Another bed thread!

[TaurusGirl]

The latex mattress question got me pondering on replacing my bed.

The Hawk and I currently sleep on a 15-year-old double (full) size. The bed itself is comfortable as all get-out... but is too short. The Hawk is six foot four when he isn't slouching, and laying down I swear he grows another couple of inches.

We have been looking at getting a California King size bed, but I'm concerned about finding bedding at a reasonable price. We are in Northern Canada, so anything I get would have to be shipped. I've poked around on eBay and many other retailer sites, but haven't found much. The stuff I have found is incredibly pricey... and not really our style. Any recommendations for some online bedding retailers?

[PastryGoddess]

Bedding for a Cal King is very expensive.  Even at HomeGoods, I've seen that the price is super high as well.  Is regular king still too small?

How crafty are you?  Would you be willing to make your own bedding?

[TaurusGirl]

Unfortunately a standard king is too short - factoring in the pillow (so that The Hawk's head isn't right against the wall at the top of the bed), his feet would still hang a few inches off the end if he slept straight. On the double, he sleeps diagonally and I curl up next to him.

I'm semi-crafty, but I don't think I could take on making bedding. With not being able to feel the fabric before-hand etc, and working 45+ hours/week, I wouldn't be able to learn how with confidence in time. We hope to get the bed here for April or so.

We had considered just going with a king, but we figure if we're going to spend the money on a new bed, we may as well go with one that will fit him properly.

[StarDrifter]

My baby brother (ha! 6'7" and close to 250lbs 'baby' of the family) and his girlfriend recently invested in a California King bed, and we're in Australia so the bed itself had to come from Sydney, just over 1000kms to get to their place. The only places they can get linen are online and yes it is a bit more expensive, but Brother assures me that it is worth every penny.

They have so far only invested in two sheet sets and one quilt cover/pillowcase set, plus a mattress protector, but they did spend some serious money on the sets - they got 800thread count cotton/bamboo blend and I think they paid just on $AU350 for each set. The main reason they got such expensive sheets is they they know that this brand lasts, mainly because Mum has a 15-20(ish) year old set that are the same brand and still look new.

For a big guy, a big long bed makes a hell of a difference, and as long as you get good quality linen and take care of it, then it works out pretty cheap per night you sleep on it!

[Amara]

It sounds like you would be better off with a Cal King bed. I have one (well, I have the part the three cats let me have), and I want to tell you that while it is wonderful it is hard to find sheets and comforter sets for it. Much harder than a regular king. It can be done, but you won't find them everywhere.

That said, I think you should put the money into a very good one. I was on Consumer Reports recently (as a subscriber) and their piece about and ratings on beds are an excellent resource. It might be worth joining to learn how to really evaluate a bed as the major manufacturers and the types of beds vary. No one bed is right for everyone, and if you are going to spend the money needed for a quality mattress this is a small but important source of accurate information.

Oh, and good luck! New beds are wonderful.

[Slartibartfast]

How many sheet sets do you need, really?  If you get a good deal on the bed, you can more than make up for the higher cost of sheets - and a good night's sleep really is priceless.

[snowdragon]

Do you have friends down here who could buy and ship for you? and you could send things to them from where you are that are of equivalent value.  I used to this with friends who could not get certain items where they moved to. If worse comes to worse maybe that would work

[Rohanna]

On walmart.com the Cal King sheets are only 1-3 dollars more than the regular king sheets on many of the choices. I didn't find sheets to be much more than a few dollars more expensive than regular king sheet in the store either, when we had one.

[pandabear]

I'm not certain if Kohl's ships to Canada, but I've purchased Cal King sheets from them online when the sheets are on sale.

[camlan]

Traditionally, January is the month where bed linens (and other household linens) go on sale big time. Other months that traditionally have white sales are May and August. November is traditionally the month where quilts and blankets go on sale.

Which isn't to say there won't be sales at other times of the year. But these months are usually the times you can find the best deals.

So maybe you can get just one set of sheets right now, and wait for a big sale to get more?

[buvezdevin]

Overstock.com has a good selection of California King bedding, as does Amazon.

I understand wanting to verify that a choice of bed linens will be available before investing in a new bed, but agree with others that having a bed with sufficient length for a good sleep is so worthwhile, and there does seem to be a reasonable range of options which are only a few dollars more than a standard King size - so I would go for it.

[artk2002]

Good luck finding the bedding. We, living in California, have the opposite problem. We've got a standard King and I had someone at a department store snap "they don't make those" when I asked about bedding. If you can find standard King in the store, it's more expensive here. *sigh*