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Choosing a bed is one of the most important things you will do. Your choice will determine whether or not you spend one-third of your life in comfort. Since selection of bed sizes and mattresses and box springs is truly of great importance, look the market over carefully. There are all kinds and sizes available.

A big man needs a big bed, one long enough to let him sleep without dangling his feet over the end. He needs a firm mattress and box spring combination to support his weight. A woman may be equally comfortable in a shorter bed with less firm support, because there is less weight to support. A child can fit into a cot in comfort.

Pillows should be chosen for maximum comfort, too. There are many sizes, degrees of firmness, and types of fillings.

The right choice of bed linens can also add comfort to sleeping hours. Smooth sheets and pillowcases and soft, lightweight blankets are conducive to obtaining proper rest.

But your choice of bedding and bed linens should not be based only on comfort. When you have decided what you want, translate this information into decorating terms. Bedspreads that are compatible with the style of bedroom furnishings, and coordinated with the color scheme of the entire room, can be the center of interest.

How to buy mattress and spring

Plan bed sizes for comfort, for quality, and for the room in which they will be used. An infant’s room can take less expensive cots or a crib because you know they will be replaced when the child grows up. The master suite, a long-term purchase, should be the highest quality you can afford, for longer, comfortable use. Tall teen-agers should have extra-length beds in their rooms. The guest room can be furnished with standard size, less expensive beds because they will not be in everyday use.

Your most important consideration in buying a mattress and box spring is to select them as a unit. Each is made to go with the other, and putting a new mattress on top of an old spring can easily upset this built-in balance. If you choose a standard coil-spring mattress, the box spring that goes with it is designed to support about 40 percent of the body weight. If your choice is foam, its box spring is designed to support about 60 percent of the body weight. In either case, there will be extra, firmer coils supporting the body at key points—hips and back. For more comfort, buy the best quality you can afford.

“Handsome is as handsome does” is an old saying that is applicable to your purchase of mattresses and box springs. The prettiest ticking cannot satisfactorily cover shoddy materials underneath. It cannot be repeated too often that quality in mattresses and box springs is important to your health and to your alertness, that comfort here is more important than beauty, and that mattresses and springs are designed as a comfortable unit and should be purchased together. Because you are buying an expensive item, you may think that the best thing to do is to wait for a sale. If you go to a reputable store, you may be safe in such a decision.

Most stores carry only a limited stock of mattresses, and they generally acquire special merchandise for sales. Mattress buying is difficult because the quality of the product is inside where you cannot see it. If you want a mattress that will last a long time, remember that quilting and quality ticking can add from $10 to $20 to the purchase price.

Good quilting and ticking supply more than good looks. High-quality ticking wears longer, and the functional advantage of quilting is that it holds the top layer of upholstering and filling in place so that it will never shift while in use.

The basic choice is between foam and innerspring; that choice is up to you. When foam mattresses are advertised at a low price, be sure you know what is being offered. They could be made of urethane foam or latex foam. Latex foam is a slab of pure rubber with honeycomb or pinhead-size holes; urethane is a foamlike plastic and is generally less expensive. Some “foam rubber” mattresses sold at low prices are actually only foam flakes; in time they become bumpy, uncomfortable, and foul smelling.

Any foam mattress is, of course, nonallergenic, and that may be the criterion by which you decide. The “house dust” to which many people are allergic is actually natural fiber that has broken down, causing it to divide into tiny particles or “dust.”

Whether you select foam or innerspring, satisfy yourself as to the comfort, firmness, and size of the mattress. And the only way to test a mattress is to lie down on it in the store long enough to judge—don’t be embarrassed; the smartest buyers do it. In all selections both husband and wife should be satisfied.

Although many people think they prefer soft mattresses, the majority like the extra- firm once they have given it a fair test. Manufacturers recommend it as the best possible support for your back. But the type known as “super-firm” is usually too hard and unyielding for anyone except a person with serious back trouble.

If your choice is an innerspring mattress, one that is properly made—this runs into money—should last at least 20 years.

The salesman may suggest a mattress with steel coils held together with metal clamps and jacketed in muslin to prevent squeaking. The upholstery is a combination of other mattress materials—curled hog hair over the spring jackets, a lining of polyurethane over that, covered with a cushion of latex foam or quilted cotton. There are other less expensive and nearly as serviceable choices. The decision depends on your needs.

Sometimes a latex-bonded curled hog-hair pad is used between the innerspring unit and the upholstery cushion as insulation. Sometimes curled hog hair, stitched into a pad or used loose, is put on top of the upholstery cushioning for a stiffer, less resilient, and sometimes cooler sleeping surface.

After you have chosen the type and size of mattress and spring that best suits your needs, be sure to get a durable, washable mattress cover and a mattress pad. These will protect your mattress from soil and keep it fresh and new looking for years. There are also combination padcovers treated for soil resistance; also electric pads that are machine washable.

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