Hey Annacafe,
Welcome to The Mattress Underground! Nice to have you here and thanks for your question.
I am writing this through tears of exhaustion having just arrived home after another wasted afternoon and time away from work, looking for a mattress.
Right now I am sleeping on my sofa and have been for many months and it is giving me back pain.
I'm terribly sorry to hear the frustration in your words, Anna. Finding the best-suited mattress for your personal comfort preferences can be both challenging and exhausting. Sorry to learn that your sofa sleeping is causing you back pain too, that certainly adds to your unhappiness. We will do what we can to guide you along the path towards better sleep

.
I am looking for a basic old fashioned, two sided innerspring mattress, with a DAMASK fabric on top.
The fabrics currently used on mattresses are all soft knit or similar and I cannot bear them. Hence the reason I have given up walking into mattress stores because the sight of them makes me feel nauseous.
I want something I sleep ON not IN. 12 gauge coil, cotton, low profile, polyfoam if necessary and a smooth cotton fabric on top.
Please do not suggest latex, memory foam, pocket spring coils and so forth because I have tried them all and I know what will work for me.
The good news is that you know exactly the type mattress that you prefer and are able to describe it well

. The not so good news is the two-sided innerspring damask covered mattress you describe was quite common 20 years ago, but not so much today. Technology has brought many innovations to the mattress industry, such as PCMs/ Phase Change Materials, lighter/ more responsive covers, as well as covers using more naturally breathable materials.
There is a detailed thread on TMU for Los Angeles but many of these places are out of date/out of business or are stores that carry the same thing as everyone else.
There are older forum threads that do have outdated information and due to the difficulty in maintaining such lists in a retail landscape that is constantly changing, we have decided to discontinue the provision of listings of potential retailers in various geographic regions (unless they are already approved trusted members) We do not make recommendations outside of our
TMU Trusted Member Program
, as those manufacturers have not been evaluated by our strict vetting process; however, we do offer selection guidance based on Phoenix's
duarbility guidelines
.
In the past week alone I have driven a total of 300 miles just looking for a mattress. I think many mattress manufacturers/stores think they will sell you a mattress, just because you have made the journey to visit them.
Just FYI - I hope this will be helpful - some of the businesses that were listed in the LA thread, were listed as custom manufacturers, but do not sell directly to the public.
Apologies if the older LA thread wasn't more helpful, Anna. Before making more trips, you may consider calling the showrooms on your list and asking whether they have what you're looking for first (you may have taken that step, please forgive me if you have). A quick review of Phoenix's
"Mattress Specifications You Need to Know"
and
"Finding a Great Mattress Outlet"
will help you formulate specific questions, should you need more conversational examples. Thanks for your update and for letting us know about the custom manufacturers' B2B status

.
As a result of COVID I am on a strict budget, but I have looked at expensive mattresses to try them out and they are no better...
I have done a great deal of research on mattresses in the past few years and the mark up is shocking..
Please help if you can because I am desperate.
The two-sided mattress design that you seek will be more expensive, regardless of who you decide to go with, as it is more expensive to manufacture. It could be difficult to find a 12 gauge coil design; 12 3/4 offset coils may be more of a possibility. You may find a close model with Sealy, Stern's & Foster, or similar more traditional brands; however, spec details for evaluating durability potential are often difficult to come by with these brands.
Likewise if you need any help discovering who is a waste of time, I will happily share the infomation!
Thank you.
Lol, careful about going there Anna

! What would be interesting is to hear about what you do find that is close to what you're looking for. It's been several days since your post, do you have any news on your research? Good luck and let us know how things go.
Thanks,
Sensei