Believe it or not, the mattress we just purchased for our guest bedroom is the first one either of us have ever really “shopped” for in the traditional sense. Everything before was a hand-me-down from family or purchased for cheap from Goodwill (that’s actually where we got the two daybed mattresses, which were bought pre-bed bugs days – although they did claim to sanitize them before reselling ’em). Oh and of course there’s our organic mattress, which we bought online (amazingly enough, they helped us find the perfect “fit” without having to be there to test things out). So admittedly the task of in-person bed-shopping was a bit daunting at first.
We wanted to do lots of research so we could make the “best” purchase, but time didn’t really allow for weeks of pavement pounding. So we decided to go easy on ourselves and do enough to feel like we were making a smart decision without going overboard (after all, it’s not like this will be anyone’s full-time mattress). Plus, a bunch of you had already weighed in when we mentioned our bed hunt on this post, so we already had some good starting points.
Ultimately we ended up buying the new guest bedroom bed at The Original Mattress Factory. They weren’t even on our radar until my mom sent me a Consumer Reports article that put them in 2nd place, right under Tempur-Pedic. We decided pretty quickly that we wanted an innerspring mattress instead of something from Tempur-Pedic since we read a bunch of articles about how memory foam can be polarizing (it’s too hot for some people, and only comfortable for around half of the people who try it- and since this bed should be a basic crowd pleasing model that hopefully appeals to the masses, we decided to keep things classic, which is how we landed on the whole innerspring mattress + boxspring configuration). So after eliminating Tempur-Predic and identifying The Original Mattress Factory as the first place we should check out, I remembered there was a store located just a couple of miles from us. Score.
Pretty much as soon as we walked into the door they won us over with how straightforward the process was. As Sherry (or Jerry McGuire) would say, they had us at hello. The three things that wowed us right off the bat were:
1. They only carry one brand, their own, and all mattresses are locally made right there at that precise location (which is actually a mattress factory, hence the name).
2. They display cross-sections of all of their mattresses (and several of their competitors) so you can see exactly what you’re dealing with and compare materials, wire strength, filler thicknesses, etc.
3. They never offer sales or promotions (making their own mattresses locally and then selling them directly to people means they’ve essentially cut out the middle man, so they don’t play pricing games and don’t need to add in any markups). It was nice to know that we didn’t have to wonder if a better deal was a day or two around the corner since their prices are always consistent. Which was refreshing since Sherry noticed that a bunch of fliers put out by other mattress companies were playing serious mind games and saying that things were available for a “limited-time-only” at “rock-bottom prices” when their mailers would come out every week saying the same thing (with big dramatic slashes through the numbers which seemed to just be puffed up to be marked down).
But although they wooed us to no end with their straightforward approach, we still didn’t purchase anything on the spot. Instead, we checked out a couple of other discount mattress stores (plus Ikea) and our other experiences were pretty much the polar opposite. Understanding the various brands & models while attempting to decipher which promotions/sales applied to which mattress sets was actually really confusing, so we left every other store before even laying down on anything (although we did sit on a few Ikea models but quickly learned they couldn’t be delivered in time and were actually more expensive than the one we liked at The Original Mattress Factory, which was ranked higher by a few independent sources). So after some less than stellar shopping experiences at other stores, and finding this article in favor of The Original Mattress Factory and their A+ Better Business Bureau rating, we were finally 100% sold.
The next night we went back to TOMF and bought a full-sized Classic Luxury Firm mattress set for $379 (this price included the box spring). It wasn’t the base model (we wanted something with a little extra cushion for our guests) but of course it wasn’t one of those top of the line amazing pillow topper mattresses either (because we’re not independently wealthy enough to hook our guests up like that- hah). Once the frame ($50), delivery($38), and tax ($21) were added into the mix, our grand total was $488 – coming in just under the $500 limit that we saved up for before embarking on our crazy mattress hunting journey. And thank goodness for quality control. Here’s Burger testing things out. Thankfully he seems pretty comfortable.
