... and so to bed Print E-mail

You’re going to spend over 29,000 hours on your bed during its (10-year) lifespan, so it’s worth taking a little time and effort in the beginning to make sure you make the right choice. 

If what the bed manufacturers claim is true, then it’s possible the last time you bought a bed, horse hair was the stuffing of choice! Things are very different today, even compared with a decade ago. Here are some of the products on offer:

Big beds

Choose the biggest bed you can fit in your bedroom. King size, 5ft/150cm beds are no longer good enough – 6ft/180cm and beyond is the new cool. Larger beds are now accounting for more than 30 per cent of the market.

Beds on legs

Yes, it’s fashionable for beds to show a bit of leg these days. Take your pick from wood or metal, straight or curved. Resourceful manufacturers are even managing to combine storage drawers with bases on legs. Others are making bed bases designed to be exposed, legs and all.

Upholstered divans

Traditional divan beds are holding their own against the trend towards bedsteads with luxury upholstered styles in a choice of fabrics and colours. Leather, faux suede and ultra-soft chenille are popular, mostly in neutral shades such as ivory, coffee and cocoa. Upholstery fabric is even being used for mattress sides.

Co-ordinating headboards

Make a dramatic statement with a tall headboard – the taller the better. Fabrics match the upholstered bases, giving a softer image than metal or wooden headboards. Buttons are in, especially good with leather – but they’re a far cry from those shaped, buttoned headboards of years ago. Integral side tables and lighting are making a comeback – but not like the 1970s version.

Low looks

The trend for bed height is downwards again, most of the height loss coming off the bases. Mattresses are bursting with upholstery fillings and tightly packed spring units.

Going high-tech

Gone are the days when you just chose between a sprung or non-sprung mattress. Ingenious new spring units and high-performance pressure relieving foams and visco-elastic memory foams mould to your body. Other filling materials are appearing almost daily. High-tech covers are also coming in – options include fabrics that offer micro climate control, are super-hygienic anti-fungal or are completely free of chemical treatment. There are even new fabrics derived from corn coming on to the market!

‘Action’ beds

Go for pull-out drawers, electrically adjustable head and foot positioning, massage units – the choice is yours. You can even buy models with adjustable firmness or full climate control.
No-action mattresses. Look out for the latest no-turn mattresses just appearing on the scene. You can now get them with open coil and pocket spring interiors as well as non-sprung options. In the US non-turn options are fast approaching the halfway mark and the UK looks set to follow suit.

Trad fad

Age-old hand-crafted detail always impresses. Look out for tufting, hand side stitching
and traditional fillings such as hair, silk or cashmere.

What’s ‘out’

  • Standard size (4ft 6in/135cm) double beds – unless intended for single occupancy;
  • Hand-me-downs or second-hand beds – just think of all the perspiration and skin cells shed by its previous occupants over the years;
  • Rock-hard beds – go for core support coupled with cosy comfort layers;
  • Beds over 10 years old.

Priorities

Many household items are replaced far more regularly than the bed. Even partners get the heave-ho sooner than the old mattress! (the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show the average length of marriage for divorces granted in 2004 was 11.5 years).

How to choose a good bed

  • Decide your priorities and concerns in advance.  For example, is it price, storage, access to bedroom, turning the mattress, getting in and out of bed, overall size or shape, a health issue etc.
  • If possible, try a selection of beds for comparison before you buy.
  • Buy for correct support and comfort for your weight and build – not just firmness.
  • Lie down in your normal sleeping position and make some turns, too. Wear comfortable clothing and remove any outdoor gear.
  • Try it together, if the bed’s for two.
  • Don’t forget a bed is a mattress and a base working together – don’t consider them in isolation.
  • Think big – larger beds are more comfortable.
  • You get what you pay for, both in product and service, so spend as much as you can afford.
For a free copy of The Sleep Council’s Bed Buyers Guide, tel: 0800 0187923 or visit www.sleepcouncil.com

Fighting the mites

Silk’s warmth in winter and coolness in summer is well known; its ‘breathability’ enables it to absorb as much as 30 per cent of its weight in moisture without feeling damp. Yet the higher the moisture the cooler it seems to the body, making it an ideal fabric for blankets and duvets. It is also hypoallergenic, a boon for allergy sufferers: unlike many bedding materials (particularly down, feathers and wool), silk will not accommodate house dust mites. To find out more visit www.silkwoodsilk.com

And guess where the house dust mite’s favourite breeding spot is? Yes, that’s right... the mattress. It’s warm, often moist, cosy, easy to burrow into and full of their favourite food: human skin flakes.

To reduce the population use a proprietary spray (preferably chemical-free and guaranteed not to stain, available from high street chemists) and then cover the mattress and pillows with micro-porous covers. Make sure you regularly wash all bedding (duvets too) on a hot water cycle to get rid of mites and their eggs.

Don’t bother making your bed – air it all day long to reduce moisture from sleep. Even vacuuming your mattress won’t do a proper job. House dust mites hide away from the light and burrow into the mattress, clinging on with powerful hooks on their legs. However, vacuuming the mattress will reduce the dust that mites live in.

Where the excrement of these mites causes allergies or asthma, more drastic action is needed. It is possible to have your mattress professionally cleaned by a company such as Silent Mites – contact tel: 0800 458 6794 or www.silentmites.co.uk
 
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