Which Bed for Adults?
Parent Q&A
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Questions
- Where to buy a Queen Captain's Bed
- Where to buy Mission style bedroom furniture
- Looking for a well-made platform bed
- Where to buy a new bed
- What King size bed to buy?? Affordable??
- Looking for a Bed Frame VERY low to the ground
Where to buy a Queen Captain's Bed
May 2008
We are looking to buy a house and all the houses we are interested in have much less storage space than our rental unit. I am looking for a queen size captain's bed. I have been looking on craigslist but people mostly have captain's beds for children. Does anyone have any suggestions for local furniture stores that may carry them? C.
My husband and I have a king-size captain's bed purchased at European Sleep Works in Berkeley. We bought it 10 years ago, but a phone call would tell you whether they still carry such things. Also short on storage
We bought a queen captain's bed for the same reason. It works great in our small bedroom. It is from Gorman's furniture on Telegraph. They sell unfinished pieces, but they will finish it for an extra fee. We love ours. I would get oak instead of pine because it gets a lot of use. Remember that you will need space between your bed and bedside table in order to open the drawers. Love the drawers
Where to buy Mission style bedroom furniture
March 2008
We're looking for medium quality Mission style bedroom furniture in the East Bay (for teen's room). Any recommendations for where to look? Oakland/Berkeley, even as far as Walnut Creek. I also found Hoot Judkins in Redwood City on the web. Anyone have comments on their quality/prices? Thanks in advance! F
Fenton MacLaren on San Pablo and also College Avenue in Rockridge has some very nice reproduction Mission-style furniture. Their prices are quite reasonable, and the furniture (I especially like the store on San Pablo) is very attractive. There is also a store near the Ashby BART, on the northwest corner of Shattuck which looks really nice. Happy hunting. Jim
If you're open to buying online, you can find reasonably priced mission furniture at Home Decorators, http://www.homedecorators.com/. Rebecca
Looking for a well-made platform bed
June 2007
we need to get a bed frame for our new mattress. we want a platform since we didn't get the box spring on the mattress (but could always build something for a frame). we do want something well made and have looked at wooden duck, evolution (quote of $2000 on sale!). thanks. beth
Check out Oyster Bed in SF. They have a great selection, a wide price range (depending mostly on features and kind of wood) and the best bonus is the added storage under the bed! We own three of their beds and have been very pleased with them. Ruth
Where to buy a new bed
June 2006
We are looking for a good place to buy a new bed, somewhere in or near Berkeley. Our criteria: a king size, firm, stylish bed, preferably higher than average and possibly not with the usual slatted base which we have found doesn't give great support in the past. We can't spend a small fortune, but don't want dirt cheap. I have looked at the usual suspects, such as Ikea, Crate & Barrel and Pottery Bar,n and not seen anything I like. Does anyone have any recommendations? Tracey
I bought a daybed at Mancinis on Ashby, and learned some interesting things about the bed business in the process. Did you know that you can negotiate down the price at most mattress stores? Several hours after I placed my order, I found something I liked much better, for a lower price, via the internet. I went back to cancel my order (internet printout in hand) and the salesman said he could order that bed for me at the same price I found online, then I wouldn't have to pay for shipping. Mattresses are purposely difficult to compare, because the various models have different names at each store. However, you can negotiate down the price, and you should definitely comparison shop and use the internet as tools in your negotiation. Linda
I recently bought a bed off the internet that I'm happy with. You know those memory foam mattresses you see advertised at 4am when you can't sleep? I finally bought one and it does help me sleep better. I bought it from www.SelectFoam.com ,and I ended up buying a mattress pad for my son too Chris
Where to buy a new bed
March 2006
Hi, I am pregnant with baby two, and already have a 16 month old co-sleeping..I am hoping to change that soon, but meanwhile, I am on a full size futon and it's time to grow up and get a big bed! I am wanting a king size and need recommendations. I have read previous recommendations on buying a European Sleepworks bed, and it sounds great, but this is a little out of my price range. Anything more affordable?? I am probably not a huge connoisseur, anyway, since I have been sleeping on a crappy ikea futon for years.. By the way, I am a thin person and like softer beds, while my partner likes them firmer. Thank you! ---Can't Wait to Have a Real Bed!
We bought a bed from Costco (online), king size. Tha shipping is free and the bed cost about $800. We looked everywhere and queen sizes are most common, priced around $ 1500 for a decent one. This one we bought from Costco is REALLY comfortable, we went with a frim one but they have a few different selections. Some a a bit cheaper and some cost a bit more. I definitely wouyld buy another one from them in the future. The mattress is Sealy Posturepedic (elswhere priced at over $1700). Kristina
Looking for a Bed Frame VERY low to the ground
June 2005
I would like to get a large size bedframe that's as close as possible to the experience of just having the mattress on the floor (which I would do but I have heard it's not so good for the carpeting...). I'd like to get something that's not a futon frame but will consider a futon frame. Any suggestions? Thanks! Liz
You might try West Elm, which has a retail store in Corte Madera at the mall off 101. They have furniture with an Asian feel and had low bed frames when I last saw their catalog. Hope this helps! Anja
Putting a mattress directly on the floor is the easiest and cheapest solution, so first please get a second opinion--perhaps from a carpet store--on whether it really is bad for the carpet.
