OK this is not about cooking or what I got reduced at the
store – I document that quite a bit but thought I’d relay some of the recent
horrors we’ve had in attempting to get a new bed. Yes, we really needed a new bed frame and mattress. So we’ve been looking for over 2 years at the
stuff in the stores putting it off because nothing really ‘sang’ to me or J.
Then last Christmas when we could put it off no longer we
saw a frame/mattress at a local company – I’ll call them Bad Demons. We enquired where was the bed made and told
European and the mattress was UK made.
However, when bed arrived (mind you we had to move everything out of the
room for this) the box clearly said our not so favourite slogan ‘Made in
China’. When we wanted to return it we
weren’t sure if we were going to keep the mattress or not but this ended up
from being made in the UK to somehow coming from Ireland. With all the will in the world that’s not the
UK. We were in doubt. So back that went and refund dutifully made.
Second place – now this time we took time to find what we
thought would be our ‘bed’. It was
handmade in the UK with FSC wood – and the mattress was also made in the
UK. Can you see a pattern here? Yes, we are trying to keep UK businesses in
business. I’ll call them Wanker
Beds. We even went down to the store in
London to see the bed ourselves, measure things, feel the mattress, etc. We learned from Bad Demons or thought we had.
So second bed ordered and about a month later it comes. All wrapped in blankets so as not to use
cardboard or other materials. Great care
taken to get it into the flat and again our old bed goes out into the hall
temporarily. The delivery men put the
bed together first wrong – it’s not in properly so have to unscrew the screws
now and do it again. This leaves us with
severely chipped wood and looks a sight.
Upon closer inspection the slats are warped and some so split we’re sure
they won’t last a month much less a lifetime as we anticipated for this bed. They are screwed in – something we didn’t
think to check but think this is not a sound idea.
Meantime in the hallway of our flats our old bed has now
walked off with a new owner so we have no bed whatsoever. The mattress also isn’t right – one half of
it looks to be filled less and is at an incline, one roll and you’re off the
bed. We are not pleased. Wanker beds have to come back and take this
away – we are devastated.
All we want is a bed – made in the UK that will last us more
than a year as we know flat pack furniture is not for us. I love all things old – it’s stood the test
of time – nothing new ever lasts. Now we
are up against a wall. Our ‘new’ bed
goes in a month and our ‘old’ bed has walked off. We’ll be on the floor sleeping because we
cannot find anyone who makes something so simple in this country.
Again I turn to the great Internet.
We decide that we’ll have to put more money
into the frame because it looks like bespoke will be about our only
option.
But wait – I do a search for
reclaimed wood bed and what do I find?!
Yes, a company called
EatSleepLive.
I found others and in fact we narrowed it
down to three companies.
I e-mailed each
company with a list of things we were interested in knowing – how is the bed
put together, who delivers the item, prices, etc.
We figured those that did answer would be serious.
It was a test – sorry but as you can see from
the above by now we are prepared for disaster.
So two out of the three we emailed initially reply – I guess the third company
couldn’t be bothered even to reply.
But
we kept this up as more questions came to us, we asked and replies were
received.
Both companies were very
patient and kind in responding.
We
eventually put everything into a grid with a Pro/Con comments.
Both companies were in the running but what
made
EatSleepLive the final
winner?
It was really the loads of
pictures we saw on the site and my gut.
J was in favour of the other company but I stood my ground – nope this
was the one I wanted.
Something inside
me said just ‘go for it’.
It gave us a
modicum of hope that finally we found a company that did things the way we
liked/wanted.
So we bit the bullet and put in our order for a bed. It would be about 12 weeks for it to arrive but
we knew it would be worth waiting for.
In the meantime we slept on the floor on just about anything that
offered us an inkling of cushion-y effect.
It is surprising how fast 12 weeks can go and suddenly we
got the call. Our bed was nearly ready
and we needed to arrange delivery. Oh my
– we were nervous and then had to quickly get our mattress as we didn’t want to
have a mattress sitting in the flat until the bed was ready or here. Furious times I must tell you.
But finally the day came and our new bed ARRIVED! Oh my, it was better than the pictures on
their site. I just really could not
believe it was finally here and that the bed was far superior to my
expectations. I’ll let the pictures do
the talking but all I can say is save for this stuff as it’s worth it! We've now had it just about 2 months and how the memories of sleeping on the floor have left - I shall never take that for granted again! The wood apparently comes from an old brewery in Peterborough which means no trees died in the making of this bed - it is 100% recycled.
We are now looking at a chest of drawers but that’s going to
be a bit but well worth the wait. I’m
not paid by them to say this nor am I in anyway compensated for this
praise. I am just pleased to finally
find a company that makes an honest living and provides a service that they can
be proud of.
All the time I am
disappointed in companies and every once in a while it is great to find
something you can say was done right and well.
I’m also proud to say that I did my part and kept China out of it – can
you say the same? Enough said...
