Believe it or not, the mattress we just bought for our guest bedroom was the first one either of us had ever really shopped for in person. Previously we’d slept on hand-me-downs from family or picked up inexpensive mattresses from thrift stores (we got two daybed mattresses from Goodwill back when bed bugs weren’t a consideration—though they claimed they sanitized everything). We also ordered an organic mattress online for our main bed, which surprisingly worked out well even without trying it in a store. So tackling in-person mattress shopping felt a little intimidating at first.

We wanted to research enough to make a smart purchase, but we didn’t have weeks to spend hopping between stores. Our goal was to do a reasonable amount of homework—enough to feel confident without overdoing it, since this bed will only be used occasionally by guests. A few readers had already shared helpful suggestions when we mentioned our search on a previous post, so that gave us some good starting points.

We ultimately bought our guest-bed set from The Original Mattress Factory. They weren’t on our radar until my mom sent a Consumer Reports piece that ranked them highly, just behind Tempur-Pedic. We decided early on that we preferred an innerspring mattress over memory foam for this room. Memory foam can be polarizing—some people find it too hot, and it’s not universally comfortable—so for a guest bed intended to appeal to a wide range of people, we wanted something classic: an innerspring mattress with a box spring.

Once we narrowed our options and discovered there was a local Original Mattress Factory store only a couple of miles away, we stopped in. The store impressed us immediately with how straightforward the whole process was. Three things stood out:

1. They carry only their own brand, and every mattress is made on site at that location, which is actually a working mattress factory.

2. The store displays cross-sections of their mattresses and several competitors, so you can clearly see materials, coil types, padding thicknesses, and other construction details.

3. They don’t run limited-time sales or gimmicky promotions. By making their mattresses locally and selling directly, they keep prices consistent and avoid the inflated “sale” tactics we saw elsewhere—big slashed prices that appeared weekly but were rarely genuine markdowns.

We didn’t buy on the spot. Instead, we visited a few discount stores and Ikea to compare. Those other visits were frustrating: brand names, models, and sale terms were confusing and often contradictory, so we left before trying most of the beds. Ikea models also wouldn’t have been delivered quickly enough and, in our comparison, were actually more expensive than the model we liked at The Original Mattress Factory—which had a solid independent reputation and a strong Better Business Bureau rating.

After deciding which model suited our needs, we returned to The Original Mattress Factory and purchased a full-size Classic Luxury Firm mattress set for $379; this price included the box spring. We chose the full size because it fits the room best, allows us to use our existing bedding and headboard, and aligns with what most guests expect. We wanted something with a bit more cushioning than the base model but not an extravagant luxury topper. Adding the bed frame ($50), delivery ($38), and tax ($21) brought our total to $488, just under the $500 budget we’d set for this project.

Delivery was smooth, and the quality control at the factory was reassuring. Even Burger—the household mattress tester—seemed to approve and looked comfortable during his inspection.

We picked a full-size mattress for practical reasons: it fits the space well, spares us from replacing fitted sheets and other bedding, and suits the needs of most visiting friends and family who expect a guest bedroom to have a full bed. Now our challenge is to finish arranging the rest of the room so it feels like a welcoming bedroom and not just a mattress on display. Hopefully we can pull the remaining pieces together within a couple of days.

We’re excited to see this room come together and relieved we found a durable, well-made mattress that met our needs without overcomplicating the process. It was refreshing to shop at a place with transparent construction, straightforward pricing, and consistent quality—exactly what you want when buying a mattress intended to welcome a variety of guests.

Psst—We’re giving away our favorite video camera over on BabyCenter today. It’s a Flip Ultra HD valued at $199 (the one we use for our videos). There’s also a new Clara video to enjoy, which involves a tambourine. Click the giveaway link to enter.