Resting Easy
If you’ve ever tried comparison shopping for mattresses, you’ve probably found it’s all but impossible. The major manufacturers assign so many names to one product that the consumer is at a loss to know what is the best buy.
If this is done deliberately to confuse the shopper, it has worked. But if you’re not locked into the major brands, you’ll get an excellent product at considerably less money from a small manufacturer in Lawndale.
Dan Doherty, owner of Angel’s Custom Mattress (formerly called Underwood), has been making mattresses for more than 25 years and offers a personalized service rare in today’s marketplace.
This is one of the few makers that offers a super edge-guard system, so you don’t wear down the edge of the bed by sitting on it, and doesn’t use the cheap cardboard foundations.
One would expect to pay more at Angel’s than at the major discounters, but in fact you pay less. That’s because Doherty has low overhead and doesn’t spring for big advertising campaigns. In fact, he’s such a pared-down operation that he recommends calling the shop to make sure he’s there before driving over.
You can make a selection from the small showroom or you can customize your own mattress. The popular queen-size sets range in price from $319 to $699 for top-of-the-line--an extra-firm mattress with a pillow top. The top-of-the-line king runs $999, about half of a comparable product at the major discounters.
But there’s more to Angel’s than meets the eye. One happy customer recently said she had her 2-year-old king-size bed (purchased elsewhere for $1,600) cut down to a full.
Labor ran $285 and a new box spring $178, for a total of $463. “They arrived on time to pick up the bed, delivered it exactly when they promised, did an excellent job on it and . . . my back feels better already,” she said.
Doherty carries the new therapeutic mattress with “memory foam,” a heat-sensitive foam that molds to the shape of the body. One source sells such a mattress at $1,899 to $2,299 for a king while the price here is $1,499. Doherty also carries Maxwell adjustable beds at prices about 35% lower than most stores.
If you’ve never believed those cut-out models, at Angel’s you can watch while your mattress is being made and know for sure what’s going inside. Every once in a while, Doherty reports, someone does just that.
* Angel’s Custom Mattress, 4147 Redondo Beach Blvd., Lawndale. Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Major credit cards. (310) 793-1799.
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Weekend Super Sale: The parking lot sale at the Cotton USA Outlet is the place to be Sunday. There will be irregulars and seconds in 100% cotton separates and dresses at way below wholesale prices. The cottons are $5 for the tops and bottoms and $10 for dresses. For linens, it’s $7.50 for the separates and $15 for dresses. The outlet sells first quality at wholesale. Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 22559 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills. (818) 225-8725.
