Thanks so much for this helpful forum, Phoenix! Reading them has helped me decide on which latex mattress to get for my main bed. Now I have a question about the guest bed in my office, which is an Ikea daybed with a slatted wood base. Do you have recommendations for twin mattresses that would be good for both sitting and sleeping on a daybed? I love the feel of latex but fear it would be too squishy at the edge for sitting. At the same time, I don’t want to go so firm that the bed will be too hard for restful sleeping. Thanks!
Hi jomiller,
I’m assuming that your daybed doesn’t have a pop up trundle attached which you want to “match” to the mattress on the daybed (to make a short king). I’m mentioning this because it would limit the height you would be looking for to what would fit in the trundlebed (usually under 8") although 8" or less is a good height anyway because more than that and it may not be as comfortable for sitting.
I would probably be looking towards a latex/polyfoam hybrid with 2-3" of Dunlop on top (doesn’t compress as much as talalay with the same weight) and a firmer high quality polyfoam underneath both for good support. The polyfoam is stiffer and not as point elastic as latex and will also reduce the cost for the more occasional use of a daybed. With a hybrid construction … and if you also needed a softer surface than Dunlop would normally provide … then Talalay would also be fine but would compress a little more than the equivalent Dunlop layer but be more pressure relieving.
The specifics in terms of layer thickness and firmness levels would be the same as a regular mattress with the thickness and firmness of the various layers depending on your body type and sleeping style. Depending on how much sitting you were doing vs how much sleeping … I may also modify your choices towards slightly firmer if you will be sitting more on the mattress.
Another alternative depending on your budget would be a solid 6-7" Dunlop mattress that was soft enough for your sleeping needs and preferences. In this case … 2 sided would be a bonus because you could both flip and turn the mattress if you tended to sit in the same spot all the time which would lengthen the life of the foam. Ikea has an option called the Sultan Edsele which is widely available and better than average value for a mostly natural Dunlop latex mattress and it can be tested anywhere there is an Ikea within driving distance although it may be on the firm side. Local manufacturers may also have similar styles that can be tested locally and may offer a wider range of firmness levels and there are also several of the online members in post #21 here which offer a 6" and 8" latex mattress of various types.
Dreamsoft Bedding Ultimate Dreams mattresses would make a good hybrid choice because they can be customized for firmness and are very good value although they are 10" high and have a quilting layer on top which may not be as good for sitting.
http://www.latexmattresscompany.com/twin-7-zoned-natural-latex-mattress.html would also be a very good choice if you wanted to sit or sleep directly on the latex and it’s also thinner at 8".
Hopefully this will give you some good quality and good value choices in various budget ranges.
Phoenix
Phoenix,
Thanks so much for the valuable advice! I’ve just ordered a Dreamsoft mattress for our full-sized bed, so if that works out I may get another for the daybed. And there is an Ikea not too far away where I can try out the Sultan Edsele.
No, there is no pop-up trundle but speaking of height, I am also looking for a low-profile foundation for the Dreamsoft full. No more than 5.5" if possible. Sleepys was no help. Any thoughts?
Thanks again!
Hi jomiller,
There is a KD style low profile slatted foundation here which is 5.5" high and should work well.
You could also choose a good quality wire grid foundation like the Power Stack Foundation (Note added later: this is a discontinued product)
from My Green Mattress Productslow profile powerstack which is 5.5" or the semiflex here which is 5" but these ship assembled and may involve shipping.
I haven’t done extensive searching so there may be better value for these elsewhere.
Foundations that are similar to the powerstack or semiflex (rigid wire grid foundations) in low profile may also be available from many local mattress stores. The Serta Stabl Base foundation and the Simmons Triton and the Sealy Shock Abzzorber Plus are examples of some larger manufacturers that use similar foundations. You just need to make sure that they either have wooden slats that have no more than a 3" gap or an appropriate non flexing wire grid.
Phoenix