You don’t need to try a mattress in a shop to get the right mattress. You don’t need to endure busy shopping centres and showrooms to get the right mattress. In fact it is in your interests not to!
Now please bear with me as John, from John Ryan by Design explains why you don’t need to try a mattress.
“It is a well known and accepted statistic that most people (80%) try out a mattress in a shop for less than two minutes. This is not long enough at all. There is no better way of finding out if a mattress is suitable for you than to try it over at least 2 weeks in your home environment. Obviously, you do require the correct guidance and information before being presented with a list of ‘Suitable’ options, but getting this is so unlikely.
The numerous complaints online show you that no matter how much time you spend trolling round the shops trying all sorts of mattresses is no guarantee that it will be the right one for you. It would be so completely different if the store gave you the opportunity to return the mattress after a sensible period of trial, and you found it to be unsuitable being able to return it, but they don’t. Once it’s out of the packaging and on your bed, it’s yours!
Your bodyweight should dictate what mattress is right for you. An 18 stone man needs support, an 8 stone woman doesn’t. So how on earth a mattress that is described as “medium” for example, be suitable for the individual requirements of these two people? It then falls on to your available budget to get you the best for your requirements.
And what are you trying these mattresses against? Usually it is the mattress you already have at home – one that you are looking to replace because it is worn out. Sales staff know this and they also know that anything they show you will infinitely be better than the one you are looking to replace.” John, Director of ‘John Ryan By Design’
In addition to this, the mattresses in the stores are new so will feel different again after they have bedded in. So apart from physically seeing the mattress, the cover and what not, your not really trialing the mattress at all. You’re just going through the motions, the awkward lying fully clothed on a show bed, the sales patter about foams, NASA and such.
We provide you with a resource, to look at in your own time.
After all you should be excited about your new bed, not worn into submission on a Sunday afternoon in a retailers show room.
Simon
Hi,
Stumbled across your website and have found it really useful and imformative.
We are just about to start looking for a new mattress as I am not sleeping well on our newish memory foam mattress.
My wife is 5ft 4in and around 9 stone, I am 5ft 11in and 13.5 stone. My wife gets shoulder and back pain from sleeping. We currently have a double slated bed frame so would need a double mattress. I don’t want memory foam and am looking for some guidance on a replacement.
Our budget is around £800, do you have any recommendations?
Thanks for your help.
Regards,
Simon
Hi Simon, Based on your weights and back complain I’d recommend looking at our solid core latex range. They are excellent for progressive comfort, ie letting you sink in before providing support. This usually helps with pressure points and allows for moulding to countours but without the heat or slow response rates often found with memory foam. latex is lightening fast in the way it bounces back meaning you never get stuck in a rut to speak! I’d recommend looking at the Fusion 1 or 3 for a medium feel solid core latex mattress. – Lee
Laila
Hi, interesting website. I recently bought a comfy night mattress for a spare room. It is the most comfortable mattress I have ever slept on, although it is non turntable and is reportedly memory foam and orthopaedic. Not sure if you know of the mattress?
I now need a mattress for myself, maybe something similar, I have a lot of back and neck pain and sleep very badly, following a car accident. I’m around 9.5 stone and female. What mattress and price could you recommend in light of this?
Thanks very much
Hi Laila, The comfy night mattress that I’ve found is memory foam and cage sprung mattress. There are no details on the density of the foam or depth which makes comparisons really difficult. The cage sprung mattress is the worst construction method of all sprung mattresses I’m afraid so I wouldn’t have a direct comparison as all my mattresses utilise high quality pocket springs. You can see our video on what an open coil/ cage sprung / bonnell sprung system looks like here.
If you wanted something along those lines but a much higher quality please have a look at our Hybrid 6 which is a deep pocket sprung based hybrid foam mattress with matching topper. For your weight this will give you a softer top layer with a medium overall support. I wouldn’t recommend a firm support or orthopedic mattress for your weight at this will be punishingly firm, especially if you have a previous injury. The prices for each size are on the listing Laila. Thanks – Lee
Eve
Hello,
I’m looking for some help choosing an appropriate mattress for my sixty six year old mother. She is a slight and delicate 7 to 8 stone (variable) and 5’4″. She suffers from osteoarthritis and back pain. She describes wanting a soft mattress, but she says memory foam is uncomfortable because she finds herself very hot and sweaty in the night on that type of mattress.
My mother, like me, has very broad shoulders for her frame, and as a side sleeper I’ve always suspected that this necessitates a softer mattress?
My budget is basically zero, but with some idea what to look for, I hope to be able to find save and borrow enough to get her something that’s suitable for her needs. Perhaps you have something in your outlet area that’s suitable?
many thanks for your time
Hi Eve,
Apologies for the delay it seems this message went into our spam folder by accident!
