Hästens, Lars HallHylinge08-2006

Fotograf Åke E:son Lindman AB Hudiksvallsgatan 4B 113 30 STOCKHOLM +46 8 343580 ake.eson@lindmanphotography.com

Hästens, Lars Hall Hylinge 08-2006

Sweet Dreams

The Luxury Bed Collection brings regal handcrafted mattresses—and better sleep—to the Naples Design District.

by

A good night’s sleep is a pillar of a healthy lifestyle. Catching the recommended amount of Z’s—seven hours per night for most adults—can improve mental acuity, increase performance and boost your immune system. And, as plenty of studies reveal, most of us aren’t sleeping quite as long or as well as we should. If you’re on the quest for a sweet slumber, a handcrafted horsetail hair mattress may be just the ticket. And, in Naples, The Luxury Bed Collection, which opened at The Collective last year, is the place to find beds made by some of the world’s most skilled artisans.

The idea for the showroom started percolating 18 years ago when founder Mary Pat Wallace was a busy mother of two young kids, working as a manufacturer’s representative for contract furniture companies and suffering from exhaustion. Around that time, a friend introduced her to Hästens, the Swedish mattress manufacturer known for creating beds for one-percenters. (You may have heard of the $500,000 Grand Vividus on which royalty and celebs, like Drake, rest their heads.) Wallace dove deep into the brand’s 300-plus-page catalog. Inspired by the company’s longevity (founded in 1852 and now run by the fifth generation of the family), natural materials (Swedish pine frames, breathable horsehair filling and cotton-wool blends layers), and uncompromising craftsmanship (each mattress is handstitched, with top-tier models taking 320 hours to produce), she launched the first North American store dedicated to Hästens.

Years later, that evolved into The Luxury Bed Collection, a sleep-focused showroom, which now has three locations (Chicago, Dallas and Naples) and deals only in premier bedroom brands, including Hästens, century-old Vispring (they’re credited with pioneering pocket springs, for which individual vanadium steel springs are wound six times and individually wrapped in natural calico for extra support), and certified-organic Naturepedic. You’ll also find everything to outfit your sleep sanctuary, like Egyptian cotton Sferra bedding, faux mink throws and The Luxury Bed Collection’s line of comforters and goose-down pillows.

This month, the Naples Desing District locale hosts a launch party for the Vividus, one of Hästens’ top mattresses, which retails for about $250,000. And, when you see—or better yet feel—the bed, you’ll easily understand why its arrival in Naples is a cause for celebration.

Hästens debuted the Vividus in 2007 as the ultimate expression of its craftsmanship. Nine of the company’s most experienced craftspeople work on the Vividus team, and they spend 45 days building each bed to order. Starting with a Swedish pine and steel frame, the artisans layer the bed with natural materials: Extra-long strands of horsetail hair (the same that’s used to string bows for professional orchestras) are hand-curled to create a natural, springy filling that’s layered with vibration-absorbing flax felt, breathable cotton and resilient wool. No screws, nails or chemical binders hold these materials together. Instead, one person spends four days stitching the 300-kilo opus together, often weaving a single piece of thread around the entire bed. The resulting design supports all the right places and gently elevates your legs as doctors recommend for improved circulation and overall heart health.

In addition to the Vividus and other Hästens mattresses, Luxury Bed Collection carries top-notch models from

Buying a $250,000 mattress comes with some service perks, of course. At the store, a sleep curator meets with each prospective buyer to discuss their needs, followed by test runs of several mattresses to find the ideal firmness (each side is customizable). About four months later, when your Vividus arrives from its Swedish atelier, The Luxury Bed Collection will, upon request, send someone to your home every three to four months during the first year to massage and flip your mattress as you break it in. Customers can request that this service continue, typically once or twice per year, throughout the 25 years that the Vividus is under warranty.

If the cost of the Vividus is a little too dear for your bedroom budget, the showroom sells other models from Hästens that are priced significantly lower, like the $13,980 Hästens Excel. (On the other end of the spectrum, customers can order the Grand Vividus through the Naples store.)

Naturepedic and Vispring beds—while still artisan-driven and premium—are more modestly priced, starting at $2,500 for the certified-organic, king-sized Naturepedic Chorus or $7,500 for the Vispring Elite. Back in the ultra-premium category, the Vispring Diamond Majesty nods to Britain’s long heritage of expert tailoring, with handstitched borders and tufting, featuring luxe merino wool, Shetland cashmere and Royal Alpaca fleece. It’ll set you back $93,000 for a king—a relative steal.

Whichever model you’re after, the showroom encourages customers to take their time and test run the beds. “Explaining to someone that it can feel so different and that you should spend 10, 20, 35 or 100 times what you think you would spend is difficult,” Wallace says. “But once we get people in the store, and they experience the different models, tensions and how these natural materials, through the different ways they’re sewn together, deliver the ultimate sleep experience … they have their ‘Ah-ha’ moment.”