Sleep well,like a baby

With luxury mattresses priced from Rs 10,000 to a jaw-dropping Rs 25 lakh,the mattress-making companies are optimistic about the future. A good nights sleep is almost as important as food and water, says Ashish Bhansal,a Delhi-based interior décorator. People spend almost one-third their lives sleeping,and yet there isnt enough awareness about mattresses, he says,adding that most of his customers are more eager to decorate their bathrooms and terraces than to give much thought about their sleeping comforts.

Rajat Nagrath,director,Kingschest.com,a portal that sells home décor and lifestyle products,agrees. Not only does sleep have a major impact on our energy level and the state of mind,but also on our intimacy levels and aesthetics. We have witnessed that with time people are more conscious about their comfort level and so demand is getting comparatively higher as there are different textiles on the market,many of which are used to make different types of bedding as per the sleeping needs, says Nagrath.

We are so used to mattress shopping from our neighbourhood vendor. Spring coiling,assembling,wiring,shaping,padding,layering with foam,taping,inspecting and then finally packing 8211; the basic process of making a mattress.

Nowadays it is not just a product that cushions our body when we retire. Mattresses are now being ranked on the kind of sleeping experience they offer,and are now being tailored to the needs and the sleeping habits of the customer.

There are many international players in the market,among which,recently,Magniflex,an Italian mattress brand has launched an ultra luxury range priced between R15 lakh and R 25 lakh. The brands ultra luxury product,the Gold Mattress is deemed to be the most precious mattress in the world as it comes lined with a 22 carat gold yarn fabric and is made to the customers specifications. It comes with an exclusive guarantee and a label that has the customers name embroidered on it in gold.

But Nagrath argues,Many manufacturers are focusing only on price without giving information on thread count,colour trends etc,as opposed to how products are sold in the western market where the manufacturing quality and related information decides the mattress pricing.

Currently more than half of the countrys mattress market falls in the unorganised segment,with the average amount spent on a mattress being around R2,000. Girish Choudhury,owner if a mattress store in west Delhi,says,There is a huge difference between our retail customers and our other customers like hotels,resorts and guest houses. While the former are looking for comfort,the latter are looking for both comfort,durability and hygiene.

Bhansal adds,People now have started to realise the aesthetic value of a bedroom. So even though they spend a lot of money of flat-screen televisions and high-end air conditioning systems,people are still reluctant to shell out five-digit figures for something to sleep on.

But even though the consumers are reluctant to change their mattresses ever 4-5 years,they are much more open to the idea of other high-end home décor products. Home furnishing products from Turkish and Italian collections and a number of highly popular Indian home grown brands such as Ddecor and Maspar,my clients dont even hesitate to buy designer home furnishings like bed linen,quilts,table mats and carpets, says Bhansal.

From spring-coiled and the cotton-filled to feather and gold strings,mattresses have undergone an evolution in a quest to make you sleep well. Do invest a little more time and effort in choosing the mattress that is just right for you. For Goldilocks too,would approve.