Bedtime Stories

Hello my fancy friends, I’m so happy you’re here. Are you feeling a little tired these days? We are gearing up for the winter months in the Northern Hemisphere, and that means less day light hours, which is a perfect excuse to stay in bed just a little longer. But this is appealing only if your bed is actually comfortable. If you have an old mattress, or one that isn’t the right fit for you, being in bed can be anything but restful. So settle in, because today we are looking at the beautiful world of beds, mattresses, and bedding.

But First, let’s talk about the Color of the Week. If you live in the New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania tri-state area, you may be familiar with a little creature called the Spotted Lantern Fly. This insect has been written up in the New York Times and is literally and figuratively taking over the city. If you're outside of this area, you may have no idea what I’m talking about. Imagine a white moth with a red body, whose wings have a large scale, mesmerizing polkadot pattern. While we New Yorkers have been given strict instructions to extinguish these beings on sight, due to their lack of natural predators in the area, there’s no denying these are pretty little trouble makers. When their white, translucent wings overlap their fire engine red bodies in a resting, non-flight position, what is visible is a diffused mauve hue that is completely enchanting. That’s why this week’s color is Sherwin Williams Rose Embroidery 6297. This color is unapologetically fem, and is one of those magical colors that makes everyone’s skin tone look warm and glowy. This is a great choice if you want to paint an accent ceiling color, as it will rain down warm pink light and tint your whole world as if you’re looking through Rose Embroidery colored glasses. This color can look super soft when mixed with similar tones of peach, taupe, and pink; or contrasted for a statement look with a royal blue. It’s the all buzz around town.

There are three main construction types of mattresses available on the market today. Innerspring, memory foam, and hybrid. No I’m not going to talk about waterbeds, although if that is your thing, knock yourself out, but I consider those more of a novelty product that a real mattress. So let’s look at each of these three types. Starting with innerspring - this is the most familiar to many of us because it’s been around forever - since 1871 more specifically. This is a system of metallic helix shaped coils, or springs, wrapped in some kind of cushioning material. The coils adjust to the weight and pressure of our bodies without letting anyone sink in too deep. These coils have lots of air circulating around them, which keeps the mattress on the cooler side. This technology is well understood and used by lots of companies, so this is often the least expensive mattress option. However, this mattress type has the lowest life span of the three, at anywhere between six to eight years. So yes, if you’re sleeping on an innerspring mattress that you purchased before 2016, you might be waking up with some discomfort in the morning as the springs lose their spring. You may also notice these coils can double as musical instruments, whether you want them to or not. The noise from spring mattresses can be humorous at best and significantly affect your sleep at worst, especially if you share your bed with another person. Most coil systems are comprised of individual springs bound together, which means any movement from one side of the bed will transfer to other parts of the bed, another potential sleep disruptor.

In 1966 NASA developed Memory foam to help cushion airplane seats and make them safer, and in 1991 Temper-pedic translated this technology to the mattress, and the first all foam variety became available to consumers. Memory foam offers a more contoured alternative to the innerspring mattress - the foam molds to our bodies and rises back into place when we get up. This type of bed can last closer to ten years and because there are no springs, these mattresses are quiet and movement doesn’t transfer from one area of the bed to there other, so if your dog hops up on the bed while you’re asleep, there’s a chance you won’t even notice. But, these are densely designed items, so airflow is lessen and the general feeling tends to be a little on the warmer side compared to an innerspring mattress, which could be a good or bad thing depending on if you’re a hot or cold sleeper. Memory foam mattresses are still generally affordable, but slightly more than a traditional innerspring model.

If you can’t decide between the two - you can always have both. Hybrid models combine layers of foam, springs, and sometimes air pockets, latex, and other cushioning products. Here, we get the body contouring of foam and the airflow and support of coils. Every manufacturer’s hybrid model is slightly different in the exact combination of springs and foams, which allows you to shop until you find the exact combo to suit you. The air pockets can often be adjustable via remote control, which is how those two sided number beds work. These options are  naturally the most expensive on the market, and the longevity varies anywhere between six to ten years due to the variety in all the designs available.