Oh, and we went for the full sized mattress because it fits best in that room and means we don’t have to rebuy all of the bedding that we already own (plus we already have a full sized headboard). And since the bulk of our friends and family members have full sized beds in their own guest bedrooms, we figure it’s what they’ll expect to see in ours. Maybe they’ll even be extra enamored by the brand-spankin-newness of this guy. That is, if we can toss the rest of the room together in two short days to make it feel less like a mattress party of one (and more like an actual bedroom).
Here’s hoping. Better get cracking…
Psst- We’re giving away our favorite video camera ever over on BabyCenter today. It’s a Flip Ultra HD valued at $199 (which is what we use to make all of our videos, like the super exciting cutting in vid from yesterday). Plus there’s a new Clara video over there to enjoy, and it involves a tambourine. I know, it’s exciting. Click here to enter.
Handy Man, Crafty Woman says
we are looking for a new twin mattress for the Boy, and soon we’ll need a new queen mattress for our bed. I’m just about GAGGING at the prices of mattress nowadays; since it’s been over a decade since we’ve bought one…
Allison K says
This is so great to know! We’re going to need a new mattress soon, so thanks for doing the research for us. That consumer report is very helpful.
Mariela says
LOL I couldn’t understand the Sue the napkin description. I though it was a blog or some other inspiration related website. I googled it and the post where you had Sue the Napkin explanation came up! haha Now I get it!! Oh, and I love the color! Gorgeous!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, so glad you cracked the case!
xo,
s
Regina says
I missed your last post on the paint, but I LOVE YOUR WALL COLOR!!! I love dark colors so much, I got all kinds of giddy when I saw the room!
Emily says
I may have totally missed this post, but what happened to your old guest bed?
YoungHouseLove says
We craigslisted that about a year ago when we had no room to store it (and knew we’d want to invest in something that wasn’t 20 years old whenever we had room for a guest bed again). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Michelle @ Turning Over a New Leaf says
Before we were married, my husband had said he was interested in trying a temper-pedic. Since I like to be enveloped in a burrito of big, fluffy, pillowtops, I didn’t like the sound of that. On our honeymoon we ended up staying at a B&B that had a memory foam mattress. That settled it for the hubs. No memory foam. It feels like a bag of sand!
The mattress we do have my mom bought for me as a college graduation present. It’s a moderately-priced pillowtop from Sleep Experts, and we love it!
Julie at Velvet & Shag Vintage says
I’m so in love with this room, even without any furniture. The color looks gorgeous. So gorgeous in fact that I don’t know how you restrain yourself from painting everything in the house the same color!
Carollyn says
I LOVE your blog. I stalk it almost daily. I am really enjoying the journey of the new house. BUT, I just have to say sometimes it feels like you don’t live in this new house. It would be nice to see you guys actually functioning in the new place, like maybe cooking dinner even if the kitchen isn’t how you want it to look quite yet. Just sayin’, I adore this blog, but I keep finding myself want for more in-house, live-in action!
YoungHouseLove says
Did you check out the post about Burger settling in a few days back? That showed John at the computer, Clara on the sofa, and Burger in all of his favorite places. We have always focused on projects and home undertakings so we don’t usually share details about cooking (or pics) but you can click the button on the sidebar with Clara’s face on it to be taken to our Flickr page full of casual pics and videos of us just living life and doing non-home-improvement related things. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Nicole says
I adore the wall color. Teal is one of my favorite colors in general. Can’t wait to see how the room comes together.
I have to say here in California the full size guest bed wouldn’t fly. No couples I know (siblings / parents / friends) would consider sleeping on it together. I thinks it’s a Southern thing to put double beds in the guest room. My husband’s family is from Kentucky. Out here they would look at you like, “ok where’s the other guest bed . . .”
Wish we had an OMF out here. The hubby and I are in the market for a new mattress.
