is reasonable? Is it worth investing a few extra hundreds in a few inches memory foam?

I've never purchased a good mattress, or any other mattress. Please be gentle.

posted by ttyn to home & garden (20 comments total)

make sure it'll fit up any flights of stairs it may need to climb?

(we had to replace our [relatively new] boxspring when we moved because it wouldn't fit up the stairs.)
posted by Lucinda at 8:43 PM on August 24 [1 favorite]

Just as a heads up, it will become a lot harder to find speciality bed linens in King size - and when you do, they'll be a lot more expensive than your Queen size linens. Perfect example - I looked all over the Internet and brick and mortar store for a certain Marimekko sheet set and when I finally found the print I was looking for, the King fitted and flat sheet set was $90 more than the Queen. No joke. But other than that, omg enjoy the space. Totally awesome.
posted by banannafish at 8:45 PM on August 24 [1 favorite]

Echoing Lucinda, make sure the box spring comes in two pieces - essentially two twin box springs, which makes getting it into your house and (if this is an issue) moving in the future exponentially easier.

Some might disagree with this, but I bought mine sight-unseen off Overstock.com for an incredible price (about $900), because they only charge $1 for delivery (plus $20 to remove the old mattress but we kept our queen for the guest room, whereas local stores wanted over a hundred bucks for delivery). I have had it almost two years and it remains as it was the day it was delivered - a warrantied, perfect, pillow-topped, comfortable haven. If you must try before you buy, visit some local specialty stores to get the make and model of what you like and then see if you can order online. IMO, if you get a good mattress you won't need memory foam.

I've never had any problem with bed linens, but I don't go the designer sheets route.
posted by bunnycup at 9:09 PM on August 24

Most king box springs are actually two extra long twin box springs. Make sure that's what you get, since it makes it tons easier to move (which I've done three times with my king mattress set). In fact, since most mattresses are somewhat foldable a king set with the two box springs can be easier to move than a queen set, depending on the exact space you're moving through. Consider not getting a pillow top so the mattress is flippable to four, instead of two, orientations. It should last a bit longer then.

When I bought mine, almost 10 years ago, a lot of the 20 year warranties some stores offered were pro-rated, so after 10 years you'd only get 50% of the value. I ended up being from a local store, so it just came with the manufacture's 10 year.

As for recommendations (I think we ended up with a Sealy, a step below the top of the line, plush. The exact model they don't make anymore), any mattress that you like that isn't really soft or really firm should serve you well.

For bed linens, if you have really exacting tastes, banannafish's experience can happen. But if you're willing to wait for sales, you can often find sets for the same price as queen.
posted by skynxnex at 9:12 PM on August 24

Have you actually slept on memory foam before? You actually need to sleep on it; a quick lie down doesn't really work. It's a new experience. Some people love it, a few hate it. Personally, I could go either way. A big thick fluffy euro-top though? Heaven, IMHO.

I've heard (not sure where) to buy a separate pillow top and place it on a regular mattress, so when it gets squished over time you only need to replace the pillowtop portion, not the whole mattress as well. I followed this advice for my aforementioned memory foam, and well, if I hadn't already bought it, I probably wouldn't use it. The damn thing keeps sliding off the mattress, and it's hard to find sheets deep enough to encompass it and the mattress, together, and keep them tight enough so nothing slides.

Definitely make sure the box spring comes in two pieces. Also make sure the mattress itself can fit up the stairs; it can't have a solid frame, it needs to be bendable. A friend bought a king mattress (with a wire? frame) that had to go back because it couldn't bend to go up the stairs.
posted by cgg at 9:41 PM on August 24

Never slept on memory foam. Going to lay down on a bunch of mattresses this weekend and then compare prices online. Doubt I'm going to have a chance to actually sleep-test any of them.