Now, mattress type aside, there is a firmness scale that any style can fall into. Rated one through ten, one being the softest and ten being the firmest. This scale allows consumers to compare products across manufacturers prior to trying them out in person - which you should by the way, in this age of online shopping, always lay on a mattress prior to committing to it. The level of firmness you need depends on how you sleep. If you only sleep on your side, a soft mattress will help cushion your neck and hips through out the night. This is generally ranked 5 and under on the firmness scale. If you toss and turn between your side and your back, a medium firm mattress will allow more ease of mobility. You’ll find products ranked 6 or 7 will suit you best. If you’re a stomach sleeper like I am, you have to go with a firm mattress to get spinal support while you dream. This is a 8, 9, or 10 on the scale.

Did you know there are actually ten potential mattress sizes that are standard in the US? From a crib to a California King, each size conforms to a predetermined industry recognized footprint. Crib mattresses are with us for the least amount of time, as little one grow up so fast. What’s referred to as a single mattress may be used as a cott or in youth hostiles for one individual only. A twin, and it’s longer cousin, the Twin XL, are meant for a single sleeper as well, but leave a little more room for movement, your laptop, or a pet. 

A full bed, along with its XL version is a much more voluminous fit for a single person, so much so that a second person could fit if absolutely necessary. The difference between the standard and XL or extra long versions of these is around 5” in length, which may go undetected for a typical sleeper, but will prove to be a real pain point when purchasing fitted sheets. If you aren’t sure what you’ve got on your hands, bust out the tape measure and lay it down from head to foot. If the full length of the mattress is closer to 80” than it is to 75” - you’re living that XL lifestyle.

Next we have the queen and olympic queen which are the same length but vary by a few inches in width. These are ideal if you have a dedicated sleeping partner, giving enough room for two people, but still managing a conservative foot print. A queen is about as wide as two single mattresses pushed together. And rounding out the whole group is the king and California king. Both of these beds generously fit two sleepers with room to spare for kids, dogs, cats, laptops, laundry, art projects, and a cup of coffee, if that’s your thing. But, the California king is larger than a typical king in length, being about four inches longer. The real curve ball is that it is also four inches narrower than a standard king, so sharing fitted sheets is a no-go. This ultra deluxe mattress gets its name from where it was invented. The idea of gracious California mansions for Hollywood starlets inspired an even larger bed size in the 1960’s. A typical king bed is similar to two twin beds pushed together a la I Love Lucy. 

And so, those are just the United States standard size mattresses, right? Almost every country has their own unique system, very similar to the way clothing sizes vary depending on where they were designed. And Italian 42 is a US 8. And while the sizes tend to fall within a common range of dimensions, many manufacturers give or take an inch depending on what their research and manufacturing process dictates. But the point is to know your selection and coordinate your bed frame with the size of your mattress. You absolutely should not be buying the largest mattress you can fit in your room. You should be leaving anywhere from 30 inches to five feet on the sides and foot of the bed for maximum comfort and maneuverability. Keep the circulation flowing around the bed. So if you want to determine what size bed you need, start by measuring the length and width of your room, and subtract circulation from there.

Okay so, what else do you need besides the mattress to make a bed? Most mattress types are between eight and 14 inches thick, and while you could have a mattress straight on the floor like a Japanese futon, many people find having more height to the overall assembly makes getting in and out of bed easier. So, in order to elevate the bed off the floor, it's traditional to pair the mattress with a boxspring or some kind of a base to go underneath the mattress and elevate it. Some countries refer to this as a divan. This base or box spring should be the exact same size as the mattress itself, ideally from the same manufacturer. The base is typically lighter in weight and more firm than the mattress itself, providing stability, but not adding to the comfort of the mattress once you’re in bed. Some hollow frames require those rolls of wood slats to help evenly anchor the mattress, and others have everything built in to once large mass. Next, you’ll need a bed frame to hold everything in place. Most bed frames are meant to accept a base of some sort, but some of them have a built in base, so it’s important to understand the necessary parts and pieces you’ll be combining, and confirm that everything you want to use is compatible. 

Looking more closely at the bed frame and its components, the invention of the headboard can be traced back to ancient Egypt, where it was used as both a social status marker and a practical device to help block drafts from the bed. Using wood as the primary material, because it is a poor conductor of heat and cold, compared to metal or stone, this prevented the bed from reacting directly to the temperature of the room.  The headboard is one component of a system, commonly referred to as a bed frame, mentioned before, which includes side rails, and a footboard. This whole system helps to keep the mattress  and box spring even further elevated off the floor. We mentioned before that this is done to ease the ergonomics of getting in and out of bed, but there is another reason, and no, it’s not in the name of providing additional storage, but allowing cold air to flow under the bed rather than on it if it were situated directly on the floor. This is an invention from back in the pre-HVAC days. Most of us today live in heated homes where these concerns are lessened, but the headboard as an aesthetic and status symbol remains. 