Barring that, you could buy a cheap, basic metal bed frame (I recently saw a queen sized one at Costco for about $35). Then cut off the legs at the point where the bottom of the bed will be just higher than the top of the carpet. Unless you have a very deep pile carpet, the legs will not be more than an inch long. You could use a hacksaw (tedious, but cheap and pretty safe), angle grinder, or reciprocating or circular saw with a metal-cutting blade to cut off the legs. Use a file to smooth any rough edges. Berkeley residents can borrow tools like these from the Tool Library. David
I missed your original post, but if you are looking for a nice low bed frame, I would recommend a platform bed. Design Within Reach (has a store in Berkeley, or see on the web at http://www.dwr.com/beds.cfm ) has a good selection. Most are very minimalist and modern, and oh so chic. My personal favorite is the Case Study Bed. Richard
didn't read original post but if you need twin-size you could buy the trundle only part of a trundle bed set and not pop it up- it lays nearly on the ground chris
Not sure if someone said this already - but check out IKEA. I was just there and they had at least one bedframe that seemed like it was almost having the bed on the floor. anon
IKEA is the only cheapish place to buy a mattress near UC. There are always dozens of beds on Craigslist. Could she find a male companion to go with her to buy? I'm a female and I have had great results using Craigslist to purchase furniture. Many of the people advertising beds there are also UC students. BPN Marketplace is another good place to look. Lastly tell her to sign-up with Nextdoor (the neighborhood app). You have to prove that you actually live in the neighborhood you're registering for and you have to use your real name, so definitely feels safer than Craigslist. People are always advertising free or cheap beds
Costco.
I also am female and have bought many, many things off of craigslist, sold lots of items, and found roommates off of craigslist. It will be fine. But, yes, some Ikea mattresses are cheap and good! I bought one for my last two roommates (before I got preg and now no roommate as baby comes in 4.5 wks!!!!!) and it lasted (and they spent a lot of time on them), and confident it would have kept up for awhile longer.
The first answer covers all the bases. I wanted to add that I have met hundreds of strangers on craigslist with no significant problems. Sometimes people are not completely honest about a piece of furniture. (I should have checked the drawers on that desk!) But I have never felt threatened or unsafe.
Be very, very, very, very careful buying a used mattress. It is illegal to sell a used mattress unless you buy from a person. I bought one once that had been acquired from that Legionnaire infected Philadelphia hotel -- sick for the whole summer. Mattress -- if used -- layer several mattress protectors on -- impermeable plus padded. Not a good idea.
Remember she can sell it later. Best bargain and best for your back the Coleman self-inflatable mattress that is bed height.
I bought a memory foam mattress from Amazon and I love it. I've had 3 back surgeries and chronic back pain and this mattress is heavenly to sleep on. It was delivered to my house with free shipping in 2 days. I didn't need a box spring but did buy a very tall frame so I could store full size plastic storage containers underneath. The mattress was under $250 and the frame was less than $100. The only negative is that the mattress is delivered rolled up in a box and is extremely heavy.
My son bought one from IKEA when he came back here for grad school. It's held up well, and one nice thing is that it can be disassembled and shipped of he & his wife want to keep it when grad school is done with -- or they can easily pass it on.
My husband and I purchased a futon at The Futon Shop (we already had the frame) during a sale, so it was very affordable It was middle-of-the line, with wool and latex. We went to the SF showroom and spent the afternoon laying down on beds. 8 years later, we're still happy sleeping on it. If you do get a futon, be aware that cotton-only futons pack down quickly and become very hard, so it might not last even 2 years. Foam, wool, springs, other options can make the bed more resilient and comfortable. There's a Fourth of July sale coming up, so I suggest you check it out.
My son who was a student at UC Santa Cruz ordered an inexpensive mattress off Amazon that came compressed into a cylinder. These things have a lot of reviews that you can read and are pretty popular. I was skeptical but he liked it and is still sleeping on it 3 years later. We also got him a cheap platform bed and desk from Ikea but Amazon has those too. So if she's in a place where she can get an Amazon delivery, that's an option.
We just bought a queen mattress from Costco (Comfort Tech 10" Serene Medium Foam) and frame from Amazon (Zinus Upholstered Square Stitched Platform Bed with Wooden Slats) and love both. Cheap, new, delivered, and very comfortable!
I bought my mattress at Famous Foam Factory, 2397 San Pablo Ave at Channing in Berkeley. I found the foam mattress much more comfortable than the Serta/Sealy mattresses, also got the bed frame there. Highly recommend.