The two-piece boxspring issue never even occurred to me. Please keep the advice coming!
posted by ttyn at 10:06 PM on August 24

Two piece box springs are that way for another very good reason other than being easier to move, support. With that extra width in a king, most ( king size single) box springs would start to sag sooner rather than later, even with some extra support. Thus the two twin box spring idea. Even some queen size box springs sag without added support. Two box springs ( instead of one large king size) are also cheaper for the company, they're probably already making them. Get a good quality set. Having a more supportive line down the middle ( the "seam" of the two box springs meeting) may cause your mattress to be harder and higher in the middle.
posted by Taurid at 10:50 PM on August 24

Skip the box spring and spring mattress and go with a Sleep Number Bed. They cost a bit more but hold up better over time. Even an expensive spring mattress will start to sag after a few years, but a sleep number bed has a 20 year (limited) guarantee. So say you spend $1500-2000 on a bed now (and you should if you want a good bed), you'll probably end up having to buy another one in 3-5 years, especially if you have to share it with somebody. Or you can just buy a Sleep Number Bed now and be satisfied with your purchase for many years to come. Best sleep I've ever had. We bought the King size, mid-level bed (the difference in levels is the thickness of the pillow top) nearly 3 years ago and it has been fantastic. We'll never sleep on a spring mattress again. The king-size bed is essentially 2 twin beds put together so you and your mate can each set the bed to whatever level of softness/hardness you like. And because there are two separate chambers, you never get the dreaded sinkhole in the middle of the bed that you get with spring mattresses.
posted by wherever, whatever at 10:52 PM on August 24

We got a Keetsa king-size mattress a while back and love it. It's got a few nice advantages:
- No box spring. Just a mattress and a frame.
- Super comfy
- It comes all vacuum-sealed and compressed in a box about 4'x2'x2'. (they'll ship it to you if you want.) You cut it open and it expands out, which is fun. I haven't had to move it out of the room it's in yet, so I can't say anything about that.
- They're very environmentally friendly, which is a good thing.

It has been a bit of a pain finding king-size sheets, depending on how picky you are about it.

The lebensraum is great - two adults, a baby, and two cats, with room to spare.
posted by chbrooks at 12:09 AM on August 25

I'm pretty happy with the IKEA Hjartdal spring mattresses we put in our son's room and the guest room, much more so than the high end Simmons we got for our own bed. Price:performance was much better with the ikea stuff.

Do you have a king-sized bed frame? Some mattress manufacturers will void their warranty if you put the bed right on the floor (although how they would know what you are doing w/ the mattress in your bedroom is a mystery to me). If you're also bed frame shopping, make sure the frame has ample support in the form of several extra legs running up the middle of the frame from head to foot. Not having these will make for a shaky bed + eventual sagging as well as possible breakage if you're bouncing around on there a lot.

Mattresses have gotten really bloated in height to the point where it's difficult to find fitted sheets that will stay on, something that has driven me slightly nuts since we got our latest bed set. 15" is considered "deep pocketed" according to sheet makers, but good luck finding a mattress that shallow. If you do fall in love w/ a super thick mattress, Lands Ends "elastic all the way around" fitted sheets are your friend. Costco's house brand of sheets are also very deep pocketed (18"+).

Be careful about Sleep Number's warranty, not every one has been pleased when they tried to redeem it.
posted by jamaro at 1:05 AM on August 25

Not sure where you are but in the UK I got a 60 night test with Tempur UK (one of the memory foam companies) which sold me completely. I got a deal with extra pillows & fitted cover sets. Eight years on and it feels like it did the first day I got it. The best part is getting into bed the first night after you've come back after being away sleeping on other mattresses :-)

Definitely worth investing in a good, long lasting mattress considering the amount of time you're going to spend on it.
posted by i_cola at 1:49 AM on August 25

I'll impart what wisdom I've gained on my own first mattress purchase:

For the love of god, do not get a pillow top. It may be comfortable, but you can only flip it two ways. Instead, get a feather-bed that will rest on top, and can be removed at will.

If you or your spouse are the least bit sweaty, buy a breathable, but sweat-proof cover. I'm not really sure if such a thing exists, but I sure hope so for my next purchase. Not only was our warranty voided by the sweat stains (hooray fine print), but our mattress was essentially ruined within the 60-night guarantee, during which we realised that it was far too soft. We weren't allowed to return it. Note that steam cleaning this sucker ourselves, outside of company warranty 'repairs' (which cover spills, and cat pee etc, but not sweat!), also voids the warranty.

Also, do not have any delusions about how it feels in the store equaling a good night's sleep. Ours felt fabulous in-store, but as I mentioned before, it was only later that we noticed it was too soft for our night to night comfort.

