Random Guest Bedroom Updates: Amazon Inconvenience, Mattress Comparisons, and a New Dresser
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Have you ever received the wrong item from Amazon? I have twice now. One time I ordered something small and inconsequential and received barbecue sauce instead. But this time….well, this time I ordered a queen size mattress — the kind that comes stuffed into a box that seems like there’s no way it could possibly hold a mattress, and then you cut the plastic away and the mattress expands to five times the size of the box over the next few hours — and they sent me the wrong one.
Our current mattress is old, and it was time for a new one. I’ve been shopping locally for one, and it seemed like the choices were (1) buy some no-brand questionable mattress for dirt cheap, or (2) buy a brand name mattress that costs about $2000 or more.
I didn’t like those options that I was finding locally, so I decided that I would go to Amazon and buy the 12-inch queen size mattress with the highest customer rating that had at least 200 ratings. That “at least 200 ratings” criterion was totally arbitrary, but I just figured that 200 was a sufficient number of ratings. If something has a great rating based on 30 customer ratings that’s not quite as impressive.
So with those criteria, that led me to the Sweetnight 12-Inch Queen Size Pillow Top Gel Memory Foam Mattress. I was so excited when the UPS guy delivered it, and I immediately brought it in, unpacked it, and watched it expand. But it only expanded to 9 inches. And it looked nothing like the picture I remembered seeing on the Amazon listing that showed a removable mattress cover. And it came with two lumpy pillows, which I didn’t remember being mentioned in the listing.
I got my laptop, looked up my order, and sure enough. They had sent me a Nectar mattress, and I ordered a Sweetnight mattress.
I actually considered keeping this mattress just to save myself from the headache of having to return an unboxed queen size mattress. But after giving it several hours (all afternoon and evening) to expand, I knew there was no way I was keeping this thing. It was so squishy that I could punch my hand down into the mattress and literally feel the boards of the bed frame under the mattress. Just look at this…
It’s so squishy that my hand completely disappears into the mattress. When I lay down on it to test it out, getting up from the mattress was like trying to get off of an air mattress that had lost half of its air overnight as I slept.
I thought maybe that was because it takes a couple of days to really fluff up to its final size, and maybe I just didn’t give it enough time. But reading the reviews of the mattress the Amazon listing made me realize that that probably wasn’t the case. The recent reviews have quite a few 1-star and 2-star reviews from some pretty unhappy customers. And even though it was listed as a 12-inch mattress, this one never plumped up past 9 inches.
Interestingly, many people said that they had previously purchased a Nectar mattress directly from the company, and it was great. But many of them said that the Amazon Nectar mattress was awful by comparison. I’ve never purchased a Nectar directly from the company, but I can attest to the fact that this Nectar from Amazon is, indeed, an awful mattress. So I guess if you’ve heard great things about Nectar and want to give it a try, it’s probably better to order directly from the company website rather than take your chances with Amazon.
So I called and told Amazon that they had sent me the wrong product, and the lady got the correct mattress shipped out immediately.
This one is fantastic. But, as you can see, I’ve got a bit of a problem with it 😀 …
Yeah. This mattress isn’t 60″ x 80″. It’s at least a couple of inches bigger in both directions, so it doesn’t fit into my bed frame. That problem can be remedied. I’ll just need to raise the support inside up about three or four inches to make it a true platform bed, but it’s just more work than I had planned. I’ve already had to add new legs to the bed (which still need to be stained), and now I have more work to do to make it accommodate the new mattress.
I will say that I think this mattress is fantastic. It has that squishy soft memory foam topper on it, while providing firm support underneath, so I don’t feel like I’m on a deflated air mattress. We still haven’t slept a full night on it, but I’ll admit that I’ve gone in there a couple of times now during the day and relaxed on for a while. If you’re looking for a new mattress, you might consider this one if you like a memory foam-topped mattress with firm support underneath. And from what I’ve seen locally, the price is really good.
Of course, I’ll be quite honest. If it doesn’t work out for you, returning a mattress to Amazon has proven to be a bit of a headache. I’m sure they’ll make it right, but right now I have that Nectar mattress clogging up my entryway. They’ve already sent the UPS guy to pick it up, but when he saw that it was unboxed, he said he couldn’t take it. And of course, there’s no way to get that mattress back into the box it came in. So I need to call Amazon back and see exactly what they’re going to do. I certainly don’t want to be responsible for wrapping/boxing up a queen size mattress for shipping.
