Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Bigger, Better Sleep Surface

Last fall when I put the flannel sheets on our bed I noticed that part of the binding on the mattress edge was starting to come off. I couldn't tell you how old the mattress is, so I put 'research and buy new mattress' on my list of 257 other projects.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, where I had a work assignment in a store that happened to sell mattresses. As part of a discussion with the salesman in that department I learned they were discontinuing the Tempur-Pedic brand and selling off all of their inventory. All of a sudden getting that new mattress jumped to the top of the list.

Over the years I've had the opportunity to try out the original memory foam mattress several times. Each time I told myself I'd love to have one, but its high price held me back. For the rest of the day I kept thinking about my conversation with the salesperson. After dinner I took Hubby Tony back to the store where we laid on the display model together, agreed it was a good fit, and decided to buy it. For about a third of the regular price.

There was one tiny problem, though. All they had left were queen sized mattresses. Our bed frame, part of a 1940s vintage set, is full sized (which is six inches narrower and five inches shorter). The salesman suggested converter rails. which included extenders to make the larger mattress fit. I didn't know such a thing existed, but was glad it did.

The mattress was scheduled to be delivered last Tuesday, but when the truck arrived I was told the 'converter' part of the rails hadn't been shipped with the rest of the frame. The company overnighted the part, and I rescheduled the delivery for today. The truck showed up right in the middle of the time frame they assigned me. Thirty minutes after they walked in the door they had the new rails put together and the mattress laying on top of them.

While I was waiting for the mattress to be delivered I hit the thrift stores to look for new bedding for the new up-sized bed. After a couple of tries I found a set of queen sized percale sheets and a partial set (missing the pillow cases) of flannel sheets. I figured I'll just use the ones from the current set. The blanket is a combination full/queen and won't need to be replaced, but after trying to make do with the current comforter and dust ruffle I can see they're much too small. They'll have to go.

Time to hit the thrift stores again. (Good thing it's one of my favorite activities.)

Five years ago today: A Medicine Cabinet In A Bottle

8 comments:

  1. I'm confused about the converter rails. Where do they sit?

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    1. I was confused, too, until I saw them being put together. The side rails are metal, and hook into the headboard and foot board. (There's a metal slat that goes across the frame in the center from one side to the other to provide stability.) The extension pieces are metal 'L' brackets that get screwed into the frame at the 1/3 and 2/3 mark. They stick out three inches on each side, and the base sets on them, with the mattress on top.

      If you Google "full to queen converter rails" there's a couple of good images.

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  2. Oh wow! A third of the price??? That is absolutely awesome! I know how expensive they are.

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  3. What a deal! I always have trouble finding sheets with deep pockets since we have that additional 4" of foam on top of ours. Avoid the "microfiber" sheets. They will "pill" and are not durable. I like a nice percale blend that has a high cotton content. They are nice and smooth. Enjoy!

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