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The search has begun.
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Yes, we’re finally breaking down and shopping to replace our…. are you ready for a shock?…. 39 year old mattress.
We bought a seriously high end Stearns and Foster mattress in … gulp! … 1986 and it has served us faithfully for a very long time. We’ve flipped and rotated for decades but it’s finally gasped its last breath and needs to go.
Have you shopped for mattresses lately?
It’s a whole new world.
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Aireloom… handmade, beloved by Ronald Reagan who put them in all White House bedrooms, and firm enough to make me happy.
The prices however, did not.
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Stearns and Foster firm? My second choice but about the same price.
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Serta firm? Not firm enough and I was beginning to feel like Goldilocks. Please note the husband’s thrilled expression that we were making the rounds of furniture stores again.
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And speaking of furniture, if we’re replacing the mattress…
Perhaps it’s time to replace the 39 year old bedroom set as well. Problem is our old set is solid mahogany and, well… solid. Today’s bedrooms? Not so much.
Unless you buy Amish.
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If they can hold a horse…
(PS… that bureau wasn’t $750, just the mirror which is sold separately)
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What’s that strange pillow on the sectional couch we walked by?
A pet bed of course.
🤣
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After a full day of shopping with no decisions made, my husband was ready for alcohol… and to be honest so was I. Lying down on mattresses that cost $6,000 plus will do that to a girl.
Spiced pear margarita and calamari to start.
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Grilled chicken harvest salad with goat cheese, apples and butternut squash for the husband.
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Haddock sandwich and seasoned fries washed down by a cranberry Paloma for me.
The search continues..
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River's world..... 
I’ve heard Stearns and Foster are the best $ can buy, and your experience proved it! 39 years is amazing. Also amazing: your food and drink photos 😋
Deb
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We definitely got our moneys worth out of the old girl.
😉
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Beware that most modern mattresses have a top and bottom. No more flipping, just rotating. Does that mean they’ll last ½ as long? I don’t know. Mine should have a lot of years left. I can’t think of a good reason to replace solid mahogany. After all, the furniture in those Newport “cottages” is a lot older than 39 years.
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Every sales person we talked to said 10 years on a new mattress. A mere quarter of the life of our old one.
Sigh.
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Nothing to “like” about that. I guess that makes some sense, since when I bought my old mattress they said 20 years. It was some time after that that I realized it was time. If you can’t flip it, that might cut it in half.
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Furniture shopping is not my favorite thing to do at all.If you get a piece home and you decide you don’t like it – what a hassle!
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And you never really know until you get them home and live with them for a while. Our new living room couches? Love them. Our new den couch? Not so much, and it’s the same manufacturer.
🥴
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About a year ago we tried to buy a new mattress. We, too, have a high end OLD Stearns and Foster which is where we started our search. After a few adventures in stores we gave up. Too many choices. Too many weasel words. Too many dollars. Too many future expenses for new deeper sheets. THUS I look forward to seeing which mattress you buy. Good luck.
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And we like a firm sleep, which is harder to find with all the memory foam and pillow tops.
Sigh.
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We bought a new mattress 3 years ago – to replace a mattress that was 5 years old and that my husband said was getting ‘mushy’. We bought a King Serta Hybrid, European top, for about $3000. I don’t whether it is firm or extra – firm – all I know is that it is just a teeny bit softer than solid concrete. I can’t wait to see this thing go to the dump. Soon.
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And I really want to love our mattress… we spend a lot of time on it.
😉
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Well my husband really liked it…and lord knows he spent a lot of time on it.
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Important note that I overlooked last time: Many high end mattresses can no longer be flipped, only rotated. Mine lasted about 15 yrs, then totally went to hell. I’m limited to a max of $1500 now (even that is a stretch) and probably going with something from Bob’s Discount, cause they have 20yr warranties.
My current setup is just high enough for me to have to climb into it (21″mattress, + topper, + 9″ boc spring, + frame). I’ll get a new mattress before knee surgery, which will help because it will be much lower… the deepest I’ve found is 14″. Unless a new one is free, I’ll either keep the old box spring or maaaaaybe switch to an adjustable base.
Have you looked into SleepNumber at all? I love the idea of variable firmness, but a small % people say they leak…and I’d surely end up being one of those people!
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Ugh. It’s bad enough there are too many mattresses yo choose from… then there’s the box spring, or not. The foundation or not. Platform bed or not. Different heights, different depths… it made my head hurt.
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Same!! That’s why, untested, I’ve pretty much decided on something from Bobs. It can’t be worse than my current situation (board on yop of the mattress, topper on top of the board – with the topper wrapped in a duvet covet as a sheet. The boards & topper are constantly sliding around.
Bonus of a lower bed, besides ease of access after knee surgery, is that my sr cat will be able to access it easily.
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Not only did I hear your husband groan, but I let out a groan in sympathy.
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Understandable.
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I too have a Stearns and Foster mattress that’s 20 years old. I’m not ready to replace it, because it still has some good years left. Your husband looks like he’s thinking “Give me a military cot and I’m happy.” 😝. The food and libations looked pretty good I must say.
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The husband was really not impressed with the prices.
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Just a few days ago, Tara said it was time to think about replacing our mattress. We’ve only had it for seven or eight years…but it’s a pillow top, so it can’t be flipped, only rotated. I was hoping we could get at least another five years out of the thing.
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10 years is max for a mattress these days. Even less with a pillow top, they smush first.
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I will get a new mattress when I move but I will have to buy discount and just pray I get a comfortable one.
I would keep the Bedroom Set if I were you. It looks pretty and quality is hard to find these days.
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We went extra firm a few years ago but unfortunately it’s proving too firm for my aging body, so we might be getting a Sleep Number this summer. I’m literally saving for it right now because they (and so many other mattresses) are daylight robbery.
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I don’t know what I was expecting, but even I was surprised.
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