I have been working on my DIY mattress for quite a while, I had a configuration that was working well, but now I’ve begun to have some shoulder pain. I currently have the following:
8" Bolsa Coils
3" Serene Foam
1" Soft (IDL 19) Dunlop
Bamboo cover with 1" wool
I am wanting just the slightest plushness tweak. I used to have a Plushbeds mattress with a 1" layer of extra soft talalay (IDL 10 maybe), and I think this is what I need to add to the mattress. Do you know of anyone that makes a 1" Extra Soft Talalay layer? I have scoured the internet, but haven’t been able to find one.
In my opinion, a 1" topper is too thin to be effective. You are probably going through the topper and onto the firmer material below resulting in your shoulder pain. I would suggest a 2" 14 or 19 ILD topper. That should give you the relief you’re looking for.
So I went back to the drawing board. I had a 1" firm dunlop from Sleep on latex. I now have the following configuration:
8" Bolsa Coils
1" Firm Dunlop from Sleep on Latex
1" Soft Dunlop from Sleep on latex
3" Casaluna Serene foam from Target
Marriot Matress topper
Cariloha Classic Bamboo Sheets
I am in mattress heaven! The mattress is soft, fluffy, supportive, and relieves pressure point. I am sleeping temperature neutral, not cold not hot.
I am sleep 10 hours, my husband sleeps 9 hours. I feel like we have hit mattress nirvana!
About $1500 for a king size. I didn’t really save money, however, I was able to try out over 20 different configurations until I found what I liked, which is why I went the DIY route instead of just buying an actual mattress.
Excellent. Thanx for sharing.
How long did it take to figure out what works for you?
Where did you buy your coils and casing?
Did you buy everything in one place?
Did you fit everything into the mattress casing?
Did you split the mattress uppers for each of you or did you go with one-for-all?
It took about 6-8 months to finally find a combination that was comfortable for both my husband and I.
*Coils and Casing came from Arizona Premium Mattress Company
*1" Latex layers came from Sleep on Latex
*3" Serene foam was a Casaluna topper from Target. I really love this foam, it has the cradling feel of memory foam with bogging you down or feeling hot.
*I went with a one for all instead of two different firmnesses for the two sides, which is why it took a little longer to find one that works for both of us. My choice was driven by the fact that my husband and I both tend to migrate toward the center of the mattress when we sleep, so I didn’t want to feel like I was on a hill or in a ditch due to the different firmness.
What I really liked about the DIY option was that we could keep changing until we found exactly what we liked. Also, in the future, when the foam wears out, we can simply buy new layers of foam instead of having to buy a whole new mattress. One thing I found with my old latex mattress is that after about five years, the talalay latex layers had developed “ghost impressions.” I couldn’t see an actual impression from where we slept, but I could feel the latex was more worn out in those areas. I also like that if our mattress needs change any time in the future we can just change out layers to make the mattress firmer or softer.
The key with a DIY mattress is to have patience and ask a lot of questions.
So, here is the frustration with a DIY mattress. I thought I had found the perfect, comfortable build with the following:
8" Bolsa Coils
1" Firm Dunlop from SOL
1" Soft Dunlop from SOL
3" Casaluna Seren foam from Target
Bamboo/Wood mattress cover
Marriott Mattress Topper
We were really comfortable for about a week, then our hands started going to sleep and we were waking up with achy joints. When this happens to us it’s ususally because the mattress is too firm. So I put the 1" firm from SOL under the coils taking it out of the comfort/transition layer completely since it has a crazy high ILD of 46 I believe. I left the rest of themattress as is. It is STILL too firm with the following configuration:
1" firm SOL
8" bolsa coils
1" soft SOL
3" Casaluna Serene Foam
Marriott Topper
It feels incredibly soft and comfortable when we first get in bed, or change positions, but within 10 minutes it feels like were lying on our hardwood floors.
So, I am thinking of doing away with the Serene foam. I also have a 1.5" gel memory foam topper that I can’t sleep on for the same reason, starts soft ends up hard. Is this just the nature of polyurethane foams?
I am thinking about going with latex foam. I had an all latex bed before, but didn’t like the “dead” feel of an all foam bed, which is why I started this DIY journey in the first place. I am 5’4" 150 lbs, my husband is 5’10" 190 lbs. I am a 100% side sleeper, hubby is 50/50 side/back. He would like to be a 100% side sleeper but has shoulder pain if he sleeps too long on his side. What do you think of this configuration?
1" firm SOL 46 ILD
8" coils
2" medium latex 28 ILD
2" soft talalay
2" extra soft talalay
We both like the feel of a plush bed. I have a 15" bamboo/wool mattress cover from your company so I have plenty of room to add transition and/or comfort layers.
Thanks for the help. Does #19 talaylay feel softer than #19 dunlop? I have tried putting the 1" #19 dunlop on the top of the 3" serene, but we found it too firm. I have always read that we don’t want to put more than 4-5 inches of foam over the coils. So, I have to ask, is it possible to make a DIY hybrid that is plush feeling for a side sleeper but still supportive?