Not a Fairy Tale: Once Upon a $20,000 Mattress

NY Times: "Ms. Blatt said that in 2002, about 17 percent of consumers spent $1,000 to $2,000 on mattress and box-spring sets, up from 14 percent in 2001 and 13 percent in 2000. (The average price paid for a mattress in 2002 was $600, she said.) Only 3 percent spent more than $2,000 in 2002, up from around 2 percent the previous year, Ms. Blatt said. But even those numbers are significant, she added, because manufacturers sell an estimated 73,000 mattresses daily in the United States.

$6,000 shower curtains. If you are really looking to splurge, how about an ultraluxurious mattress?

Last summer, Evette White decided on a king-size model from Hypnos of Britain, which has been supplying beds for Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family for four decades. How much did it set her back? Mrs. White would disclose only that it was at least $10,000. But she said she and her husband, Timothy, 42, thought it was well worth it.

I had just gotten a new Volvo Cross Country, and it cost a lot - $40,000 to $50,000 - but I only spend a couple of hours in it each day," said Mrs. White, 38, who is a partner in a marketing firm in Nashville. "We're spending six to eight hours sleeping every night, and I realized it is kind of silly that we don't spend more for our mattress."

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