I'm moving house soon. Incredibly, I've never had to buy a bed before -- I've always moved into places that already have a bed in the bedroom.

Now, for the first time in my life, I have to buy a bed.

What should I do? Should I go to somewhere like Habitat and buy a whole bed (they're pretty expensive)? Is it worth spending over £1,000 -- does that mean I'll get a BETTER bed than a £500 one?

Or should I look for bargains and cheap options? Should I buy a bed frame from one place, and a mattress in another?

Is any particular store/outlet particularly good for beds?

Should I even THINK about Ikea?

Are there any obvious pitfalls I should avoid (e.g. buying a bed from a place that doesn't deliver)?

I will listen to all serious suggestions. :beer:

When i need a bed the same day i always buy a bed from Helibeds. :rolleyes:

You'll have to speak to the person in the shop in a very high voice.

They have TERRIBLE feedback. Is that why you used the :rolleyes: smiley?

http://www.krishna-das.com/arjuna/reviews/...beds/index.html

We bought our last bed from here:

http://www.dreams.co.uk/en-gb/Store/?&extcam=ppc_goog_dreams

Lots of choice, lasted well so far, needed to wait a few weeks to get it (maybe 4 weeks).

Think we paid about £500 in 2003 or something.

My buddy owns a mattress store...mark up on those things is like 40%! He also an option where people can buy online which makes it a little cheaper. Not much help to the Brits, but just throwing it out there...

Oh, also some brands (Tempur Posturpedic for example) have to be the same price wherever the are sold, so bargain hunting on them is a waste of time (at least I think that's what he said :unsure: )

I purchased this bed:

Shin Agony Bed

But after continually working into it, may I suggest not getting one with a nice bit of wood all the way around.

It's the urgency they sell themselves on, as if you've got nothing to sleep on and so they send it round with choppers on each corner. I wouldn't buy a bed from them if they were last bedsellers in the world. :lol:

I have this bed and have been very pleased with it. It is heavy and rigid, so it can withstand children's bouncing, and any other kind of bouncing without even a single squeak or moving an inch! The downside is that it's a bugger to move.

As for sleep, it's all about the mattress - I got one of those which has a main mattress and then a thinner one attached to it. I have no idea about the theory behing this system, but it's very comfy and cosy.

My bed is perfect, but I still only sleep about 10 minutes a night.

I bought a bed-frame and mattress from Ikea and it lasted a good 10 years before it started to feel saggy and uncomfy - even with regular turning. Trouble is their measurements seem to be non-standard, so I couldn't just buy a new mattress (unless it was an Ikea one). I wanted a Memory Foam one (I am prone to aching back) so I got one, but it's proving quite hard to get used to - especially temperature-wise. My friends who spend a lot of time in bed really recommend pocket-sprung mattress for about £600 - it is worth paying for I reckon, if you value quality bed-time.

I also never bought a bed in my life. As a child this obviously didn't belong to my duties. Since then I haven't moved often.

The bed in my current, long standing home was already there when I moved in. At almost 6'4 I had to dismount the back plank. I would recommend the correct size for a new bed, though...

Ouch :(

futon?
ikea?

pallet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39RBm4tH9cA ?

In my experience Ikea aren't very comfy in the bed dept.

Have you been to Dreams? 104 Queens Rd. http://www.dreams.co.uk/

A-haa. Thank you. B)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLzF8Ll200g#

My first job was in a bed showroom.

The mattress is way more important than the base. My advice is to get a decent make of mattress and then any base that seems good enough - buy the two together and the base can be very overpriced.

Try a place that sells slight seconds or leftover stock. My favourite make of traditional style matttress has always been Airsprung, who do good quality stuff. We have an airsprung mattress (cheap, because it was remainder stock and very slightly marked) and a basic four-drawer base of no particular manufacturer. I think we paid about £60 for the two, about six years ago.

A sprung base is attractive, but is often a lot mre expensive and usually makes very little differnece to comfort, and more or less none if you have a good mattress.

Absolutely DO NOT fall into the trap of buying the one that looks nicer but is more expensive. You won;t actually see the pattern once you have put bedding on. It sounds obvious, but I used to have to continually warn people of that when I sold beds.

Don't pay too high for a traditional style mattress, but it may be worth it if you are going for a pocket sprung or one of these super-foam things. I hear good reports, but I have no personal experience of them.

Don't buy one that's too cheap. because the mattress will be crap. Trust me, it will be a waste of money. I almost got the sack for telling people that the cheap beds in the showroom were rubbish, but it's true - they are a waste of money.

Try lying on the bed in the showroom for a few minutes, to get a feel of it.

You could get one free, on Freecycle.

I'm serious...people give away really good stuff on there simply cos they don't want to go thru the hassle of trying to sell thru their local paper or ebay.

:)

we had a futon; it was shit. Bought a better one, it was shit.
Now we have a good Ikea mattress on a nice futon base & it is nice.

A DVD bed reference expo film available at the Video store is Michael Winterbottom's (tee hee, his name his "Michael", geddit, wouldnt want his angelic bum in my bed - or would I??) is the film "9 Songs". Havent studied the credits for bed types but the bedspring action is realistic in its own 12A way, and the music is better than the Featherdown DVD. But only just.

I think everybody should be encouraged to sleep in coffins,
It makes a lot of sense in economic terms if you think about it.
They take up less room as well.

Yes, but have you ever tried to read in a coffin?

It's easier than readin a-sneezin.

(insert equally illiluminating cryptic reference here *cough*)

Our advertisers are in on the act :) -

Memory Foam Mattress Sale
Memory Foam Mattress. Free Pillows 24hr Delivery (Sale Ends 02/07/08)
www.thememoryfoammattressfirm.co.uk

Memory Foam Mattresses
King Memory Foam Mattresses Free 24hr Delivery - Free Pillows
SnugMattress.co.uk/King

Memory Foam Mattress Sale
High Quality Memory Mattresses at Low Prices!.Free Next Day Delivery.
www.TRUSLEEP.co.uk


What is 'Memory Foam' tho? :unsure:

Depends what kind you get.

I just realised just now I hadn't heard any mention of waterbeds for ages. :o

Wonder why they went out of fashion? :D

That works on so many levels.

WANT!
On edit: Please ignore previous posts in "Cars" thread...
;)

If u buy a bed 2nd hand, personal experience taught me to wash it thoroughly before using it. :sick: