The kingly Elvis bed February 17, 2008
Since marrying, Jon and I have been sleeping in a very pretty, very rickety old bed that my great-grandmother was given for her 16th birthday. It’s an antique full, which for those of you who aren’t familiar with old beds, is a size smaller than a queen.
I love this bed, and have a long family history with it, but it was barely big enough for the two of us, and now that C. joins us in the bed at least part of the night each night, it was getting super crowded. Also, the mattress and box springs on the bed are pretty old. They work okay with one person in the bed, but with two adults, they start sagging in the center so everyone finds themselves rolling to the middle.
We’ve been talking about getting a king-sized bed for ages, and this week, the stars finally aligned for it to happen. We’ve been watching Craigslist for a good deal on a used bed, and one that looked like a bargain popped up this week. Plus, I got paid for a freelance project, and this was money we’d earmarked as bed funds.
So last night we borrowed Jon’s father’s truck and went to get this bed. It’s now set up in our room.
The new bed is actually not something I would have bought if money were no object and I had a huge selection from which to choose (finding an affordable, used **king** size bed/mattress set is not easy, we discovered after weeks of looking). It’s a light maple, and not really a great fit with my personal aesthetic. But it’s huge, solid wood, crazy-sturdy and very well made. The headboard alone probably weighs at least 200 pounds. It’s G*I*A*N*T. And the mattress and box springs are a good brand and nearly new.
And to the entertainment of some, we were pleased that it also came with sheets, a bedskirt and a comforter. Yes, we bought used bedding for our new bed ;-). I have no problem with this; obviously we washed the stuff thoroughly, and considering how expensive king-size, high thread count, all cotton bedding is, it made the bed even more of a bargain.
We slept in it last night and despite C’s extreme night time fussiness this week, it was a very comfy overnight. The bed is so enormous and high up, and the headboard is so giant and dominating, that I felt a bit like Elvis lounging around in his kingly bedroom. In fact, I think I will heretofore refer to the bed as The Elvis Bed.
Somebody fix me a peanut butter, mayo and banana sandwich…
And here’s a sheet-sizing question for those of you in the know: if I want to be really sure that sheets stay tucked in on this mattress, which is very deep, should I size up to California king size sheets so they will have deeper pockets?
We have a very thick mattress on our king size bed, too, and I have sheets that are made for thick mattresses, but they just barely fit. So, I’m curious to read if there’s a good source for this. I don’t know about the Cal. King thing, though. I thought they were bigger in just one dimension (like, longer) so I don’t know if they’d work out. But I could totally be wrong.
Congratulations on your new bed!
I am only giving you this bit of knowledge I saw on HGTV because I thought it was interesting and couldn;t hurt.
“..couples that sleep in a bed together that if you have a King size bed it is very bad for your feng shui because the boxspring is seperated in two..the quick solution: put a red sheet on top of the boxspring. that will connect you and your loved one also red is the color of love….”
No, don’t get a Cal.King sized fited sheet. They are more narrow and longer… And it just doesn’t work. You should be able to find oversized sheets for your king at most stores that sell a lot of bedding.
Tuesday Morning is a great place to find inexpensive high-thread-count sheets. Or HomeGoods.
Target is also a good source, and this week their clearance sale on bedding, furniture, etc. is very, very good. We bought king-size sheets, 100% cotton for $40. Full set.
Congrats on the new bed…that’s very interesting about the feng shui thing…couldn’t hurt.
Also try Marshall’s and Ross. I have found some really expensive amazing sheets there for less than you’d imagine.
We started sleeping on a king size bed two years ago. I have never been happier then in a king size bed!
It’s so yummy!
Your whole family can fit on the bed to read and have snuggle time. We love hanging out on the bed.
California King is a completely different size bed then “King”.
Buy “deep pocket” king size sheets.
All the new beds are very thick mattresses; so most of the sheets are now deep; however read the packaging to make sure it says “deep pocket”. Macy’s always has good sale on sheets. I do find the lesser quality sheets never fit correctly. SO I tend to buy brand name, I’m currently in love with Calvin Klein brand sheets.
I hope you’re not going to pay attention to the feng shui unless you allow this type of stuff to deicide how you live.
Have fun, and enjoy your new bed!
.
not to be gross, but mattresses are the ONE place I draw the line on used furniture. I have trashpicked bookshelves(ESPECIALLY bookshelves), tables, nonupholstered (sp?) chairs and interesting trunks etc. Lamps too. But I draw the line at anything with cushions unless I personally know the person passing the furniture along to me. I bought my bed new because the thought of laying on someone else’s creepy crawlies is beyond disgusting to me. Bedbugs are making a comeback too. ICK. Not to be negative but hope it works out OK for you.
I’d have to agree with you, Leigh. But, to each his own.
I agree Leigh I wouldn’t buy someone else’s bed especially because at our old apartment we were invaded by just a few bed bugs (couldn’t see them in the bed just a bug everyone now and then on the baseboard). But I was TERRIBLY allergic to them and had big welts when the bit only ME!
As for the sheets…get deep pockets in King size not california size. It should work. Also JC Penney’s has sheets on sale a lot too!
Like Mark said, California Kings are narrower but longer.
We still haven’t figured out a solution for very deep king mattress sheets. Even the ones adverstised as deep pocketed barely fit our Simmons pillow top, which is crazy deep. If you find something big enough let me know.
King sized beds are awesome.
Bedbugs are rampant in the USA, do you all think people are that unscrupulous to sell a mattress that had bedbugs?
I have more faith in people! But, Katie will find out soon enough! I’m assuming the bed came from a family. I know that hotel beds are a million times grosser! Everyone sleeps on hotel beds and pillows and don’t give it a thought.
Les.
I have the same problem finding properly fitting deep pocket king sheets.
I had luck with: Calvin Klein or Tommy Hilfiger. They are accurately sized and fit easily. Both are always on sale at macy’s.
Not loving the used mattress idea,either. Bugs or no bugs,the thought of it makes my skin crawl.The mattress is probably just fine - I’m just a little neurotic about things like that.I’m never without a can of Lysol while on the road. Although,I’m pretty sure that if it were infested a mattress pad wouldn’t deter anything.(The Lysol may not either,but at least I feel like I’m doing something proactive!)
Interestingly, I hate staying in hotels because I assume the beds are nasty (no matter how nice the hotel). But this particular mattress looks nice and spiffy. It was in storage - not being used - and is nearly new. And we just bought a zippered allergy cover to put over the whole thing anyway…
That’s good you bought a zipper cover! That’s what we ended up having to do! I posted earlier on the every now and then we had one. We didn’t have an infestation on our mattress. I never saw any under our sheets ect. I am sure its a nice bed with no problems! Enjoy it…king size is the way!!!!!
actually a)I would not put it past people who have an infested mattress to try and recoup the money they spent on a new one by palming it off on someone else. Nothing surprises me any more and b)who says they would know it? people can have all sorts of crawlers and not even know it. especially if they are not the cleanest people in the world.
I bought my mattress from craigslist (as did my sis) last year. The couple lived in a nice subdivision and their house was super clean. I do keep a mattress pad over it though, but that is personal prefference so I can wash it. So far it has been a great investment.
Ugh, all this talk of infested mattresses is freaking me out! I don’t think I’ll ever be able to buy a used bed again…and I already avoid staying in hotels at all costs, too!
I love the HGTV dreamhome giveaway…here’s a chance to win one of your own http://homemakeover.hardtofindsavings.com/dreamhomemakeover/dreamhomes/dream-home-makeover?arid=bg218