Hi ElementalNimbus,
After reading up on beds from Amazon and this site I have decided on a likely candidate:
www.amazon.com/dp/B0091WM7CW/ref=cm_sw_su_dp
Ultimate Dreams 13" Gel Memory Foam Mattress
First off, we are debating between a King sized and a California King sized. The prices look to be even on Amazon. Does anyone have a recommendation between the two? I have almost no idea what the difference is to be honest.
This would be a great choice for someone that has done some testing on the Tempurpedic Cloud Luxe and knows that it's a good match for them in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) since most people who have purchased the the Dreamfoam 13" Gel Memory Foam have said that they are similar in terms of softness/firmness except the Dreamfoam may be just a bit firmer. Of course these types of comparisons can also be quite subjective. It's certainly a great quality/value choice and as you probably know I think highly of Dreamfoam and they compete well with the
best in the industry
in terms of quality, value, and service.
The size is a personal preference. Their king size is 75" x 80" and would probably be of most interest to a couple that wanted a little more width that gave each of them more individual room on each side while the california king is 72" x 84" and would probably be of most interest to those that were taller than average and needed some extra length and didn't mind a little less width as a tradeoff. It may also depend on how each size would fit in your bedroom.
Next up, does anyone know of any frames or headboards they'd recommend to go with it? I'm currently looking at this:
www.amazon.com/Sleep-Master-Platform-Fou...ornia/dp/B006MIWHUU/
As I'm a slightly larger man and have a history of breaking more fragile frames. However it's somewhat ugly and a tough sale for the lady. She wants something pretty from Ikea, however I think the slated wood base could break and isn't good for this type of mattress anyways. This is what she wants:
www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S39006807/#/S09007549
There is more about the different types of box springs, foundations, or platform beds that generally work best for different mattresses in the
foundation post here
. There is also more about the steel wire grid foundation/frames in
post #10 here
. The wire grid foundation / frames are quite strong (most of them hold over 2000 lbs) and would likely be stronger than the Ikea platform (although they don't list the weight it will support) but if I was looking at this type of support system I would probably consider one that had more longitudinal wires with a more evenly supportive surface. The Ikea bedframe doesn't come in cal king if that is your size choice.
Last thing mattress related is I'm picking this up as a cover:
www.amazon.com/Sleep-Tite-ENCASE%C2%AE-M...ector/dp/B004NJ1VIO/
From what I've read it's really the best/only choice. I'm completely new to this though.
If you only need a mattress protector to protect your mattress from the the body fluids and skin flakes that you release each night or against accidents and to protect the warranty then a 5 sided mattress protector (that fits like a fitted bottom sheet) would be a more common choice because they can be removed and cleaned much more easily to keep your sleeping surface in a clean and hygienic condition. There is more about the pros and cons of different types of mattress protectors in
post #89 here
and the posts it links to.
6 sided covers would be a better choice for those that have more severe allergies to dust mites or other allergens and/or for those that want or need a cover that protects against bed bugs although an allergy encasement can involve different choices than a bed bug encasement. In both cases ... an encasement is best left on the mattress on a more permanent basis and the type of encasement you are looking at can restrict the airflow in the mattress since it's only "semi breathable". There is more about dust mite allergies in
post #2 here
and more about mattress encasements in
post #2 here
and some of the other sources of information it links to.
Any other advice in general is greatly appreciated.
Just in case you haven't read it yet ... the
mattress shopping tutorial here
has most of the basic information, steps, and guidelines and answers to most of the more common questions that most people have that can help you make the best possible choices.
Phoenix
