Bedrooms
August 11, 2016
Who Knew I Would LOVE My Mattress In A Box?
Lynda Reeves on her new favorite bedding brand.
By now, you’ve probably heard of Casper, the start-up mattress and bedding company that grew overnight into one of the hottest home brands in the U.S. But last Christmas, when my story begins, I had no clue what Casper was about — except for a New York Times article I vaguely remembered. I was in a rush to leave for the holidays when a big white box with charming blue graphics arrived on my desk. I read the attached card and left the box to be opened in January…
Inside was a pillow made of something that is not down, which means I am not so interested, so it went in my guest room closet. When my partner Michel complained he wasn’t sleeping well, I offered up the Casper pillow, adding: “you can try it, but it’s not down so you probably won’t like it…” Down pillows are by far the best and most expensive. House & Home used to sell branded pillows in many price points so I should know, right?
The next morning Michel said he really liked “the pillow.” That night we got into a freshly changed bed. “Which one is my pillow? I want my pillow,” he insisted. Here’s the thing. You sink a little into the Casper pillow, but you don’t collapse. Your head is nicely supported by the pillow which never goes flat, and you can scrunch it into your favorite position.
Pleasantly surprised, I ordered a king sheet set and king mattress online to replace the one in my third-floor guest room. My shopping experience was so positive that I want to write about it. (Full disclosure: Casper has since become an advertiser but my review is sincere and true.) No visual clutter, no hard sell, no confusion to sort out, and best of all, not much choice. One pillow in two sizes, one set of sheets in three sizes (with or without chambray trim) and one mattress in three sizes, all in white — period.
The box that arrived from Casper contained sheets that were crisp, 100% cotton, with a wonderful, soft feel. What a perfect gift for anyone, I thought. We washed and ironed them and made up my bed so I could test them. My expectations were not high. These sheets were a fraction of the price of my Frette or Pratesi sheets so it would not be fair to expect the same delicious feeling of fine, high-threadcount bedding. But the sheets felt great. They were crisp and soft and they passed the cheek test with flying colors. I like to feel a cool, smooth sheet against my face and these pillowcases offered exactly that.
I had been putting off getting a new mattress for our third-floor guestroom because bringing the old king one up those narrow stairs to the top of our house had been nightmare for our movers. I assumed it would be the same kind of ordeal this time around. H&H‘s Gillian Atkins offered to manage the carting off of the old mattress and the installation of the new one, while I stayed at work!
The mattress delivery was a revelation. Gillian sent me photos of two guys carrying a square box up the stairs to the guest room. Not a mattress… just a box. So what was the deal?
Gillian said the king mattress was delivered first to our offices in a box that easily fit into the trunk of her SUV. At my house, the two guys hired to remove the old mattress and cart it away took the 80-pound Casper box up three flights of stairs to the guest room in less than 5 minutes. Gillian said that she and I could have done it ourselves.
She said that opening the box was like opening your new Apple device. Everything is perfectly thought out and packaged. There is even a box cutter for snipping the plastic wrap and a big bag for disposal of your old mattress.
The mattress is “unfolded” and then it proceeds to puff up to its full size as you can see in Gillian’s before and after pictures, above. Once again I was baffled. In the city we sleep on a Hastens mattress and box spring that is pretty terrific, and should be for that price! How can this possibly compare?
I decided to make up the new mattress with the Casper sheets and pillows and get a frank opinion about it all. My first house guest was going to be Rodney Birrell, a dear friend who has slept in our guest room many times and knew the old mattress well. Rodney would tell me the honest truth about everything. “So how did you sleep?” I asked the next morning. “Great, the sheets were amazing.” “And the mattress?” I asked. “Superb!” “And the pillows?” “Wonderful!” Three days later, he pronounced the whole thing “incredible,” so after he left, I remade the bed with freshly washed Casper linens and I crawled in for a test drive.
So how good could a foam mattress for a fraction of the price of a top quality coil mattress possibly be? The mattress is super comfy and yet it gives good support and it doesn’t shift, which is so important. One thing to consider is the profile of the mattress. If you happen to like super puffy, high mattresses, then add a padded mattress pad for that extra height. But for modern bedrooms with low profile beds, the sleek, flat profile is ideal. This king Casper mattress is designed to sit directly on a slat or platform bed, but can be used on an existing box spring and costs $1,275 (plus tax, shipping is free). The king sheet set is $300, and two king pillows are $280. Revelation!!!!!
To experience the Casper mattress, sheets and pillow firsthand, you can book a 15-minute nap in the traveling “Snooze Rooms” that tour throughout downtown Toronto in August (book a time here). You may find yourself buying a mattress that will soon arrive at your door like a well wrapped gift.