These were very expensive mistakes, so please heed my advice! Instead of buying a new mattress in 5-10 years as we had hoped, we will be buying one within a year or two of our original purchase.
posted by sunshinesky at 2:59 AM on August 25

This Slate article about mattress scams is good. I am at this very moment sitting on a king-sized mattress which I would not have purchased had I read that article first. (Another damn pillow-top!)

Ditto to the above comment about fancy sheets/blankets/etc, and indeed a lot of non-fancy options, being hard to get in king size. You also may find yourself putting marker dots or something on the end of certain items, so you don't stand there trying to figure out which side of the large, almost-square sheet is the end.

Also, resist the urge to get a vast thick fancy bedspread for your huge new bed, unless your washing machine is also unusually large.

(You can have enormous items professionally washed, of course, or hand-wash them in the bath while wondering how it was that your life went so wrong. But when one of our cats was going through an awkward little pissing-on-things stage, the giant bedspread got beyond a joke. I was considering cutting it down the middle and installing a zipper.)

I don't think memory-foam mattress tops are a great idea unless you're expecting to be feeble and bedridden in the near future; then, they may protect you from bedsores. I'm a big fan of memory-foam pillows, though, which are quite inexpensive (make sure you get one that's memory-foam all the way through, not just a core of memory-foam with ordinary foam around it, or some As Seen On TV thing that's not memory foam at all), last forever, and really are more comfy than the old-fashioned alternatives, despite feeling weirdly thin at first.
posted by dansdata at 3:56 AM on August 25

We went from a full to a king-size mattress, and I really wish that we had gone with a queen. I sort of feel adrift in something so large, and this is with a husband who seemingly gets most of his exercise while sleeping. If you are going for a king, though, I second the sheet sets with the elastic all the way around. Genius! Makes making the bed a snap and keeps me from going mad when that top corner pops up.

We couldn't afford a mattress, box spring and frame all in one go, so we got a mattress that didn't need a box spring, and kept that on the floor for a while. Now we have it one a cheap platform bed (with drawers!) that we got from Amazon, and this set-up is great.

Happy sleeping!
posted by thebrokedown at 3:58 AM on August 25

I wrote this for someone else that was asked once and copied it here.

I was a manager at a furniture store for three years. Here are my thoughts, take it or leave it.

1. If you buy a name brand bed such as Sealy, Serta, Simmons, Restonic or the like, they are all equally well made. Cousin Bob's used mattresses, who knows? They will all be pretty similar in the different price points.

2. You really do get what you pay for in beds. More money means better materials and usually more of it in the case of mattresses. Cheap mattresses will tend to sag and the material will lose its resilience much quicker than a more expensive one.

3. You normally (at least when I quit the furniture industry) can't find a model that you like and then look around for the same model at the same price someplace else. The different mattress companies will use different covers and different names so that you stores can show the same beds with different names. So don't spend too much time looking around for the same bed.

4. Hard =/= firm! People used to come in and thing they needed the hardest bed possible for a bad back. Good support is what is necessary. Any of the previously mentioned beds will have a good support system. Padding is just an option, depending on personal preference. If hard is what you want, sleep on the floor and blow your money on a new computer.

5. LAY ON THE BEDS. This doesn't mean sit on the edge and bounce. It doesn't mean half lay down. If you think you have a bed that you might want, lay down on it like you would to sleep and spend a few minutes there. Take your SO with so you can feel what it is going to be like when one of you toss and turn. If you don't listen to anything else, take this advice.

6. Get a good mattress pad or Scotchguard on the mattress. I know that a lot of times add ons are rip offs, but if you stain your mattress at all the warranty is void. That might not seem like a big deal now, but children happen. I bought a brand new bed and spilled Mountain Dew on it the first week. I would have been screwed. (Speaking of warranty, they won't normally give you a mattress warranty unless you buy a boxspring too.)

7. If you get a king size bed, the warranty normally requires some sort of center support. Keep that in mind if you need a frame.
posted by Silvertree at 6:31 AM on August 25 [1 favorite]

Incidentally, I have no current ties to the furniture industry. It is a self-defeating industry that I want no part of. I disagree with the Slate article however. There are two things I will spend money on until I die, a good bed and good shoes. If you aren't in one, you are probably in the other, and nothing causes misery like sore feet or a no sleep. That doesn't mean you need to spend $5000 on a bed, but a $200 mattress set ≠ $1500 mattress set.
posted by Silvertree at 6:40 AM on August 25 [2 favorites]

I disagree that pillow-top is a waste...I can't stand the mushy weirdness of an egg-crate but love my pillow-top.
posted by radioamy at 7:30 AM on August 25

Don't buy the mattress pad from the store! You can pick them up at Target or Walmart for much cheaper.

