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Beds from Clever D. After all that hard work in the garden or on the house, you really need to relax and unwind! Take a look at the great selection of beds and bed retailers we have for you on Clever D this month. Indoor beds, outdoor beds and loungers, wood beds, metal beds, bunk beds, mattresses.

Why is a bed category in an exterior focussed directory? Beds are a huge part of our life which cant be ignored, unless we are camping fanatics, or vagrants (!), our beds are the place that secretly we love the most. Sleep away all your aches and pains, doze off that hangover, or simply cuddle up with the one you love. Some of the stores listed within this category will also offer futons and adjustable beds, some offering special back care beds and the latest in forming matresses, ones that mould themlselves to your shape. Beds should not be ignored, we all need a bed and we all need a sleep! Why not click around and see what you could find on clever d?

Clever D, the new way to buy a bed. While you shop on Clever D, I'm just off to have a nice lie down, see you in a few hours.........

NEWS: How to buy a mattress

Learn how to buy a mattress. What's important when choosing a mattress and how to avoid getting ripped off.

A mattress is a major purchase for your home. Like any other furniture in your home, your mattress is going to be around for a very long time. Most mattresses are made to last about fifteen to twenty years. Since we spend about one third of our lives sleeping, it is a good idea not to skimp on your mattress. If you have ever seen an ad for a store that sells mattresses, you may have seen the claim, “we will come and pick up your old mattress for free!” These merchants are not simply really nice guys with access to a garbage dump. The reason stores will take your old mattress is because many old mattresses are ‘rebuilt’ and resold. It is perfectly legal for a manufacturer to use the frame of an old mattress as long as he refurbishes it and puts on a new cover and filling. The springs in these mattresses are the original, old, used springs. The springs of a mattress are what determines if you have a comfortable night’s sleep and if they are old, well, it’s a pretty big risk to take. These refurbished mattresses are often sold very cheaply, for around a hundred dollars or so. Don’t bother with these no-named mattresses, even if you are on a budget, they’ve been slept on before.

Now that you know to avoid the cheap mattresses, what do you do? Mattresses can sell from one hundred dollars up to the thousands. There is a point where you are going to have to draw the line and only you know where that line should be drawn, but basically, the more expensive the mattress, the better it usually is. Decide what size mattress you are going to buy. If you already have a good headboard and frame, you will want to purchase the same size you have now. Consider the fact that while California King sized mattresses look delectably spacious, it is very difficult to find sheets to fit this size. Also, if you are buying a mattress for a child, how old is the child? If your child is very young, go ahead and spend the extra money on a really good mattress because it’s really going to get used, bounced on and otherwise tested to its limits.

Some folks prefer a water bed to a conventional mattress. There are a great many alternatives in the water bed market now, including some water beds that utilize multiple water tubes rather than one huge sack of water. When you have multiple water tubes, you can create different levels of firmness on each side of the bed. There are also air mattresses that provide this same feature. If you and your spouse prefer different bed firmnesses, this is a good alternative for you.

It is always better to have a firm mattress than a soft one. Soft mattresses will quickly acquire a ‘body dent’ where you sleep. Sort of like a depression in the mattress, body dents are caused by weight being placed in the same spot consistently. A good way to protect your mattresses from body dent is to rotate your mattress and flip it occasionally. Use a good mattress cover to protect your investment and do us all a favor, take your old mattress to the dump yourself.

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NEWS: How to buy the best bed mattress. (another view)

This article explains in layman's terms how to buy a good mattress at the best price while securing the best features.

One of the hardest tasks for a homemaker these days is buying a good mattress. While this product is less complicated than say, buying a car, marketing practices have so crept in on the mattress business that it's now next to impossible to compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. To begin with, there are lots of confusing terminology being tossed around, just some of which are: pocketed coils; Microtek foundations; Fiberlux; silk damask ticking; etc.

So let me share with you the secrets to getting the mattress that you want at a price that is below $1,000. A rule of thumb is if you're shelling more than this amount, you're getting ripped off! Another rule of thumb is to follow what your body wants which means conducting the litmus test of lying down the mattress at the showroom and trusting what you feel. I don't advise that you lie down on every mattress, though, as this will certainly annoy the sales rep. Just pick, say, one or two of what you think are the best and take the dip (do it slowly though)!

Your only other choice if you're too shy to perform this public stunt is to understand all the mattress terminology around; and if not, prepare to get ripped off. Now before you head for the shopping mall, here are a few more tips with which to arm yourself.

1. Don't trust everything that the mattress sales rep tells you. Remember that he gets a commission out of every sale, so he will most certainly recommend the mattress that will fatten his paycheck. So here's another rule of thumb: try going the opposite of what the sales rep recommends and back this up with the litmus test I taught you.