One important thing to note is if you choose to include a footboard and side rails in your bedframe system, this is always going to feel like a more traditional or old fashion aesthetic. And there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just something to keep in mind, Bed frames prior to the industrial revolution had to have all four components; headboard, footboard, and two side rails to be structurally sound. Today, footboards are more decorative, as the use of super minimal, metal bed frames can support a solo headboard, or many headboards simply attach to the wall. Although foots boards do have a heavy dose of charm, and many frames are still constructed using this four sided method. There are still some practical functions for headboards. They serve to keep your pillows from falling down in between the space next to the wall, they give you something to lean against when sitting up in bed, and many headboards also serve as protection for the wall, as the edges of some bed frames can leave scratches or marks. Some headboards even serve as electrical conduits, providing places for sconces and power outlets. We love a good phone charging headboard.

I go into depth on headboard styles in the episode “Nobody Puts Baby in The Corner,” so check that out if you want more aesthetic guidance, plus bedroom layout tips.

Lastly, let’s talk about bedding textiles. Every bed needs a fitted sheet, that’s the one with the elastic at each corner, a flat sheet, a duvet with a duvet cover or a bedspread or quilt, plus a pillow. That’s the functional basics, but if you want to create a bed set up that feels more luxurious, here are some tips. And I want to acknowledge that how you make your bed is so personal. How much you want to reconstruct and deconstruct every day is up to you, but we are going to look at a few classic examples for reference. 

Luxury hotel brand The Westin trademarked the idea of the Heavenly bed. This all white, super fluffy sleeper exudes cloud-like luxury and here’s the extras that help it achieve this. The bed not only has a flat sheet, it has a second so-called middle sheet, which has a more pronounced decorative flange at the top edge, where the first flat sheet is just simple and unadorned. There is also a blanket that goes in-between the flat sheet and middle sheet, all topped with a duvet in its cover, which hangs over the edge of the bed dramatically to emphasize the plush appearance of the whole ensemble. This bed uses a bed skirt at the base to conceal its frame and any under-bed open space. There are two layers of pillows, one set is covered in traditional pillow cases, and the second rear set covered in more decorative pillow shams, which are typically removed from the bed when slept in, but add a verticality to the bed when made during the day and can also be used if you are prompt up in bed reading. To top everything off, there is a single centered short bolster pillow for good measure. The many layers of blankets are always shown turned down partially, keeping the duvet away from the pillows and only the top sheet even gets close, but still never actually touches the pillows. This can make the whole thing easier to turn down at the end of the day.

What’s commonly seen in lifestyle magazines and catalogues is a more decorative variation on this theme. Fluffy and heavenly are important, but more layers are added, including extra throw pillows and blankets that are draped across the lower half of the bed. Some go as far as draping an extra full duvet at the end of the bed. One of the secrets used in photography to get that super plush look is actually double stuffing the duvet cover, with not one but two duvet inserts. Bedskirts are not always needed, especially if you’ve chosen a bed frame with finished side rails, but if you do include one, make sure it’s the right length for your bed - this requires measurement, my favorite activity. There is also the stretched fabric bed skirt variety from companies like Standard Textile that give a more structured appearance, rather than the ruffled vibe.

On the other end of the spectrum is the traditional Scandinavian bed. This style forgoes a top sheet completely, using only a fitted sheet plus a duvet and its cover. The flat sheet is left off to prevent those of us who toss and turn from getting tangled up in any extraneous objects and just creating a minimal bedding set up. If there are two sleepers in the bed, each person get their own twin size duvet, so no more fights over who is stealing the covers. In the daytime, the duvets are folded up into neat side-by-side rectangles with nothing hanging over the edge of the bed. There are either a single set or two sets of pillows, stack neatly on top of each other. This is the ultimate minimal bed styling but it still looks put together and thoughtful.

So there  you have it, that’s the run down on all things relating to the bed. I hope you can use this episode in any future homemaking you do for yourself, whether you’re setting up a guest room or refreshing your own space. I hope you are letting yourself rest as much as possible, and I will talk to you in the next episode.