Want to buy a Latex Mattress in Los Angeles, willing to pay, but.....

[Grace]

Hi Phoenix,
Thank you so very much for sharing your obvious expertise with all of us who are attempting to navigate the shark-infested waters of mattress purchasing! I have been researching for at least the past 18 months - and after hitting a dead-end trying to find the Paramount HD bed, I thought I had found the answer - LATEX! - and then thought I had found the perfect latex mattress for us - the Essentia Dormeuse… However my husband and I just went to the store and physically tried it and were disappointed with the quality and the feel (very soft, without much support). We then tried what we were told was their top of the line mattress, the 8" Beausommet - (I just noticed that on the Essentia website that the Dormeuse is more expensive than the Beausommet and the Dormeuse Fior is more expensive still). The Beausommet seemed somewhat firmer, but we were still worried about how thin it seemed. We got a quote for a custom 10" version of the Beausommet with a plain cover (their standard cover is a dark brown//beige stripe that will show through with white sheets). With the “white glove delivery” and 2 custom King size pillows (they don’t actually make King size pillows) it came to $7272.06 - and that was during the 15% off sale, regular price will be $8322.06. Although the price was very high, we hesitated for two other reasons: first, because we would be buying it “sight unseen” - being “custom” we would not be able to try it first - but mostly what stopped us was that the floor model of the Beausommet had a visible sag/depression right in the middle on the side where people would naturally sit! The very helpful salesman told us the store had been there for 3 years… that was too much of an expensive risk for us.

I am now at my wit’s end! After reading through your site extensively, I still feel like I need your help! Here’s where we are:

We started with a very expensive brand name triple-layer California King conventional coil mattress that went bad shockingly quickly. We threw the mattress away, (keeping the middle support layer and split cal king box springs) and got what we currently have, which is a “Sleep Innovations” Foam bed - (a Costco Tempurpedic type mattress) that had a strong odor when we got it and now has VERY deep impressions on both sides with a vicious hump in the middle - that my husband swears was the “shipping fold” that never went away.

We are both on the small side - my husband is about 5’9/150lbs, a stomach/side/ and occasional back sleeper, and I am 5’2/95lbs,and a side sleeper. We have already decided on Latex because my husband is an active sleeper and motion transfer is an issue for us. One reason we were attracted to the Essentia is that it seemed to be made from all natural, organic materials and free of anything toxic - another consideration for us.

I have read about the differences between the types of Talalay Latex and Dunlop Latex and recall reading your recommendation of a blended version of the former, that sounds good. Where it gets confusing for me is, it seems that a top “soft” foam layer is needed for the mattress to be comfortable - and that top soft layer seems to be what goes bad and renders the mattress useless! Is it possible to get a latex mattress and use a soft top layer /topper that can be replaced as needed? I have read about the Flobed (sp?) with it’s freely interchangeable layers, but prefer to have the mattress layers attached to each other, so I don’t think that’s for us. Is there a Latex mattress that will be comfortable and last so that it’s worth the investment?

In addition, we’re not sure if our existing “middle” support mattress and box springs are suitable for use with whatever latex mattress you recommend, - and to confuse things even more, we’re toying with the idea of buying an adjustable bed, (we liked the L&P Prodigy at first glance, but your recommendation of the Reverie is worth thinking about) - so availability of SPLIT Cal King could become another factor.

As small as I am, our current foam mattress can be painful for me on pressure points, and needless to say it’s extremely painful for my husband - we really need to replace it asap. Our first concern is simply a comfortable mattress, and would love your expert opinion on which latex mattress type/ configuration/company is best and where in the Los Angeles area we might try one. We are even ready to start from scratch if necessary - for example, we prefer the Cal King size, but if the best one isn’t made is a Cal King, we’ll go Eastern King! I apologize for the epic email and thanks once again for your help!

[phoenix]

Hi Grace,

The first place I would start in case you haven’t read it yet is post #1 here. It has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines you will need to make the best possible choices.

You can read a little more about some of Essentia’s “claims” in this thread and this thread. As you can see what they say about their mattresses is suspect. It may also be worth reading this.

Where it gets confusing for me is, it seems that a top “soft” foam layer is needed for the mattress to be comfortable - and that top soft layer seems to be what goes bad and renders the mattress useless! Is it possible to get a latex mattress and use a soft top layer /topper that can be replaced as needed? I have read about the Flobed (sp?) with it’s freely interchangeable layers, but prefer to have the mattress layers attached to each other, so I don’t think that’s for us. Is there a Latex mattress that will be comfortable and last so that it’s worth the investment?

Yes … latex is the most durable of all the foam materials (polyfoam, memory foam, latex foam) and even in soft versions it is more durable than the equivalent softness in other materials. There are several manufacturers such as Flobeds that make component mattresses where individual layers can be re-arranged or exchanged either to make comfort choices or if one of the layers needs replacing so you can just replace a single layer rather than the entire mattress. A mattress and topper has some similar advantages because you can just replace the topper as necessary without having to replace the mattress underneath it but with a topper it can shift more than a layer inside a cover and it can also be difficult choosing the most suitable topper unless you can test the mattress and topper together. Some local manufacturers will also repair a mattress by opening it up and replacing a single layer. There is really no particular advantage to gluing the latex layers together in a mattress with a zip cover (see post #15 here). Overall a latex mattress is the longest lasting of all the mattress types regardless of whether it is soft or firm although with any material including latex … softer versions will not be as durable as firmer materials. There are many local manufacturers around the country that make great quality and value latex mattresses (both finished and with individual layers) that are exceptionally durable compared to any other types of mattresses.

In addition, we’re not sure if our existing “middle” support mattress and box springs are suitable for use with whatever latex mattress you recommend, - and to confuse things even more, we’re toying with the idea of buying an adjustable bed, (we liked the L&P Prodigy at first glance, but your recommendation of the Reverie is worth thinking about) - so availability of SPLIT Cal King could become another factor.

Most latex mattresses do best on a firm non flexing foundation rather than a box spring which flexes. You can read more about foundations and boxsprings and which mattress each tends to do best with each in post #2 here and in post #3 here.

I’m not sure what your middle support layer is made of or how you planned to use it. If you can let me know how you planned to use it and what type of material it is and its softness and thickness I could certainly share my thoughts about it.

Of course if you get an adjustable bed then you won’t need either a foundation or a box spring.

As small as I am, our current foam mattress can be painful for me on pressure points, and needless to say it’s extremely painful for my husband - we really need to replace it asap. Our first concern is simply a comfortable mattress, and would love your expert opinion on which latex mattress type/ configuration/company is best and where in the Los Angeles area we might try one. We are even ready to start from scratch if necessary - for example, we prefer the Cal King size, but if the best one isn’t made is a Cal King, we’ll go Eastern King! I apologize for the epic email and thanks once again for your help!

There is no such thing as the “best” mattress or the “best” manufacturer because it depends entirely on your own personal value equation and on all the variables , tradeoffs, and personal criteria that are most important to each person. Some of the better options and possibilities in the Los Angeles area that I’m aware of though are listed in post #2 here.

Phoenix