2. Review the following very important mattress terminology.

a) Innerspring mattress: this is the heart of an innerspring mattress. Otherwise it's just foam, cotton, quilting, stitches or who really knows what's inside?

b) Pillowtops: soft layers of foam (or cotton, or wool) sewn to the top of the mattress. They're popular, but may add a few hundred dollars to your purchase. (Why pour out extra on springs just to negate the effect with pillowtops, anyway? If you really want to sleep on foam or cotton, go for this type of mattress right away.)

c) No-Flip Designs: Herein lies another marketing obfuscation. Your grandmother says to flip your mattress every three months. Yet there's this new mattress design which boasts a "no flip" design that has got a lot of people fooled. Do you know what it really means? There's block foam built in on one side. In other words if you so much as stain or rip the sleeping side, your mattress is finished! And you are going to pay more for this feature?

d) Coils: The more the coils the better, and consequently the more costly. But the fact is, most mattresses with more coils use thinner wires--so there. Don't be fooled! Again, don't let this coil count confuse you, apply the litmus test at once!

e) Thickness: The thicker the better. Wrong. All the thickness does is make the bed stand out in the showroom. Wait 'till you need to bring the mattress up your stairs!

f) Box Springs: I find these unnecessary. To give your bed "more give and support," your next-door neighbor argues. If you listen to this version, you'll keep adding more box springs and never finish while the sales rep gets a boxfull more money!

g) Specialty mattresses: air, water, foam, latex. If you like the comfort of the innerspring stuff, none of these more expensive varieties will make you feel any good. Personally, I find the air and the water varieties scary, especially when you've got kids around the house.

3. Your homework done, it's time to head for the shopping mall, but watch out for these two marketing ploys mattress salesmen love to dangle in the air, terms which I like to call the mattress industry's twin-bed strategy: warranty and watch your back. In many cases, the warranty you'll sign up for will amount to nearly ten percent of the mattress' cost already--if not more. To me, a good few months of warranty say between three to six is ideal. Why? Within such a span of time you can already tell whether the mattress is perfect for you or whether it will really last. And good for your back? This is usually an expensive proposition, as the sales rep will explain to you that some models are more back friendly than others. Of course, the most expensive one will always be better for your back! Figure out the hole in the theory. Sales commission might be behind this proposition. And besides the mattress is not alone, responsible for a bad back, unless all you like to do is stay lie down all your life!

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Article: Design Psychology: Beds and Emotional Well-Being

By Jeanette Joy Fisher

The bed represents the beginning and ending of life. In the past, people were conceived, born, and died in the same bed. You spend more time in your bed than on any other piece of furniture. Design Psychology offers new bedroom makeover ideas concerning your bed for supporting your emotional well-being.

Bed Placement for Secure Feelings

Position the headboard directly opposite the doorway up against a wall. This creates the visual expansion of the room and underscores the bed’s importance. As the main attraction, the bed represents the focal point of the room.

A greater reason to place the bed so that it faces the doorway is for a feeling of security. People feel safe with a clear view of the door. With the door behind your vision, you feel like someone can sneak up behind you. However, some bedrooms with a separate entry space coming into the main area present a dilemma; positioning a mirror in a way that reflects the blind spot corrects this problem. Convex mirrors, those that curves or bulge outward, help you to see down the hallway.

Beds and Enclosure

Totally enclosed beds, those with full canopies of voluptuous fabrics, sustain the comforting feeling of a personal sanctuary. Canopies and testers, originally hung to protect sleepers from drafts, give a secure sense of enclosure. Partial canopies or beds with both headboards and footboards provide a suggestion of enclosure. Partially enclosed beds allow views of the room. A footboard adds a semi enclosed womb-like feeling of comfort.

Some sleepers feel most comfortable with a barrier-free bed with nothing to clutter the end space. Decide what makes you feel secure, a peaceful, expansive bed without enclosure, a semi-enclosure with a bare framework, or total enclosure with abundant fabric on all sides.

Padded headboards, easy to assemble and more comfortable than the more expensive brass, iron, or wood headboards, offer great support for reading. Construct a marvelous and unusual headboard with an antique oversized fireplace surround. Fabricate a padded insert for the fireplace opening space.

A bed footrest, love seat, or padded old chest at the foot of the bed offers more functions than a footboard.

Bed Dressings

Black sheets not only look seductive, they also help keep the morning light from disturbing sleep. Because forest green evokes feelings of deep serenity, this color is another good choice for bed linen. High-thread count, white cotton contributes the impression of a luxury hotel. White bed linens give you refreshingly cool emotional support during hot summer nights. If you want an easy bed to make, then use a bedspread that touches the floor instead of a comforter and dust ruffle.

Forget all the pillows! They get in the way, make it hard to make the bed, and add needless clutter.

Giving thought to your emotional needs when designing your bed placement and enhancements helps you create a bedroom for joyous living.

(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.

Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/pages/5/index.htm

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