Also, I will report back with I get the bed, maybe post some photos.
But I have one last question.
WHY did you create this site? It’s amazing.
Hi plasma800,
Like you … I think highly of the people at Texas Mattress Makers and I have spent some time talking with the owner there (Youval) and he certainly tells it like it is and is what I call “mattress people”.
I completely agree with this and it’s why I often suggest that if all else seems to be equal that going with slightly firmer is usually a better choice than going with something slightly softer. The only effective way to make a mattress that is too soft any firmer is by removing and replacing the foam layers that have softened rather than adding a firmer layer on top which will just follow any soft spots or sagging in the layers underneath them.
Most importantly … congratulations on your new mattress … I think you made a great choice 
I’m looking forward to your feedback (and pictures would be great as well) when you’ve had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.
There’s really two answers to this.
One of them is here
The “alternative” version … for those with more conspiratorial leanings … is here
Phoenix
Time to give a report!
First things first. I was very pleased that they called me the day before delivery.
I was very pleased that they called me the day of delivery, AND they were on time. Early even!
I was pleased they took my old mattress. Ok, so that was great on them.
Onto the mattress itself.
The first night was a BIG adjustment, this a firm bed man… not a rock, but not a sagging temurpedic either! I’m used to sleeping on my shoulder, so the bed was hard on my shoulder that first night.
Over the next 6 or whatever nights though, it’s been like a dream!! The top is nice, the edges are nice, it’s an amazing work of art they have there.
The only thing I’ve just done, is I ordered a flo beds wool topper, just cause I really love that hotel feel and I would like a little more caressing on top. But like Lax said, you can make a firm bed softer, but not the other way around.
I’ll give ya another update in a few weeks. Overall, I’m 100% in love with this mattress. What a find!
Hi plasma800,
Thanks for taking the time to share your update and feedback … I appreciate it.
It generally takes some time to adjust to a new sleeping surface and for any new mattress to break in but it sounds like that is happening very quickly and that you and your new mattress are becoming good friends
I’m looking forward to any further updates in a few weeks and/or after you add your wool topper.
Thanks again.
Phoenix
Hi, we too live in the Houston area. If you can please let us know how your mattress has been working for you, we would really appreciate it. Our main concern is with it possibly being a little too firm. Also, would you be able to let us know about how much it cost. Thanks in advance.
Hi Britchap,
Welcome to the Mattress Forum!
Just as a word of caution I would be aware that firmness/softness is very subjective and depends on many factors (such as each person’s body type, sleeping positions, and individual preferences and sensitivities). A mattress that is too firm for one person may be too soft for the next so I would always test a mattress in person (using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post) which will be a much more reliable way to assess how firm or soft a mattress feels or you regardless of how firm or soft it may feel for someone else.
Phoenix
Hi Phoenix,
Thanks so much for your help. I will definitely try to take your advice when trying out various mattresses. My wife and I had been thinking it would be a safe bet to shop at Costco. Now we are rethinking this and plan to visit Texas Mattress Makers next weekend. We are understanding that we should ask ourselves how comfortable and relaxed we feel after several minutes of lying on the mattresses. Is this a fairly accurate statement? In any case, I will go back and read your suggestions and steps more closely . Thanks again for the great advice.
Hi Britchap,
Testing for more subjective perceptions of “comfort” can be very misleading and in many cases can have a lower chance of success than random chance alone (see this study). I would test more specifically and objectively (and longer than just a few minutes) for pressure relief and support/alignment using the testing guidelines that are linked in the tutorial post.
Phoenix
Hi Phoenix,
I wanted to ask for your thoughts regarding pricing mattresses. Consumer reports suggests asking for significant discounts when purchasing a mattress from a big box store. They suggest that these mattresses are so overpriced that you could easily ask for half price and still be paying too much. Do you think that these types of requests are likely to be successful with the smaller manufacturers? I definitely would like to follow your suggestions for selecting the right bed and realize that this is the most important thing. However, I would also like to be sure not to overpay. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Hi Britchap,
Most factory direct manufacturers and better sleep shops don’t have or need “fake sales” (see post #5 here) or negotiated prices (see post #6 here) to have great value and usually sell their mattresses at the best available price every day of the year … although of course it never hurts to ask “is that your best price”.
The most effective way to assess the “value” of a mattress is to compare it to other similar mattresses based on the parts of your personal value equation that are important to you rather than based on the percentage of a discount off a fake retail price that nobody ever pays anyway. I would treat stores that have ongoing “fake sales” as a warning sign and would generally avoid them (see the guidelines here).
Phoenix
Thanks Phoenix. Your comments have helped me feel comfortable with my plan to buy at Texas Mattress Makers. They do seem to shoot straight there and I am comfortable that they do not participate in the fake sales that the larger organizations do.
