New York - Key details: A custom-made continental
bed built by four master artisans at the Hästens workshop in Köping, Sweden. A
pinewood frame, steel springs, and layers of flax, horsetail hair, and cotton
and wool batting.
Competitors: None, really. But for that price you
could also get a Mercedes AMG GT S (from $131 200); Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle
Day-Date & Power Reserve watch (from $150,000); Tiffany Circlet
Diamond Necklace ($150 000)
Price: $149 900 Why It's Worth It: If you keep it for 25
years and get eight hours of sleep every night, think of it as paying $2 every
hour for the privilege of blissful, blissful sleep.
The Hästens Vividus bed does not come with a guarantee to
quiet crying babies. It does not vow Peter Pan-like trips to Never Never Land
every night. The tooth fairy does not leave $100 bills under its
extraordinarily comfortable pillows—although given its nearly $150 000 price
tag, that would be a nice perk.
What it does promise is more in line with the recent
wellness science: With a good night's sleep, you live longer, learn faster,
function better, stay in better shape, and look younger. For the cost of a
high-end Mercedes or a collectible timepiece, you can take a dip in
an all-natural fountain of youth every evening. Or so the thinking
goes.
I went to the company showroom in New York's Chelsea neighbourhood
to check it out in person. The price intrigued me the same way that
pictures of exploded Ferraris do: How can something that looks so ordinary
be so valuable? And on first glance, the Vividus looks like a typical
bed. There's no wide-screen TV that emerges from underneath the box
spring, no built-in refrigerator. It doesn't spin in circles like a
jewel on display beneath a decadent mirrored ceiling.
But before I can crawl beneath the covers, Hästens's vice
president of global retail, Bob Cooper, walks me through the history. The first
Vividus came out in 2006, a version that took 160 hours to create and cost
$112 900. In the 10 years since, the company has researched how to regulate
body temperature and provide support to create what it calls a
"perfect night's sleep" without using any heat-trapping rubber or
plastic materials. They ended up doubling the amount of time it takes to
build the bed—now 320 hours—and the company uses just four certified craftsmen
at Hästens's dedicated atelier in Sweden to make them. Each Vividus is
built to order and takes a minimum of 10 weeks before delivery.
How does this all
add up to $149 000?
It starts at the bottom. The wooden frame
is made from slow-growing northern Swedish pine. On top of that sits
a box spring, called the base, that has pure steel springs and
multiple layers of flax for soundproofing. Above that is the mattress, which
holds more springs, layers of cotton and wool batting, and horsehair lining,
stacked the way you might make a lasagne. The mattress pad, or
"topper," has its own layers of cotton, wool, and horsehair.
Horsehair is critical: The hair is braided by hand, then
unwound, to give it even more bounce. Every single curled strand functions
like a tiny spring, providing support and pliability. And because each
horsehair strand is also a hollow tube (unlike human hair), the
material acts as a miniature airway to wick moisture away so there’s
no sweat buildup. The cumulative effect of all these layers is that when you
lie down on the bed, you feel as if your legs are slightly raised, which,
as doctors will tell you, is better for circulation and overall heart health.
I get in, and I start to see what they mean. Articles
such as this one typically describe luxurious mattresses as "sleeping
on a cloud," but the Vividus is not that soft. My feet are supported
unlike any other mattress I've ever slept on. It gives and holds in unusual,
but always comfortable, ways. It takes me awhile to settle in, and Cooper
says that the longer I stay in it, the more it will respond to
my body, depending on whether I'm a side sleeper or prefer staying on my back.
Will it cure my Jimmy leg? I wonder.
The longer I'm here, even the price-tag guilt starts to
melt away. The whole thing is constructed in the Swedish style,
meaning dovetail joints instead of screws or nails, and the springs
are connected to the mattress interior using a step-stitching process,
accomplished by hand with a needle about 18 inches long.
Wool batting adds another layer of safety without
the need for toxic chemicals: In case of fire, the naturally flame retardant
fiber wraps around the cotton, suppressing oxygen. The bed is
allergen-free and has a guarantee for 25 years, though Cooper says he has seen
some mattresses that are more than 100 years old, often passed down
as family heirlooms. Lying here, I'm doing the math, which at that rate works
out to a mere 50¢ per hour of sleep. My advice: If you can afford it, buy
it. Just don't try it out, as I did, to see what the fuss was all
about. I'm spoiled forever.