In other news, I purchased a dresser for the room!
I had planned on building one because I had searched high and low, and couldn’t find anything that was close to what I wanted at the right price. So I figured that building one would be my only option, but to be quite honest, I was really dreading it.
I wanted a nine-drawer configuration (just because I like the look of the three drawers on the top row), and I also wanted it to be at least as wide as the bed (60 inches). But I also wanted it to be taller than an average dresser, and that’s where I was having a problem finding exactly what I wanted.
Matt often lies in bed and watches TV, and I’ve noticed that with a regular-height dresser/buffet with the TV over it, he has to really has to prop his head up pretty far (with three pillows) to see the TV while lying down. Although he’s not the type to complain about things like that, it just doesn’t look comfortable at all, and I’m sure it causes some neck strain. So for the bedroom, I wanted a dresser at least 40 inches tall so that the TV above it would be much higher than what we have in the breakfast room.
Well, I just so happened to find one at a local furniture store! This furniture store (called Home Shack for you locals) has really learned how to thrive in the era of COVID. They post all of their items on Facebook, and if you see something you like, you just respond with “SOLD” and your email address, and they send you an online invoice. You pay online, and that way when you show up, they have your item wrapped and ready to go, they load it up for you, and it takes about five minutes before your on your way home with your new item.
So I was looking through their newly posted items, and there it was! Nine drawers! 64 inches wide! 42 inches tall! And it was 20% off! It was perfect!
Well, it’s perfect except for the color. 😀 I know it’s a new piece of furniture, and it’s perfectly fine in its current state. And I know some people (most people?) will think I’m crazy for messing with a perfectly fine new piece of furniture. But I’m absolutely going to paint it.
I do think it’s pretty in its current state, but I have an aversion to decorating with matching sets of furniture, and there’s absolutely no way I can have a room full of stained wood furniture. I mean, even the bed and the writing desk is more stained wood than I usually have in a room, but I think it will be fine once I have the accessories and more color added to the room. But this huge stained wood dresser is just way too much.
I’m not 100% decided on a color, but I figure that my three options are (1) white, (2) the blue from the mural wall, or (3) the golden yellow that I’ll be using as an accent color.
The white seems boring to me, especially since that wall is already all neutral with the Classic Gray wall color and white trim. The golden yellow would be pretty, but I think it would compete for attention with the mural wall, and the big golden yellow dresser would probably win that battle. So the blue from the mural wall seems like the best option to me. It would bring the blue (obviously the main color in the room) over to that side of the room, and it would add color without competing with the mural wall. Then I could add colorful things on top of and above it.
So while I saved myself probably four or five days of work by not having to build a dresser from scratch, I’ll still have a day or two of work with painting this one. But I love painting furniture, so I’m actually looking forward to this project.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
Amazon is getting horrid up here in Va. No longer pick up – charging for returns – getting off Amazon for sure
Wow – I do a lot of shopping and returns on Amazon and never experienced any problems. They make the entire process easy. But then, I am a Prime member and wonder if that makes a difference.
We’re prime members, too. We’ve never had any problems at all. I find Amazon to be incredibly reliable, and super fast. If I can’t have immediate gratification, Amazon is the next best thing. 😀
Have you checked your credit card to see if Amazon has given you a credit for the wrong mattress? Or did they tell you to return it, which would be all but impossible.
We are Prime members as well, and I’ve had more and more problems with them lately. “Prime” is no longer prime, in my opinion – now any shipping estimate is at least a week out, no longer 2 days which we pay for. I argued this point with a supervisor and pointed out that I’ve been shopping with Amazon for literally 20+ years and I know how shipping works. (Just in the last couple of months, I was getting items in 2 days for Prime, even during the pandemic) As far as getting the wrong item, one time I ordered some battery fairy lights and I got 2 pairs of jeans (??). Another time I ordered one drawer pull and got NINE. It gets crazy sometimes!
Prime isn’t what it used to be! Now if you don’t get your item, they say “sorry”, wait a couple of days then you can cancel the order!
Check and see if your area has a hub locker for Amazon. You may be getting bad service from them?
