D2 will be starting grad school end of May and moving to a first apt where she will need to provide her own bed. We bought a bed frame/headboard/footboard but will need to get a mattress/box spring.
I figured we would just get something in her town and have it delivered if we purchased a regular mattress set up. (2nd floor apt and no I don’t know how it will go getting it in the door(s)!!!
First of all, what are the layers we would need for a memory foam mattress? Box/spring under the mattress? Does a regular mattress cover fit on top of it? I noticed at Costco they also sold memory foam mattress toppers but those were as much as the mattress itself!!
On the box spring subject - has anyone ordered one of the split box mattresses from Amazon? If so please let me know if there was one you recommend.
We already purchased a bed. It’s actually a bed exactly like her bed from home. Weird story but we found it next to new at a thrift store and it’s exactly what she wanted - maybe I’m not understanding…it did come with metal underframe with three metal bars and then a whole bunch of wooden slats that I’m not even sure how we use those! Does that make it a platform bed???
From what i remember, most foam mattress need a foundation. This could be a sheet of plywood, slats (I seem to recall spacing of no more than 2"), bunkie board, to name a few. we got a very affordable metal one that sits on the standard slots from Amazon. Shipped in a small long box and was very easy to assemble.
It’s wonderful!! It seemed amazing that the mattress could fit in such a small box. It took about a day for it to expand fully, but once it did it worked great. The metal platform bed came with slats and required no additional material.
It’s so comfortable that now I’m wondering why we spent $$$ on our Tempurpedic bed at home.
We got a bed in a box mattress and the bed frame posted above by @MaineLonghorn for our D in college who only needed a bed for one semester. She loved it and it was SO easy to assemble and set up. She used her memory foam mattress topper on top but not sure she really needed it.
Mattresses are such an investment - and it’s difficult when you can’t try them out - plus when you get one you usually need to use it right away - since we sleep nightly!
One reason I thought about the Costco one was for ease in taking it back if needed. The one I was looking at was 8 inches but they did have a thicker one - 12 maybe? This D is used to a high bed at home (box spring + very tall mattress ) her bed always reminds me of Princess and The Pea.
So maybe I should think about getting one at least 10 inches thick.
How about this “cooling gel” feature? It that typical? Effective? I can see her now wanting a mattress that is too “hot”.
I’ve never had an issue with memory foam being too hot, and I get hot easily (why I live in Maine and not Texas). We don’t have AC so some nights are fairly warm, also.
Cooling gel is just a nice gimmick. I recommend trying a pillow made of the same material first. The pillow does feel cool at first, but then after a few minutes it feels just like any other pillow.
@abasket - we had the same concern about buying a mattress without trying it. Bought the one I linked to after hearing several recommendations from a friend. Both her sons, niece and friend all bought the same mattress and liked it!
This weekend we are going to try and find some brick and mortar stores that have a memory foam “bed in a box” concept set up for D to sample laying on. I hear that West Elm has a higher end brand - Casper maybe? We don’t buy a higher end model but D needs to get an idea of what she is in for with one of these. Have you seen these types of mattresses set up in brick and mortar stores to try out?
Also, I have my eye on the Amazon one mentioned above a couple of times. But wondering if anyone has purchased a certain model/brand from Costco? Again, easy to get, easy to return so have to consider their options.
Make sure you read the reviews if you buy from Amazon. I was looking at one that seemed to have a great rating but once I started reading reviews, there were some big issues.
