Beds, Mattresses and Bedding in Australia

A bed is not bought in one go. The mattress, the frame, the pillows and the sheets all wear out on different cycles, so each of those decisions gets made years apart, usually in a hurry, and usually without the terms of the last one to hand.

These pages cover the lot: what to buy, what the fine print commits the brand to, and what to do with the old one.

Start with the mattress

• Mattress in a box: how the compressed-foam brands compare on price, firmness and who they suit.
• The best mattress toppers: the cheaper way to change how a mattress feels when replacing it is not yet worth it.
• The best mattress protectors: the item that keeps a trial return and a warranty claim alive.

The terms that decide what a mattress is worth

These are the terms that sit in the fine print rather than on the product page. The figures behind each of these pages were taken from the brands' own warranty and returns pages.

• Mattress trials and warranties compared: seven brands on how long you get, how soon you may send it back, what collection costs outside a capital, and what a warranty claim needs.
• Bed base slat spacing: the published gaps run from 5cm to 12cm, and two of the seven brands give no figure at all.
• Firmness ratings compared: a 7 at one brand and a 7 at another can be the soft option and the firm one, and five of seven brands publish no figure at all.
• Getting rid of an old mattress: where a mattress can be dropped for free, what collection costs, and what gets one refused at the gate.

Emma, model by model

Emma sells more variants in Australia than any other boxed-mattress brand, and the differences between them are not obvious from the names.

• Emma Luxe mattress review
• Emma Luxe Pro mattress review
• Emma Luxe ThermoSoft
• Emma Diamond pillow review
• Emma Rosewood bed review

The frame under it

• The best bed frames: what holds a mattress at the right height without creaking, across timber, metal and upholstered.
• The best kids beds: singles, bunks and the weight limits that decide how long one lasts.

Pillows, quilts and sheets

• The best pillows: matched to how you sleep rather than to a firmness label.
• The best quilts and doonas: what a GSM rating means for an Australian winter.
• The best quilt covers: cotton weights, linen and what survives a hot wash.
• The best bed sheets: organic cotton, linen and what thread count stops telling you.
• How to dress a bed: the order the layers go on.

Staying warm

• The best electric blankets: fitted versus overlay, and the running cost of leaving one on.
• The best weighted blankets: matching the weight to the person under it.

Getting to sleep

• The best earplugs for sleeping: what actually blocks a snorer.
• The best white noise machines: the difference between a loop and true generated noise.