I wanted to ask for some other advice. My wife and I currently have two queen beds and will soon need to discard one of them when we order a new bed. We will shortly be purchasing a king, probably from Texas Mattress Makers, to replace one of these. We are having real trouble deciding which one to discard. The queen in our master bedroom is a natural wool pillow top from Stearns and Foster. It is said to have uni lock inner spring with a marveleux foam comfort layer. It is said to be part of the majesty collection. The queen in our other room is not a pillow top. It is ultra firm and has double offset coils witha marveleux foam comfort layer. Based on these minimal descriptions, is it possible to recommend which one to keep a little while longer. The first one looks a little more luxourious and probably cost more. However, I get the impression that the second one offers a little more support if a little
hard. Any tips on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much, Ian
One other point is that the second bed has had less usage being a guest room bed. Thanks again for any tips with this dilemma.
Hi Britchap,
There are two things that I would take into consideration if I was in your position.
The first and most important would be which one is the best match for you (or whoever would be using the mattress the most) in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). In other words … which one do you (or the person that would be using the mattress the most) sleep best on.
The second would be which one is likely to be the most durable (although if you would only be using this on occasion or in a guest bedroom or for a little while then durability wouldn’t be as important an issue). It’s only possible to know this if you know the specifics of all the materials inside each mattress (see post #4 here). Since it’s not likely that you would be able to find out the information you would need to assess the durability of the mattresses this probably wouldn’t be a factor unless one mattress is clearly near the end of its useful life and is in poor condition.
One other factor that may make a difference is that if you have a mattress that is very firm and there are no soft spots or sagging in the mattress then you can add a topper for additional pressure relief and comfort (see post #2 here and the topper guidelines that it links to). The advantage of this is that the upper layers of a sleeping system are generally the weak link of a mattress and if you have a topper instead of using the same layer inside a mattress cover then it can be easily replaced without having to replace the entire mattress. The biggest risk with this topper/mattress combination is that choosing a topper of the type, thickness, and softness level that works well for a specific person and mattress where you haven’t tested the combination in person can be almost as difficult as choosing a mattress.
I would keep in mind that firmness and support aren’t the same thing and that a mattress that is too firm and a mattress that is too soft can both provide poor support. Sleeping on a wooden floor for example would offer poor support under more recessed parts of your body (such as the lumbar curve on your back or your waist on your side) and this part of your body would end up sagging with little support underneath it. Sleeping on a mattress that has comfort layers that are too thick or soft may be more supportive under the recessed curves which would be filled in with the softer comfort layers instead of “air” but would offer less support under the heavier and more protruding parts of the body such as the hips/pelvis. The goal of a mattress is to help you maintain good alignment in all your sleeping positions which means that it needs to have a combination of firmer support layers to “stop” the heavier parts of the body from sagging into the mattress too much (which I call primary support) and it also needs some softer comfort layers to “allow” the more protruding parts of your body (such as your hips and shoulders) to sink in enough that it fills in the gaps in your sleeping profile (which I call secondary support) and provides good pressure relief. There is more about primary support, secondary support, and pressure relief in post #4 here. There is also more about some of the other preferences that may be important to you and contribute to the quality of your sleep in post #4 here.
The bottom line for me would be that I would keep the mattress that is the best “match” in terms of PPP and that I slept best on.
Phoenix
Hi Phoenix,
Thanks very much for your generous advice on this. We plan to sleep on both of these mattresses for the next few nights to see which one seems to offer better sleep and PPP. It would probably feel a little odd to get rid of the pillow top as it is clearly a little more upscale and probably cost more than the other. However, we are thinking that this does not necessarily mean it will offer better PPP. Thanks again.
Britchap
Now several months in and still looooooooovvvvvvvveeeeeeee this amazing mattress. :woohoo:
Let me add some more thoughts here now that I have a second.
I added a wool topper from flobeds, and ended up taking it back off as it made the bed too soft. It felt like heaven when you slipped into it though… The firmness of the mattress alone is puuuurfect for me.
Hi plasma800,
Thanks for taking the time to share another update … I appreciate it.
It’s great to see that things are working out so well for you and now that you are past the initial break in and adjustment period you can expect more of the same for many years to come
Phoenix
Thanks to you!! if it weren’t for your crazy idea to build this forum I probably would have been ripped off at the mattress firm or something. I owe you all the credit for my great night’s sleep every night.
Time for an update.
It’s now 2019, and our Texas Mattress Makers Barcelona has been amazing, but now the foam top has broken down.
I contacted TMM and inquired about them replacing the top, which they told me then that they could at some future point.
Still my favorite mattress ever. Let’s see what they will do. I might buy another brand new one.
Hey plasma800,
So nice to hear you still love this mattress. Do you mean to replace the top layer within the mattress? I assume it is a sewn shut mattress by the photos on the website, did they give any inclination how they may do this? I am curious as that would be interesting to me.
Thanks again.
Sensei