Leave the top wood and do the bottom blue.
Deb. I was thinking the same. Since the top will have a TV on it the wood would not be too much. It would also be a bit less painting for Kristi. Love the dresser it fits the space perfectly.
I’m just going to throw a crazy idea out there. years ago i bought an old cheap desk, cause i lìked the shape. it was horrible. do i sand & paint it? do i sand & stain it.? i finally came up with the idea of buying 2 pocket books of wildflowers in colors.
I cut out each picture without any text.
using mod podge to afix to desk & orange shellac to give the pictures an antique look plus bring every pix together,.. what happened was extraordinary.
it was a sensational. by the way, i painted the surrond pcs whìte ’cause there was enough color. call me madcap, but i wound up covering a foot locker the same way, except with french impression artwork for another room.
I love the dresser… may I suggest that you paint the desk blue and leave the dresser. I love the bed too. Can’t wait to see it with bedding.
I like this idea too; however I think leaving the top of the dresser the wood color would be absolutely perfect and tie everything together but not be matchy matchey.
From the start, my minds eye has seen a yellow chair in this room! As far as the dresser goes, have you thought about painting it the blue and leaving the top and the trim around the drawers the stained wood? It is all looking so good! Just unfolding before my eyes!!
I shop Amazon A LOT. Only one time have they messed up an order. And then they had the correct order to me the next day. And they told me to keep the wrong item. So I cannot imagine shipping back a foam mattress. BTW we bought Foam Mattresses for all of our beds and LOVE THEM! Looking forward to seeing how the dresser turns out! And excited for you to have full use of the breakfast room again. Especially with the living room finished! You will spend half a day wandering through your completed rooms! Lol
Sheila F.
I think a blue dresser is perfect for your room! Will you mount the tv on the wall? I was also looking at the new natural wood legs on the bedframe and wondered about painting them gold just to pick up the gold on the bedside tables & in the wall mural. I kind of liked the floating feeling the pale legs gave the bed at first glance, they just fade into the floor color. A dark stain will stand out. I am in love with your entire house. This bedroom is very, very inviting!
Have never gotten the wrong thing from Amazon and use them a lot. Bedroom really coming along.
Just throwing this out…… what if you paint just the inside panel of the drawers where the handles are located? It would add color (any color of your choosing) but save you from doing the three coats on the entire dresser. Hey, you’re the designer/decorator and I have loved pretty much all you’ve done… I mean I’m the gal with a red kitchen wall and a red armoire that my son-in-law asked my hubs what color I was painting the newly purchased piece!
You definitely have the touch and the eye for amazing rooms. Enjoy living through the transformation of your artistry!
I was going to suggest you consider the same thing. You can paint some paper pieces any color you choose and tape them up as a mock up to see if you like it.
Yeah, blue for the dresser! I know from packing up for a move that the foam mattresses are very hard to compress for a box. And, I only had a 4” one to contend with. I hog tied it small enough to get in a super xl suck up bag then sucked out the air to get it in a box. Good luck!!
Can’t believe you found exactly what you were looking for. Happens so rarely!
Have you thought about, while you’re having to add to the bed to accommodate the new mattress, adding enough that Matt will have an easier time looking at the tv? Or is that going the wrong direction? Don’t forget you’re not six feet tall and you’ll still have to get in and out of this thing. 🙂
Ditto for the blue on the dresser with some white and yellow goodies on top, next to the TV. Maybe move the TV to one side of the dresser and put decor on the other side. Anyway, the dresser is beautiful. Glad you found something that works. I had to use an old acrylic printer paper stand from 30 yrs ago but it works great on top of my dresser. Raises the TV up 6″.
Great size you found. The wood looks good, and breaks up all the paint in the room. The blue would be a good choice though, to balance the room. Wood has a tendency to warm a space tho. There is a lot of paint in there with the floor being painted also.
Would one of those foam wedge pillows help Matt sit up in bed?
I once ordered cotton, rod-pocket curtains from Target and received silky, grommeted curtains (the photo on the cardboard wrap of the panels matched what I ordered!). I also once ordered two white planters that rest on your deck rail from Home Depot, and 1.5 months later received a huge plastic terra cotta bowl. Never any problems with Amazon, though! And certainly never any problems of that size 🙂
Have you checked into returning to Kohls? I’m not sure how hard it’d be for you to get a mattress there or if they’d accept it, but I know Kohls accepts returns from Amazon.
