by Melissa Knight

Created on: July 20, 2008   Last Updated: July 20, 2010

Oh, the mattress. If you're like me, your bed defines home to you more than anything else you own. You spend days, weeks even, choosing the perfect comforter, pillows, sheets and mattress pads for your bed. At night, (or on a lazy Sunday afternoon) when you lay your body down and rest your head on your pillow, it's a little like heaven. Your bed is the epitome of relaxation. There are times when I am in and out, running errands and whatnot, that I can walk past my bed and feel instantly sleepy with the knowledge of how it feels to lie down in it. There are times when I wake up early and lay there because it feels good; I don't want to get up.

As with anything pleasurable, however, your bed is built in layers. You have your frame, or bed and then you have your mattress. Now, mattresses can go with or without a box spring, but in most cases, they are sold as a set for a reason. They are built to complement each other and work together to provide the ultimate comfort for each particular mattress. Don't rule it out before you seriously consider it.

Mattresses come in many different price ranges and your budget is probably the most important thing to consider (besides the size of your bed) before you even start shopping. Plan to spend a certain amount and stay within that price range the whole time. If you're planning to finance your purchase, remember the more it costs, the more your payments will be, so decide what you are willing to pay a month. I don't know many people who can afford a six thousand dollar mattress, so I'm not even going to discuss those, except to say that they are out there and they are exceptional and someday (when I'm rich and famous) I plan to have one. For now, though, I am happy with the mattress set I have.

So, how do you choose? How do you know what you're looking for? The truth is, if you've never done this kind of shopping, you really don't. So it's best to shop and shop and shop around until you know what it is you want. There is everything from memory foam to air chamber to traditional coil and it's up to you what you prefer. If you like something super firm, you might want to give memory foam a really good look. It's firm, but your body sinks in and the mattress conforms to you. If you and your significant other have differing opinions on how firm you want your mattress to be, it might be worth it to look into a mattress with adjustable air chambers, rather than a traditional coil mattress.

Generally, however, most people choose

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