I also like my pillow-top (although I know it means we can't flip the mattress). It's definitely a matter of personal taste.
posted by muddgirl at 8:20 AM on August 25

I just purchased an account (finally) to submit an answer to this question. I have spent the last month of my life getting educated on the fine art of mattress shopping, and just yesterday completed the purchase of a king mattress.

First off, I will link you to this site: Mattress Blog. It is run by a guy that runs a mattress store in NJ, and contains a wealth of information. This site was invaluable to me during my mattress search, and I actually ended up buying a mattress from his store over the phone.

Anyway, you are best off sticking to the Big S manufacturers: Sealy, Simmons, Serta, Stearns & Foster. Out of those, Serta is generally the low-cost brand, Simmons and Serta mid-tier (though they both certainly sell mattresses that are WELL into high-end territory), and Stearns & Foster is the Cadillac brand. Off-brand mattresses may or may not be good, but they are often times pushed by salespeople because they have a higher margin. Buyer beware.

Now to materials: everything I have read and heard (except for from salespeople) repeats two key points over and over: STAY AWAY from memory foam and pillow-tops (also called euro-tops). With pillowtops, the big issue is indentation. After a short amount of time, sometimes only a few months, you will form an indentation which is very likely to cause you uncomfortable sleep, as well as back problems. You are much better off purchasing a 1" or 2" mattress topper. They have come a LONG way from the days of egg crates, and once the topper is worn out, you can replace it. You can also adjust the amount of firmness or softness over time, as your tastes change or if you develop any health issues. This is obviously not possible with a pillowtop.

Now on to memory foam. Memory foam is not a breathable material and tends to run very hot, especially during the summer. When warm, it is also much more pliable and you will sink further into the mattress. Over time, it will form permanent indentations. Latex is a far superior material. Any mattress store will have samples of latex and memory foam that you can use to tell the difference.

In regards to shopping around -- as stated above, every store has a different model name for their mattresses, basically to prevent you from shopping around a finding a good deal. Google is your friend. After trying mattress ad nauseam, my fiancee and I decided that we liked the Stearns & Foster Fiona mattress from Mattress Firm, in Luxury Firm. After Googling for that name, I found out that it was the same as the Monet's Garden at Macy's, and the Kimberley at CC Mattress, which is the mattress store run by the fellow that runs Mattress Blog above. The prices?

Macy's: $3,200
Mattress Firm: $2,500
CC Mattress: $1,799

In addition, I did not have to pay sales tax with CC Mattress. Slam Dunk. If you are not comfortable buying online, which is understandable, at least make it a point to price compare, and come armed with that information to the mattress store of your choice. Salespeople are able to take advantage of you when you are not armed with information. I went back to Mattress Firm and told the salesperson that I knew the Fiona was a Level N Stearns & Foster mattress, and that I could buy online for $1,799. He was a bit flabbergasted, and said there was nothing he could do to match that price since it was not local. He offered a free mattress pad and free white glove delivery, but it wasn't enough and he knew it. I thanked him for his time and left.

So anyway, there's my 18 cents. Hope that helps.
posted by suburbanrobot at 9:16 AM on August 25 [1 favorite]

Buy from a place that has a good return policy. My husband and I bought 2 Simmons mattresses, 8 months apart, for two bedrooms. Both mattresses were the same brand, same model name, same description, same price, from the same store.We ordered the second one by phone. The first was wonderful, and the secondfelt different from day 1, and became lumpy and uncomfortable. After sending an inspector to verify the problem, the manufacturer paid the store to take it back and provide us with a better mattress. Another couple we know had to return 2 Sealys. Buy from a reputable place.

Another moral of this story: don't buy any mattress without trying it, unless it's super easy to return. (Overstock's low shipping is just for shipping you an item that you end up keeping. If you return it, you pay the return shipping AND the amount they didn't charge you in the first place.)

Walmart has ridiculously low prices on good mattresses. Use them for price-matching. Select a Walmart name-brand mattress, and then find one with identical features at your local mattress store. The name won't be the same, but that's normal.
posted by wryly at 6:19 PM on August 25