You certainly did not ask for suggestions, but maybe consider painting the bed and/or desk before that dresser. That dresser is really pretty and looks great against the gray walls!
How frustrating. Mattresses are such big business now. I’ve spent a small fortune on them in the last few years. Return it. You should get what you order and they should pack it for you. It’s their fault, after all.
My son and I have both had this experience with Amazon: we call to return an item and they tell us to keep the item and then Amazon sends the replacement! In both cases the item was defective.
On the bright side, your room looks gorgeous. I love the white/wood combo. Very classy!
I’m concerned about a pillow top mattress and wonder what you (and other posters) have experienced with those vs. the same type of mattress that can be both turned over and around. Mine has been that since you can only rotate a pillow top around, but can’t turn it over and around that it gets a sag where you lay and then you need a new mattress. (We are normal size people.) Have been looking for a queen mattress myself (again) which is why I’m asking for other(s) input. Thanks.
When we recently purchased a mattress we found out after it expanded it was a pillow top. Guess I didn’t look at the photos good enough. I too, wonder like you do…will it get a dent in it after a while because it can not be flipped?
I’ve had pillow top before and now have a total foam (different density layers) and not thrilled with either. You can only rotate top to bottom, not turned over, and both have dents from our bodies. The foam one is about three years old now. The dents aren’t horrible yet, and I do rotate them every six months, but I am feeling like we will need to consider new a one at the five years point. Bought from a store, made by serta, and not high dollar, mid range. We got the most firm, because we like them, plus I worried it might get mushy, since we both are about 190 lbs. (Can’t believe I put that out there!)😁 I think I want to go back to a spring, no pillow top. We have a couple businesses locally that build to order any type you want,and they aren’t any more costly. You just have to wait a week or two for them. I was in a hurry this time, because my dog got sick all over the old one and I couldn’t get it clean enough!!!
Was looking a foam/latex one as well. Am wondering if they hold up too since you say yours is about 3 years old and not doing so good. Wonder if those come where you can both turn and flip? I have had a talay topper that has saved me and those are expensive but last years and you can turn and flip them. I have lumbar arthritis in all 5 vertebrae so am hoping now that Kristi put out about her mattress, others might have some feedback too.
When I lived in Texas, I bought my mattress from a company called Denver Mattress. Their mattresses are amazing and their prices are pretty awesome too! So amazing that even though the closest Denver Mattress to my current location is seven hours away, I will be renting a U-Hual to pick up my new mattress soon. If you ever need another mattress, there is a DM in Waco.
I love painting furniture too! I think the blue will look awesome and balance the room really well!
I was thinking that perhaps your bedding could help you decide on dresser color. If going colorful there, the dresser in yellow would be DIVINE!
The dresser is an amazing find!! Wahoo!
We ordered a Zenni Mattress from Amazon. Each time it’s been delivered the box is open on both ends…we’ve returned them twice already and the third one arrived the same way. makes us reluctant to infurl it, even though they say they’ll still take it back if we do.
Glad yours worked out, but I’d still go for a price adjustment since you will have to retrofit the bed to make it work!
The room looks amazing so far, Kristi!
I too like the idea of painting the base of the dresser blue and leaving the top wood tone to coordinate with the other wood pieces in the room. Having the dresser blue balances that color from the opposite wall.
There is so much counterfeit merchandise on Amazon. I’ve been burned too many times–so I always check to see if I can get the same item from Walmart.com or other online national store, or the manufacturer’s online store, before I’ll order from Amazon. At least in Northern California, the fulfillment center seems to just grab whatever’s handy and ship it out, leaving the customer to sort out the problem. I avoid them whenever possible. If you don’t have this problem, thank your fulfillment center employees! You have some good ones.
FYI… in case you were not aware, Walmart.com is the same third party merchandisers that Amazon is. My dad ordered something from Walmart.com and I took it back to the store for him… they were not able to accept it back because it wasn’t actually SOLD by Walmart, even though it was on their website. The customer service lady explained Walmart.com was just like Amazon.
