So, this afternoon I went ahead and placed my order with Novosbed for a queen size Harmony mattress.
I’ve been going back and forth between the Aria and the Harmony because I was afraid the Harmony would be too soft (and the price difference). Yesterday I went up to the mattress store and tried out the Sealy Optimum Inspiration which they say is also comparable in feel to the Harmony. I spent over an hour in the store just testing out the bed and I liked the feel of it. Fingers crossed Novosbeds comparison is fairly close.
Unfortunately they were out of stock on queen foundations and won’t have any until mid August. Now I have to rethink my whole bed plan. I’m worried that the mattress alone over just the slat system will sit too low in the bed. I saw some mention the Ikea foundation SULTAN ÅRAM – anyone purchased one?
4 to 6 days for shipping so I’ll update when it arrives.
Phoenix – thanks for the input and for providing this helpful site!
As you mentioned the harmony is very similar to the Sealy Inspiration in terms of foam density and design (both use 3.7 lb gel memory foam in the top 2" and another 3" of 4 lb memory foam underneath that over a 6" polyfoam base) so I’m glad that you were able to use the Inspiration as a reference point.
The foundation thread here has some suggestions for foundations that would work well for you. I don’t know the specifics of the number of slats in the Sultan Aram so it may be a good idea to get the specifics from Ikea (number and width of the slats and the spacing between them) and then make sure with Novosbed that it would be suitable for your mattress and meet their warranty requirements. If you do a google search on “out of the box foundation” you will also find more sources for the same foundation.
Most importantly … congratulations on your new mattress
I’m going to wait until hubby gets home from work to open it so I can film it. I’ve been keeping notes on my online mattress shopping experience to share with family and friends so when the time comes for them to purchase a new mattress, some of the initial legwork is already done for them. My little brother designs bedding for a textile company in NYC and even he never thought to shop online for a mattress. Hopefully at least one of them will find the info useful.
I ended up ordering the Easy Fit foundation on Amazon. We went to Ikea over the weekend to get the Sultan Aram but the slats were too far apart and we would have had to take the cover off to modify it so hubby didn’t think it was a good idea. From the feedback I received on Amazon, the slats for the queen seemed to run anywhere from 2 1/2 to 3" apart so we should be good. We also purchase an extra midbeam for the bed frame to give it a little extra support – overkill?
I’ve been looking at mattress protectors and see many good reviews here on the St Dormeir but yikes, at $160 it’s a really hard sell to hubby. Has anyone found any “off” brand wool protectors that stack up to the St Dormeir?
I’ll be back to give an update on the initial opening and feel of it…I’m so psyched!
Glad to hear it arrived early! With respect to the base, it’s probably not overkill - any sagging because of the foundation really offsets the benefits of a new mattress: there is no substitute for perfectly-flat and perfectly-level.
I’m looking forward to hearing about the “unboxing”.
The gaps on the easy fit are a little over 4" apart (see the foundation thread here) but they should be fine for a memory foam mattress.
post #89 hereThere are a couple of alternatives in the but they are also fairly costly compared to the membrane type. The Natura has a membrane so it may not be as breathable as a protector that only uses wool and cotton. Unfortunately wool is a more costly material and it’s just not as inexpensive to produce a good wool protector and there aren’t a lot of options for this type of protector.
I’ll have to measure the gaps when the foundation arrives. I had several people from Amazon tell me 3" or less…ugh!
I have a mattress protector with a membrane now. I guess I’ll try that and see how it goes before ordering the wool one.
Hubby didn’t get home until late last night, so it was around 10PM when we finally got the mattress unpacked. It was very well wrapped in layers of heavy duty plastic around the mattress which was vacuum sealed in a thinner type bag. We unrolled it onto the slat kit we had purchased from Ikea (the foundation won’t be here until Monday) and as soon as he cut the bag, it started to puff right up – pretty neat. Our two free contour memory foam pillows were rolled up inside. They took a lot longer to puff up but by morning they were just fine.
When we were pulling off the rest of the plastic, I did catch a whiff of the foam – kind of a sweet odor to it but not over powering. I turned on the ceiling fan, and cracked the slider to the balcony to air it out. When we went to bed an hour or so later, there was still a hint of that sweet smell but I had expected it to be worse than it was. I wonder if once we start actually sleeping on it, if it will get a little worse before it goes completely away?? I only skimmed the posts on “off-gassing” – guess I should go back and reread them.
The cover is soft but looks very durable. The top half is plush quilted and the bottom half is a much thicker, more durable looking fabric. i guess this is to reduce the risk of it wearing through from sitting on a hard foundation or wooden slats. The seams are nice and straight and the stitching it neat and even. lol…most won’t care about that but to me, the little details like that can also say a lot.
I have to say the service I’ve gotten from Gaille at Novosbed so far has been great. She’s been very helpful and quick to answer my questions. I was pleasantly surprised when she called yesterday – guess she received notification from FedEx that they had made the delivery and was checking to make sure all was ok so far.
Since we unwrapped it so late in the evening, we couldn’t sleep on it yet though. Bummer… We did both lay down on it this morning for just a bit. It has a very, very nice feel to it…plush, but not too plush. It’s really impossible to tell more than that at this point. I guess the big test will be the zzzzz’s I get from tonight on.
I’ll be back to post about how it sleeps after we’ve had a couple of nights on it.
We’ve been sleeping on the Novosbed Harmony for a week and I’m very pleased with the comfort of the mattress so far. It’s plush but still offers great support. It’s probably a tad firmer than I remember the Tempur or the Sealy being so if it softens a bit over the next couple of months due to any “break-in” period, it will still be good. I even got the stamp of approval from hubby. After a full day of moving furniture on Saturday (mind you he’s no spring chicken), he woke up Sunday morning stretched, rolled over towards me and goes “Ya’ know, you did a great job picking out this mattress.” Hey, we’ve been married a long time…sometimes the little ones are the sweetest.
Also, regarding the Easy Fit Foundation we ordered from Amazon. Their specs have not changed since you did your research – the slats are just under 4" apart. The actual frame seemed very solid though so we took the slat kit we purchased from Ikea and laid that over the foundation frame. lol…this is the best supported mattress ever; the extra mid beam, with extra slates on the bed frame, with extra legs on a couple of the slats, the foundation with an extra slat kit on top of that…and we are not big people.
Thanks again for all your help! I don’t know why we never thought of going with a memory foam mattress years ago!
Thanks for the update and feedback … I appreciate it!
Like all mattresses your mattress will go through an initial break in period where the foam will soften slightly and lose any of its false loft and the cover materials will stretch and loosen up a bit so once this is over it will probably be very similar to what you remember.
I couldn’t agree more
Thanks too for confirming the width of the gaps. Your setup certainly seems like it would support almost anything.
We did both lay down on it this morning for just a bit. It has a very, very nice feel to it…plush, but not too plush. It’s really impossible to tell more than that at this point. I guess the big test will be the zzzzz’s I get from tonight on.