Sharon says
Hello
I have been a regular reader to your website. Used to seeing your post by 9am EST in the morning & the other in the afternoon by 1PM EST. The times have changed & there is no consistency. What is the timing for your posts?. Please advise
Sharon
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Sharon,
You can read all about our more casual real-time approach to blogging here: https://www.younghouselove.com/2010/10/blogiversary-iii-goal-tending/
Thanks to all the projects we’re running around doing (not to mention picture taking and post writing along with Clara watching) we can’t stick to a regimented schedule like we used to back in the day, but we love the newfound freedom and creativity of a looser schedule. You can always subscribe to our blog via Google Reader or by email and it’ll alert you whenever we share a new post. A very loose estimation of our posts would be two per day three days a week (usually around 10am and 2pm) and one a day on the other two weekdays (usually posted around 10am). We like to spice things up though (we actually posted about painting the guest room this Saturday). We’re crazy like that. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Melissa says
People don’t find memory foam comfortable?
b-b-but, it’s super fantastic!
I can’t imagine ever sleeping on a spring mattress again. Though of course I can’t carry this big lug of a mattress with me everywhere I go so spring mattresses are inevitably in the future on nights away.
Still loving that teal!
Lissa@AfterAdornment says
We just bought a mattress from TOMF this past weekend. I love their mattresses (have bought others there as well) and have never had a problem with them. And I agree…..they make it so easy to buy one!
Paula/adhocmom says
I’m terrified of buying a new mattress. . like to the point of wanting to sleep on the floor (well not really), but almost.
Amber V. says
Did you paint over your AC vent? I wonder why that never occured to me! Do you use a brush or just roll over it? I know which method my fiance would vote for…
YoungHouseLove says
Yup it was already painted over by the previous owners so I repainted it to match the walls by brushing on two thin and even coats of paint. Worked like a charm!
xo,
s
Crystal says
Loving that color! Wasn’t sure what I thought at first, but seeing your white mattress in there really makes it look great! LOL
Lori @ Richmond, BABY! says
My parents own furniture stores up in the Philadelphia area and I’ll never forget when I was about 11 or 12, I got to go on a tour of a mattress making factory with my dad. Trying them all out was a lot of fun, but even more interesting was seeing how much goes into making just one of those bad boys! Anyway, yours looks very comfty and I’m sure you’ll guests will appreciate it.
[email protected] says
Burger looks so majestic on the new guest mattress :) Hope we get to meet your Mom & step-dad while they’re here. Well, cyber meet.
Krystal says
My favorite mattress I’ve ever owned was from The Lumpy Mattress Company… I’m 100% positive that no one stepped foot into the store because of the name so they eventually went out of business, but gosh that mattress was comfy and I miss it.
Rachel says
Great choice! We purchased our current mattress at OMF and couldn’t be happier. We did go with that fancy double pillow top option but we felt like it was well deserved after sleeping on what felt like plywood for two years (9 months of that preggers!) Now that we have children in big kid beds, we decided to go with the orthopedic twins for them. They are unbelievably comfy and dare I say even better than ours! 6 years later we are still in love and so happy we didn’t choose anything else :)
Karla says
I think Original Mattress Factory was a perfect choice, though I didn’t know they had any kind of consumer evaluation. The mattesses are IMHO better than the “S” companies – Simmons, Sealy, Serta, Stearns/Foster – and cost far less. The sales staff are very eager to show you how and where they’re constructed and seem genuinely proud of their product. My daughter used her OMF bed for 9 years (college and beyond) before moving it to her guest room because she wanted to upgrade to a queen size. It’s one of those purchases we felt very smug about – excellent quality at a bargain price.
eileen marie says
I love Verlo (which my ma used to call “Velro”). We get all of our mattresses there!
BTW, I can’t read the whole Baby Center article or enter the contest (Boo :( -We have been saving our rewards for a Flip camera!) Please let me know if it’s on their end or ours -I imagine they don’t usually get that volume of comments.
Thanks!
e.m.
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah it seems as if they’re having some server issues but maybe try back in an hour or two? Good luck!
xo,
s
Jamie B says
I’m interested to see how your green headboard fits with that paint colour or if you guys recovered it. :)
Jenny West Bullock says
This is great information! We need to replace our mattress soon, and I was dreading the required reearch…thanks for taking care of that!
nue says
Hi John and Sherry!
