Thursday, May 19, 2011

To sleep, perchance to dream



I'm thinking about my old waterbed this morning. Yeah, of course I had a waterbed. While I had it, I loved it so much. Imagine my surprise, once I moved on to the '80s bed of choice, the futon, to suddenly realize how bad that waterbed was for my back. I never knew how dreadful it really was - maybe because I was so stoned during those years I was unable to put two and two together. Maybe I just didn't care, your guess is as good as mine. One wonders why waterbeds became so popular in the first place. At least I do.

It wasn't until I was married that I started sleeping on a real mattress. Oh man, a good mattress is heaven, it really is. I didn't know that because growing up I slept on a couch. After that (until I bought my waterbed) I slept on foam pads on the floor. I was a hippie; that is how we lived.

I'm shopping for a new bed at the moment, some version of a fold-out couch, because I am going to move my massage practice into the chateau sometime this summer (my bedroom will become the treatment room). So many people now live in tiny spaces that the technology of fold out beds has improved dramatically. Last week I went to Ikea and lay on many different sofa beds. I was so impressed.

Though I don't think of myself as trendy in any way, shape or form, the truth is that these very nifty sofa beds are kind of "in" right now. What a weird society we live in - we are so into our fashions, even the way we sleep can be trendy or not. It's a little scary, isn't it?

15 comments:

Reya Mellicker said...

I miss the tarot sideboard project.

ellen abbott said...

we got a tempurpedic. expensive, but I love it. good luck with the fold out bed hunt.

linda said...

I miss the tarot sideboard as well.

Although I never slept on a waterbed I can imagine why they were so popular and I don't think it had much to do with sleeping, if you get my drift.

I'm all into downsizing at this stage in my life. Feels good to unload the unnecessary accumulation of a lifetime. Very liberating.

Reya Mellicker said...

Linda it was not good for sex either. We had to fight the wave pattern to get a rhythm. It was a ridiculous bed. Holy cow.

Angela said...

A salesman once tried to talk me into buying a waterbed, made me even lie on it (I got sick a little, always do on water). But I was much too afraid it would burst and lose all the water over night, so no chance. I love our good solid 2m x 1,80m bed with Schlaraffia mattresses, just heaven!

Vicki said...

I had to laugh at this post. David and I had a waterbed for probably 10 years. What WERE we thinking??? Now it's a temperpedic bed for us too... So much better for old backs! Sending love...

Reya Mellicker said...

It seemed great at the time. When I switched over to the futon I felt so stupid.

Bee said...

During the early 70s, I had an uncle who lived in Austin. He had a waterbed, a motorcycle and a pool table. My little brother and I thought he was the coolest person EVER.

Wouldn't trade my good mattress for anything. :)

C.M. Jackson said...

here's an idea---;-)

http://www.murphybedcompany.com/home.php?section=history

good luck in the search!!

Kerry said...

Sofa beds are in? I didn't know that! But they make sense and I'm glad.

I bet the ones they make now are cooler & more comfy than the one we used to have, which was plaid and weighed as much as a small elephant (but was much harder to move than an elephant!)

steven said...

ha!! i went from futon to full-motion waterbed to just enough motion waterbed to mattress and boxspring to some super nice mattress and boxspring setup that i pretty much jump into. my best sleeps have always been on big overstuffed victorain couches. there are so many memories in those things that they wrap their big dusty arms around me and pack my mind with stories!!! i stayed in an apartment for a while on a murphy bed. it was good - room for two, not much softness about it but i wasn't really thinking about comfort at the time. steven

Cyndy said...

I never owned a waterbed but I've slept in several. I always thought they were kind of groovy. I didn't need much sleep back in those days I guess. And then two years ago I got stuck sleeping in one in someone's guest bedroom and it was HORRIBLE! I can't imagine how that ever caught on.

It would be interesting to know which bed you end up with and how it works out. Ikea does have some interesting configurations.

Rose said...

I am in the process of making a bed out of some pallets... painting them white (and my hair to). I suspect this is a fashion as well. Keeping my nice mattress though!

Cindy said...

Less than two years ago, I finally gave up my waterbed for good. I think I hung in way longer than most... I have to admit I still miss it sometimes. I slept in a waterbed for 30 years... It had bookcases jammed with my favorite books, it was warm when I was cold. Now I still need a very squishy bed or my back protests. Lots of memory foam for me.
Good luck in your search!

Whitney Lee said...

My husband had a waterbed when we met-I slept with my leg hanging off to anchor myself. I hated it, and you are so right about the sex. I was thrilled when we got married because we switched it out with my bed. You're right about there being some pretty comfortable sofa beds out there; good luck with the hunt.