Given your mothers weight, height and ailment we would recommend a soft mattress. Given our dislike of memory foam I’d recommend looking at our origins comfort in the John Ryan By Design range which is a perfect fit for the requirements you have provided. if you can let us know the size you require we can look at our outlet stock to let you know if there are any in stock. Here is the full price listing with all the detail for a further look.
I hope that helps Eve, if you need any more advice please give us a call on 0161 945 3757. Lee
Jane
My husband and I are looking to buy a new mattress. We currently have a sprung mattress and a memory foam mattress cover (about 1 inch thick. ) We do not want a very soft mattress or a very hard mattress. Something soft and comfortable , but not too squashy. The memory foam tends to make us too hot. We do not want to spend a fortune as we are moving house. What would you suggest? Do we need to try it ? We live in Doncaster. We do not mind an outlet or discontinued line .
Thank you for your help
Jane
Hi Jane, Thanks for getting in touch. We could do with finding out a few more details, such as your weight, height and what you have tried in stores to assist. It would also help to know your budget so we can refine any recommendation.
You don’t need to try a mattress if you use our advice service, which we provide guidance on what would be suitable from our range given your preferences. We also have our 30 day love it or return it guarantee. You can call us if easier on 0161 945 3757 or reply to us via email at [email protected].
We look forward to hearing from you.
Sarah
We are obviously looking to buy a mattress, hence being on your site!
We currently have an Ikea SULTAN kingsize hand me down and have done for years.
My husband has always complained of having lower back pain and I get very stiff neck and shoulders. Having both been away for a few weeks we realised that we didn’t have these problems at all and yet being back in our bed they have started again!
We have concluded that is about time we bite the bullet and get a decent mattress!
Having tried a couple of beds briefly in a showroom I think we like medium / firm.
We seemed to be looking at the pocket sprung ones as they felt reasonably comfortable and were just about within our price range. We were looking in Bensons for beds at the Decadence mattress medium / firm and the Cloud sublime.
Although with two young children tagging along it was not a particularly pleasant
experience and to be honest we were only in there 10 minutes or so!!
I don’t know if it makes a difference but we tend to both sleep on our backs or side and both weigh between 11-13 stone.
Can you advise.
Hi Sarah, Thanks for the detail it makes it far easier to provide bed recommendations when we know your weight and preferences! Sorry to hear your suffering with your backs with you current Ikea Sultan Mattress.
Based on what you have looked at I’d be recommending a medium feel mattress rather than a firm. Your aches and pains suggest that for your weight your current mattress is too firm and not providing enough comfort or the right support. Also because you’ve tried a tempur cloud, which is a soft, and liked it, I’m going to base my two recommendations on medium or softer contemporary mattresses.
If you’re looking for a traditional pocket sprung mattress, in a similar stye to the decadence, then I’d say look at our Artisans 1500 mattress, which has natural fibres and a whopping 4300g of fillings. I can’t see from the bensons decadence mattress whats in it exactly but assume looking at it that its no where near our Artisans range. Also it has a pillow top which we always advise against, making it a one sided mattress. This can lead to quick settlement and potential dips as the pillow top compresses.
If you are wanting an equivalent to the cloud our Hybrid 4 mattress would be ideal. It will have a very different sensation to say a traditional or Artisan 1500 mattress as it has far softer top layers and more of a sink.
I’d say either of these would exceed the two models you have tried in terms of components and price. What I would say is that you need to establish whether you prefer the robust feel of a traditional mattress with comfort layers or a progressive sink of a contemporary foam mattress. They are just two very different sensations! – Lee
Brian Whitaker
How do know if they have the correct Fire label
Hi Brian, we have examples of the correct fire labels on the site to assist you in identifying them correctly. Lee
Rob
Hi, I wondered about headboards that you sell on your ‘by design’ site, do you also sell them or are they compatible with the bases available with the Fusion range of mattresses?
I am thinking to purchase your Kingsize Fusion 3 with 4 drawer base but cant add headboard style 2 to shopping list
also what colours are available?, is the base only in plain microquilt white?
thanks for any assistance.
Hi Rob, Our John Ryan headboards are compatible with the origins white platform base range. We also offer the Origins platform bases in a range of colours, which we haven’t yet been able to fully upload to the site yet! Apologies if this has caused you some frustration, its work in progress but we can help make it easier for you by setting up a special order so you can purchase it all in one go.
Can I ask you give us a ring and we can send out some samples and provide advice and prices directly? If you have a look here it shows you some of the potential fabric colours and textures of you want a coloured base.
The artisan bases it references are our sprung edge premium bases, if you want further advice we can guide you on these over the phone as it’s probably easier rather than baffling you with detail in an email Rob.
We can then set up a special order on the site for you to purchase your chosen selection. Many thanks – Lee