Our first bed together was a “Sealy Posturepedic Firm” bought in 1992 for $2400. It was great while it lasted. This mattress had upholstery on both sides. I think this construction was key to it’s longevity, as it could be turned to reduce wear and allow better drying.
It appears that Sealy learned from their mistakes between 1992 and 2013, as when we bought a replacement from them it was a much cheaper object. I told the salesperson that I have a back injury and need a good firm mattress. The salesperson talked us into getting a “…pillow top Sealy Posturepedic” which she claimed would provide “…improved support”. The downside of the “pillow-top” was that “…it was not possible to make the mattress double sided.” I had my reservations, but bought it anyway for a mere $4300.
When our then-new Sealy arrived I was dismayed to see that it was literally half the weight of the older model. The base flexed like a recycled shipping pallet. It was unsatisfactory from the start. The single-sided construction quickly sagged, creating back pain for me and poor sleep for us both. Sealy New Zealand were not interested in my complaints.
So we have been seriously looking for a replacement for five years. I checked every bed vendor locally, but none offer even a double-sided traditional mattress. Lots of talk of micro-coils and wonder-gels, but no ability to reduce wear and dry out the bed.
Eventually I read about wool mattresses* and ordered a 7″ mattress sample from Home of Wool. It arrived within three weeks. The quality is amazing. I tested this sample for four months and found it very comfortable. It didn’t compress very much and the construction was impressive. My mother was a dressmaker who outfitted entire weddings and the Home of Wool’s work is top-quality. These days it has become the cat’s daybed. Can’t get him off it!
*It should be noted that there are mattresses made locally that have wool layers in them, but the rest of the construction is just the usual off-gassing foams and other unknown quantities…
So the decision was made and we placed our order with Home of Wool for a King-size mattress (7″ height) on January 23rd and it was delivered to New Zealand 19 days later on 10 February!
No actions were required by ourselves to effect delivery other than paying online. No customs or shipping hassles, which was our concern before we ordered.
You would not get a bed made and delivered locally in 19 days, let alone one from Bulgaria on the other side of the planet!!
We teamed our new wool mattress up with a locally-bought wooden slat bed made in Italy by Dorsal. It has adjustable spinal support, but works fine just as delivered.
We had the wool mattress in our spare room for a few days to dry out with a dehumidifier as a hole had been cut in the end of the amazing multi-layered packaging and it was a bit damp. I am sure this was to do with either NZ Customs or the shipping company, not the Home of Wool. In any case the mattress was undamaged and dried out in a few days. Then we tried out first night’s sleep.
I found it impossible to sleep that first night as I had spent nine years sleeping on a Sealy banana-bed and my spine had to re-adjust to being flat… It was with trepidation that I tried a second night. However since then it has been great!
I am seriously injured and see an osteopath regularly. I visited him two weeks after getting our new mattress. He commented (unprompted) that “..your breathing is about 20% deeper at rest” !
I have so much more energy now that I can sleep properly. I have been able to tackle jobs that I have been unable to think about for the last five years.
Regarding the climate and wool mattress comfort, we first tested our Home of Wool mattress in the hottest part of our summer. Night-time temperatures were 20 deg C (68 deg F) and humidity was 85%, but the wool mattress felt cooler that that Sealy foam job.
Now that it’s winter the wool mattress is very warm – it’s so comfy that you don’t want to get out of bed in the morning. We certainly don’t need an electric blanket to warm the bed before sleep any more.
I am very happy to have bought a bed from Home of Wool. The buying “sight-unseen” and “from-the-other-end-of-the-world” aspects of the purchase were worrying, needlessly as it turns out.
Rosica and the team at the Home of Wool run a first-class operation. Their products are constructed and assembled like fine art and delivered rapidly. They kept us informed about every stage of construction and delivery, and did what they said they would do, on-time.
The price was comparable to the cost of buying a so-called ‘good bed’ locally, but the Home of Wool’s quality level is much higher. Our mattress was NZ$3500 (on special) plus the locally procured Dorsal slat base was another NZ$1100. Locally we were offered “orthopedic” (?) conventional mattresses at $5500-$7000.
I just don’t trust the makers of conventional beds any more. We now intend to buy another Home of Wool mattress for our daughter.
We could not be happier with our new bed.
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