Ah, the more I age the more things matter that I never thought I'd care about - namely what I do my sleeping upon.

Mattress number one in our marriage - well, it didn't matter much what we were sleeping on. We were newlyweds, you know the drill. Three children and a couple backaches later and we're shopping for a new mattress so we sleep better and have less aches and pains. Has it really come to this? Enter Stearns and Foster.

Queensbridge - our version
We're shopping for a queen size mattress. Preferably nothing with a cashmere cover - soft to the touch but the stuff makes me itch like poison ivy. Consider this when you do your mattress shopping. If you can't wear a cashmere or wool sweater then you probably wouldn't want to sleep on either as well.

The Queensbridge was introduced to celebrate Stearns & Foster's 150th anniversary. Who knew a mattress company could be in existence for that long? Anyway, it was prominently displayed when we entered our local retailer, caught our eye (and bodies), and we were hooked.

The size was right as was the height - it's a pillow top that doesn't reach too high. I tried fitted sheets on a pillow top varieties from other makers and realized I'd be very frustrated just making the bed - don't need frustration before one even gets into bed.

Anyway, Stearns & Foster offers this one in the following dimensions (taken from product literature and available on their website):

King: 76"x80"
California King: 72"x84"
Queen: 60"x80"
Full: 53"x75"
Twin: 38"x75"
Twin Extra-Long: 38"x80"

So, are we losing sleep?
None of your business!

Okay, when we want to sleep are we losing sleep? If we are it's not because of the mattress. Perhaps it helps to move from a cheap, cheap mattress to a higher priced mattress, but we have been sleeping soundly on our Stearns & Foster with relatively little to complain about.

Construction includes several foam layers and a "foam encasement". It seems that this encasement is what makes the mattress seem 100% useable and sittable (if that's a word). There's no sitting on the edges or rolling to the side and feeling like we're falling off. In addition, it provides support but soft support throughout.

The other plus here is the lack of down. What a sorry little life I lead, but not only does cashmere make me itch, but down makes me sneeze. Instead, the Queensbridge provides layers of fibers, eliminating down, covered in a Damsk-like fabric (even the handles on each side are fabric). Making it not as high-class, high-end? Perhaps, but it also means that I'm not spending my precious bed time sneezing. I'd say that's a plus.

Finally, availability...
In our neighborhood I really wanted to shop for a mattress somewhere high class. Oh, I'm no snob, but I needed to feel like my salesperson knew what she was talking about. Had she slept with Stearns & Foster? What was her experience? Anyway, she kept her sleeping habits to herself but I did get a low pressure experience in a finer furniture store. This made an impression on our final decision as well. No laying on mattresses in a mall, no crowded warehouse-style shopping experience.

Recommendation
I'm not speaking for all Stearns & Foster products, but I am speaking from our own sleeping experience. The Queensbridge has done wonders for our marriage - well, if you can count a good night's sleep as being a plus for a marriage. (Once the kids arrive I think this is a big plus.)

The biggest plus is the feeling that 100% of the mattress surface is usable. I'm not falling off the edge, my construction-working husband is getting a good sleep with no stiff necks previously attributed to that "piece of junk we sleep on". Finally, we're sleeping on something soft and squishy (and that's a good thing) without cashmere, wool or down.

A good purchase for us - a good mattress for our marriage. As for the pocketbook? Believe it or not, the amount we paid is kind of a deal for this particular mattress. But what price can you put on a marriage? Well, at least $2799 in our case....





Recommended: Yes

Mattress Size: Queen
Mattress Firmness: Somewhat soft
Amount Paid (US$): 2799