By Barbara Stewart

Question: We’re replacing our mattress set, which is about fifteen years old. What should we expect to pay for a quality mattress set?

Answer: The answer depends on your comfort preference. Fifteen years ago, manufacturers were building many more firm beds; today softer beds dominate the market. There are two reasons for this shift:

1.   As we age, our muscle tone and connective tissue have less integrity, and more comfort layers are required to relieve pressure points on the body. The aging boomer generation continues to shift the market toward softer beds.

2.   New sleep research continues to shows that firmer beds are not necessarily better than a softer bed with good underlying support.

Now, back to the original question of price. Firm beds are less expensive because there is less foam used in construction. If you’re buying a firm queen bed, expect to pay $800 – $1400 for a quality set constructed with a spring unit. And expect to pay $1400 – $2500 for a firm foam core bed (memory foam or latex). 

The question of the price of a quality soft bed is more difficult to answer. A quality soft mattress will cost significantly more than a firm mattress because quality foam is expensive to manufacture. For a quality queen set, constructed with a spring unit expect to pay between $1000 – $1800 and up to $2800 for a soft foam core set.

Barbara Stewart is the owner of MattressMax, a 4000-sq foot Mattress Gallery located in Vienna, WV. www.mattressmax.biz