Hi Ann,

Many thanks for your question about king size bases and what mattress configurations are possible.

The quick answer is yes you can have two separate mattresses, known as a zip and link bed, which can then sit on one kingsize mattress base.

Zip and link mattresses are great to reduce transference between sleepers leading to almost no movement when your partner turns during the night. They also make turning the mattress super easy, especially with high-end hand made mattresses that contain lots of fillings. Our mattresses are very heavy given all the lovely natural fibres contained inside along with our bespoke pocket spring units. For kingsize and above a zip and link can make your monthly mattress maintenance a doddle.

There are some considerations though to bare in mind when planning on buying such a zip & link mattress.

The first is that the mattress needs to be the same model on each side. This is so they line up and also settle at the same rates. If you have two different mattress models on each side they will contain different varying grams per square meter of mattress upholstery. Leading over time to a mismatch in the height and look of the bed overall.

Spring tensions are often misunderstood in mattresses with retailers misinforming bed buyers that you can have a medium and a firm side or a soft and a medium side. This is incorrect.

What they are actually referring to is the pocket spring tension.

The spring tension should always be selected based on your bodyweight. Then its the job of the upholstery layers on top of this that will provide you with a soft feel mattress, not the spring tension. For example, a soft 1.2 spring tension is only suitable for people 8 stone and under, for people heavier than that it will compress to quickly and cause you to sleep at an awkward position during the night.

Have a look below at the bodyweight and spring tension table for clarity on the tension you should be choosing.

Spring Tension	Wire diameter (Gauge)	Weight Range
Soft	1.2mm	Bespoke Tension (Please Call)
Medium	1.4mm	Upto 16 stone
Firm	1.6mm	16 stone plus
Extra Firm / Orthopaedic	1.9mm	20 stone plus

Mattress comfort is always provided by the upholstery or GSM (Grams per square meter) of the fibres contained within the mattress and on each side of the pocket spring unit. Have a look below at the different feels of fibres contained within most mid range £1000 mattresses.

Upholstery Layer	Fibre Type	How it will feel?	Price Point
Polyester	Synthetic	Soft	Cheap
White Fibre	Synthetic	Soft/Medium	Cheap
Recycled Fibre / Eco Fibre	Synthetic	Medium	Cheap
Memory Foam	Synthetic	Medium/Firm	Mid Price
Igel / Hybrid Foam	Synthetic	Medium/Firm	Mid Price
Polycotton	Synthetic/Natural Blend	Soft/Medium	Mid Price
Linen	Synthetic/Natural Blend	Medium	Mid Price
Wool	Natural	Soft	High-End

So you need to pick the overall feel you want from a mattress ie a softer comfort layer or a medium feel comfort layer and then choose the pocket spring that suits your bodyweight.

Zip & Link Mattress Recommendation:

Have a look Anne at our Artisan Bespoke 004 in the spring tension suitable for your bodyweights. It’s a hand made 100% natural fibre mattress that is two-sided.

It has a medium feel in the natural upholstery with a forgiving top layer. Great for pressure points and bad backs. The 1600 individual pocket springs allow restless sleepers to move quickly, freely and effortlessly. This is available in a king size zip and link to fit your bed base.

Artisan Bespoke 004 Mattress
1: 1200GSM BLENDED BRITISH FLEECE WOOL AND COTTON
2: HAIRPROOF CAMBRIC COVER
3: 200GSM SOFT BAMBOO
4: 1200GSM PURE HORSETAIL
5: 1000GSM BONDED BRITISH FLEECE WOOL AND COTTON
6: 1600 CALICO ENCASED POCKET SPRINGS [ 49MM ] [1.28MM]
TOTAL: 3600GSM
DEPTH: 27-30CM
CHEMICAL FREE COVER

How much to spend on a double mattress?	What can I expect for my money?
Under £500	Will not get you much at best a 13.5 gauge open coil/cage sprung with a thin polyester layer or a solid foam mattress.
£500	Entry level spunbond springs with some form of synthetic upholstery. Usually one sided mattresses.
£750	The beginnings of a basic pocket springs unit with 800 – 1000 count. No substantial amount of filling other than foams and synthetic materials. Two sided models.
£1000	Should get you away from most low ranges and into the mid-range pocket spring models.
£1250	Should get you a decent pocket sprung mattress with some Natural Fibre content.
£1500	Should get you many manufacturers mid-range models with Natural Fibres
£1500-£2000	Should get you a Hand Made primarily Natural Fibre Quality Mattress
£2000+	You should expect 100% Natural Fibres and Traditional Hand Made Construction Method.
£5000+	A Bespoke Hand Made Sleep System, High-end Spring Units & Featuring the Worlds Most Luxurious Natural Fibres.

We hope that helps and gives you further mattress buying guidance Anne. It may be best to give us a call to discuss further to make sure we’re meeting all your requirements and you can either order online or over the phone when you're ready.

If you have any more mattress related questions please get back in touch on info@localhost or 0161 437 4419.

Sleep well
John & Ryan