Yes, the Walmart website does sell from other vendors, but it is easy to tell (and filter for only) items sold by Walmart. For me the difference is–I think–that the Walmart fulfillment center is not stocked with other vendor items, as Amazon’s is. Your Amazon order is just as likely to be fulfilled with counterfeit junk as merchandise from the legal vendor, as I have experienced too many times.
Kristi, I’m so so sorry to see that you do not have the Original Mattress Factory in Texas! That’s the only place we go. We always buy a 2 sided non foam mattress with as much pillow top as we can afford. I would be lost trying to shop elsewhere.
I want to confirm that Nectar WAS good. We bought a Nectar mattress in March 2017, and it’s at least 12″ thick, maybe more–it’s at our vacation home so can’t measure it–and doesn’t feel like an air mattress when I’m getting out of bed. We had to get used to the feel of it, but it’s very comfortable and high-quality.
While I haven’t had issues with Amazon sending the wrong item (minus one third party seller years ago) I have run into quality problems. I suspect some manufacturers are making the “amazon version” of popular or big ticket items, same as with Walmart. Always worth checking the most recent reviews.
Painting the dresser is absolutely the right move, right now the dark stained wood is overwhelming. Can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Almost 2 years ago I bought a white dresser from Wayfair. I love the dresser but it’s just too white and shiny. My headboard is a navy/charcoal color. Online surfing led me to a SW paint color called Charcoal Blue. I was so excited when I saw that color as it will be perfect with the headboard. I picked up the paint today. I’m so excited to get started painting!
Blue is a great choice…good luck!
Boring me would do gray so it disappears. What do you want to pop? How many pops in one room do you want? Just a thought….
I have a love/hate relationship with Amazon. UPS is right up there with them also. I ordered a set of refrigerator drawers which, at $1600, is a fairly expensive purchase on Amazon. For three weeks I didn’t hear or see anything about delivery. Then I started getting UPS notifications that it was being delivered that day… this went on for three more weeks! I finally called Amazon and they told me it was lost and they would refund my money. So I got an email from Amazon that said they were refunding my money and giving me a $30 credit for my troubles. The email also said that if the product happened to show up in the future, I could either keep it or donate it. Lo and behold, it showed up two weeks later and you can bet I kept it. Score!
Yes yes yes! Blue of the mural wall sounds wonderful. And no on the stained top. 😂 I know it’ll be great when you finish it!
Kristi, that is a really gorgeous dresser! It took me a few minutes of thinking about it, but I do love the idea of painting it blue and leaving the top wood to tie in with the other items. If you are doing the spread on the bed in the mustard yellow, I still think the desk stool would be awesome in that same color. Whatever you decide to do, I’m sure it will look gorgeous, as always!
Love the dresser, and it will be nice in the blue. Although I don’t have a problem with the stain as it is. Hope you enjoy the mattress, we aren’t crazy about our foam one.(different brand) Also, I’m a “hot sleeper” and the foam holds the heat. As for the return on that wrong mattress, usually they will tell you they will have it picked up and donated. I guess it’s up to the manufacturer to say so.
I think painting it blue would be perfect. Maybe you could use your golden yellow material to upholster a small chair or perhaps the stool for the desk.
Painting it blue would be perfect. Then change out the knobs to the brass or whatever the desk knobs are and the matching tacks on headboard.
Yes, blue. Right on, sister!
Either the Amazon seller made a mistake on your order (they are just using Amazon’s store front to sell their merchandise) or the Amazon warehouse did (when the seller ships their inventory to Amazon for Amazon to ship to customers for a fee = that service is called: Fulfilled by Amazon)
If you have Kohl’s in the area, they accept Amazon’s return. Not sure if the grocery store Whole Foods started accepting Amazon returns as well (I’m an Amazon employee 🙂
Couple of years back, I got a 14″ memory foam gel mattress from Costco on sale for $399 (from $700-$800). It also came in a box. I shoved in the back seat of my car and drove it home myself.
Can you give an update on how the mattress has held up? In the market for one, so would love your perspective on how it’s worked for you nearly 2 years in. Thanks!
The mattress has held up perfectly. I was afraid it would get squished down in areas, like a standard mattress does, and I thought it would happen with this one faster since it’s a foam mattress. That hasn’t happened at all. I don’t see or feel any squished down areas at all. It’s just as firm (but not too firm) as it was when we first received it.
Thanks so much for the update!