For the first couple of years of marriage we’ve had my wife’s twin pushed up against my queen size. It’s a win-win in every way - isolation of movement, comfort we’re both used to, no spending money on new mattresses, and the combo fits perfectly in our bedroom. There’s only one problem: No matter how you look at it, we’re still a married couple sleeping in separate beds. Hasn’t been good.
We just had a king size donated, and tried that out last night. We’re both crazy sore. The size is borderline, and if we had a choice we’d go 1ft wider.
But, as we work hard to get out of debt, we’re in a tough spot as we do need to get a bed that works for the sake of our marriage, but also not spend a thousand dollars, also for the sake of our marriage.
I’m an active sleeper - I snore, and roll around. My wife is the opposite. Early on I would sometimes wake her up to make sure she wasn’t dead. And she’s a light sleeper. Every time I move and the bed moves, she tenses up. Inner spring bed = poor quality of life.
I’m completely open to DIY projects here to save money. If we can spend < $500 to get a king-sized-or-wider bed that’s comfortable, isolates movement, and will last 2-3 years, I will be thrilled.
That’s a very broad question but the first place I would start is the tutorial post here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines you will need to make the best possible choices … and know how to avoid the worst ones.
Once you reach step 3 … if you let me know your city or zip I’d be happy to let you know of any better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area.
If you do decide to go with a DIY construction I would make sure you read post #15 here and the other posts it links to first to make sure you have realistic expectations of success and the costs that may be involved.
To do larger than a king, you’d probably be looking at a custom bed. Probably the best next size up would be 2 double/full xl mattresses of identical height set next to each other, and you’d need custom sheets, or make it like 2 beds side by side. If you built a custom frame, ordering latex or foam would be “easy”. Finding a mattress case and bedding, if you required it to be a single mattress, would be harder and may require a custom purchase.
The queen + twinxl isn’t a bad option either, but will give 1 sleeper a smaller area, and queen mattresses are sometimes built assuming 2 sleepers so, depending on mattress design could be sub optimal for 1 person only.
I’d be surprised if a custom build like this it’s doable for $500… but it depends on how unfinished a look you can tolerate. If you bought 2 pieces of 6" thick very low cost double/full xl (or twinxl + 6" if you wanted a king + 12") polyfoam online (or 2 3" layers per side), and set that on the floor and called that a bed, then maybe
That all said, I’d really follow Phoenix’s advice and start at the tutorial thread. It’s probably more important to figure out what kind of bed won’t cause you pain, and once that’s done decide how big to get it.