I thought I read that you were looking for a larger TV for your living room down the road. Just wanted to pass along that Best Buy is currently having a great sale right now as they prep for the new models to come on the floor. We saved $1000 on a model we’ve been looking at for months and they will price match it with local competitors (and themselves) for 30 days.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for the heads up!
xo,
s
Heather @ REOlisticRenovation says
Mattress shopping is not fun. We got a new mattress for our wedding and having my Mom pick it out made it so much more enjoyable than having to do it ourselves!
Christina says
While I know this post was about the mattress, and not the paint. I am just loving this color! Can’t wait to see what’s in store next for the room!
Kellie Collis says
Sounds lovely! And the bedroom is looking good! Have a beautiful day, Kellie xx
Jackie says
Buying a mattress from goodwill made my hair stand on end…bed bugs have always been around! Oy!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we just meant before the whole bed bug resurgence. Still, admittedly, it’s pretty freaky.
xo,
s
Amanda says
I’m so inspired by the color you chose! I want to use it somewhere, but I’m so nervous! It is so pretty!
Cathy says
I’m curious to see how you spruce up the bed and box springs. We have a similar setup: metal frame, box springs, and mattress. But I’m at a loss on what to do with the bottom half without breaking the bank. Dust ruffle? Something else?
Laurie says
Hi- Based on your recommendation, I am headed to Richmond (from Rockville) tomorrow to the Original Mattress Factory on Midlothian to buy 2 mattresses – twin and full – for our sons who are about to get into their awesome renovated bedrooms. I spoke to Joy at OMF today, who was super helpful, and at the end I asked her if she was aware of YHL’s recent endorsement, and she said, “YES!”. Guess business is booming!
I cannot thank you enough for your excellent information. I was completely dreading the sleazy mattress discounter shopping experience. And now I’m actually excited to see that cross section of a 2 sided mattress.
Too bad you guys have company, or I would have insisted on buying you lunch. Next time? Open invitation to house crash our work-in-process Rockville. Our houses are cousins – we also had the yellow tile bathroom (and pink and robin’s egg blue) THANKS!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw that sounds like fun! Good luck and happy bed hopping.
xo,
s
charlotte maxwell says
My daughter reads your blog and sent me this as we were shopping for a new mattress. You sold me. I went to my nearby store and had a wonderful experience. I will buy from them next year as well when I replace another mattress. When they asked where we heard of them, we said “on a blog”. She said it was the second time that week that she had that response from a customer. So Good Job!!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha that’s too funny. Glad to hear it was a great experience for you too!
xo,
s
Gaidig says
I love my Original Mattress Factory bed, which I’ve had for the past six years.
John says
I’ve always said that Tempur-Pedic is the number one and this chart verify that. I remember first time I slept on it during my vacation in Miami, and I’ve told my self “I got to have one of these”!
Lauren says
After several months of back pain and general aches and complaints I’ve decided to replace my 10+ year old mattress. No amount of memory foam plopped on top is helping my mattress! So you can imagine how excited I am about trying TOMF and going to the Midlothian location as well (I’m a Fan local)! Thanks for sharing the goods on TOMF!
melissa s says
Hello, I was shopping for a mattress and remembered your article on the experience. I was wondering how your guest bed was holding up and if it was comfortable after a good night’s sleep. Would you buy the mattress again?
Thanks,
Melissa
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! Very happy with it and our guests say it’s great!
xo,
s
Rachael says
Do you still think your organic mattress was worth it? I’m looking into one now myself to buy for my husband and I after our wedding this September!
YoungHouseLove says
We still like it and it’s holding up well! It’s hard to quantify if it’s worth it since you don’t get benefits you can see with it (ex: we’re not thinner from sleeping on an organic mattress, haha) but we’re very happy with it! One warning though: it’s crazy heavy to move! It took us four adults to move it to our new house from the truck.
xo
s