Hi Glenda,
There are really no specific brands that I recommend because the quality or value of a mattress has nothing to do with the brand and everything to do with the materials that are in it and the quality of construction. Because of this … I pay far more attention to knowing the materials in a mattress than I do what name is on it.
This is also the reason that where you buy a mattress is far more important than the brand as well. Sources which will identify what is in every layer of every mattress that they sell and have the knowledge and desire to tell you the truth about the types of material that are in their mattresses and the advantages and disadvantages of each material are the only places where it is worth spending your shopping time. When an outlet does this … they are encouraging comparison shopping based on materials and construction rather than brand or advertising copy and the odds are much greater that the quality and value they provide is better. They will teach you how to tell the real value and quality of a mattress instead of trying to convince you that a certain mattress is better than another without any facts to validate their story.
This is the reason for the guidelines here that I put together which will help you avoid the vast majority of poor choices when you are mattress shopping and focus on buying a mattress that has real quality from an outlet that will help you understand how to choose rather than convincing you what to choose based on brand or a story that has no substance behind it.
As an example. in the case of the lowest priced Macy’s hotel collection … you are paying $2499 for a mattress that has only 1" of latex and all the rest of the foam is much cheaper and lower quality polyfoam. This is typical of the construction of a mattress that should cost much less than the “sale” price of this mattress and that could be purchased from a smaller local or regional manufacturer that uses similar materials. The other higher priced models that do use more expensive materials (such as silk wool fibers, cotton, or thicker layers of latex) are similarly overpriced. This doesn’t mean they are “bad” mattresses … only that they have poor value compared to other similar mattresses that are sold through smaller local or regional manufacturers either factory direct or through smaller sleep shops. These are the types of mattresses and outlets that I would tend to avoid.
Your budget is certainly in the range where you could purchase a high quality mattress using some of the best materials if you choose an outlet that is either factory direct or deals directly with a local manufacturer, has a shorter supply chain and offers true value as well as the knowledge and willingness to tell you exactly what is in every layer of their mattresses and will help you choose a mattress that is best suited for you without trying to “upsell” you into something that only serves their profit margin.
Unfortunately there are no factory direct outlets near you that I am aware of however there are some local wholesale manufacturers which sell mattresses through local outlets and have models that use good quality materials and construction and have better value than larger national brands. While some of these may offer better value … it is especially important when you are not dealing directly with a manufacturer that the outlet where you are testing mattresses provides you with the layer by layer specifications of any mattress they sell so you can tell what the “weak link” of a mattress may be and can make sure that they don’t include more than an inch of low density soft polyfoam in the comfort layers or quilting of their mattress. This also makes it possible to make more meaningful value comparisons between different mattresses.
Local Wholesale Manufacturers:
http://www.sleepdutchcraft.com/ Local wholesale manufacturer that sells through local outlets. They make a range of mattresses using a variety of materials and have an store finder on their website.
http://www.jamisonbedding.com/ Local wholesale manufacturer that sells through several local outlets. They also make a range of good quality mattresses. These may offer good value depending on the prices charged by the retail outlet. They also have a retail store finder on their website.
http://southerlandsleep.com/ Local wholesale manufacturer that also sells through local stores. They make a range of mattresses of all types and also have a store finder on their website. They are one of the larger independent manufacturers but there may be some difficulty in finding out the materials in their mattresses and I have seem many cases where pricing is higher than I would pay. Some retailers however will provide the specs of their mattresses and some may have “better than average” value.
http://www.restonicjc.com/ Local licensee of Restonic and Springwall. Restonic also has a store finder on their website. They make some good quality mattresses but the specs are different in different areas of the country so a spec sheet is especially important to find out how much polyfoam they are using in the upper layers of their mattresses.
Out of the local wholesale manufacturers … I would tend to focus on outlets that carry Jamison and Dutch Craft which are privately owned locally based manufacturers and generally use good quality materials in their mattresses. Of course their value will depend on the retailer that sells them. Some of the other manufacturers mentioned on the list may also have good quality/value as well on a mattress by mattress basis.
In addition to these options it may be worthwhile to consider an online purchase from a factory direct outlet such as some of our manufacturing members here because they can be a good source of quality and value when the choices at local outlets are more limited or not in the same value range as an online factory direct manufacturer. At the least they can provide a good value reference point. In this case it is still very valuable to do some local mattress testing first to get a clear idea of the type of mattress and layering that is suitable for you to help provide you with some guidelines for an online purchase.
Some of the local outlets that may carry higher quality or value mattresses made by smaller regional or national manufacturers or local brands and some of the manufacturers they carry which I would tend to focus my testing on include …
http://www.sanders-furniture.com/ Nashville, TN. Southerland, Bed Boss, mLily. I have talked to Tim here and he has been in business for many years. He knows his foam from experience, weight, and “feel” more than technical specs (like many people with years of experience in the industry)
http://shopinbliss.com/ Nashville, Knoxville, TN. They carry Savvy Rest component latex mattresses which use very high quality materials (organic Dunlop, 100% natural Talalay, and wool quilted organic cotton covers) but I would make some careful “value” comparisons here because they are also in a significantly higher budget range than many other similar component latex mattresses.
http://www.mattressexpressnashville.com/ Antioch, TN. Southerland, Sleep Harmony. Talked with them and they sell Southerland latex hybrids for reasonable prices (unlike some retailers) and understand the importance of specs and will get them without question for those who ask. Good people. Glideaway/Sleep Harmony can also be a good value choice.
http://marksmattress.com/ Retailer with stores in Nashville and Hermitage, KY. Carries their own line of private label memory foam and latex mattresses called Sleep Natural that may include some better quality/value options. I would avoid the major brand and liquidation mattresses that they also carry.
http://www.bfmyersfurniture.com/ Goodlettsville, TN. Restonic
http://www.mattressgallerydirect.com/ Franklin, Murfreesboro. Englander, Restonic
http://www.dtmccalls.com/ Franklin, Lebanon, Carthage, Lafayette, Cookeville. Dutch Craft
http://catchmorezzzs.com/ Hendersonville, TN. Capital Bedding
https://www.mattressesandmoretn.com/index2.html Smyrna, TN. Englander.
http://www.mattressinn.com/ Spring Hill, TN. Jamison. Will provide foam density specs for their customers and seem to be informed and helpful.
http://www.martinfurnitureusa.com/ Murfreesboro, TN. Dutch Craft
http://www.qfchome.com/ Murfreesboro, TN. Restonic
This should give you some of your better local options. In all cases though it’s important to make sure the retailer you are dealing with can provide you with the details of the mattresses they sell so you can make meaningful comparisons.
If you have any other questions along the way … feel free to post them.
Phoenix