Nilson Beds - are they any good?

Hi Albert,

Thanks for getting in touch about Nilson beds. As you say they are the relatively new kid on the block in terms of mattresses in the Netherlands. We must confess we haven't been able to try one of their beds so our advice is going to be limited to the information. They don't seem to have any UK stockists that we can see at the moment.

Looking at their website Nilson beds features a box sprung base, a mattress and then a topper as part of their 'beds' collection. Similar to the Hastens mattresses construction method (you can read more about their wonderful mattress creations here).

We've taken a look at their Nobel model as one of their luxury hand made mattresses.

Image from Nilsonbeds.com website

This is the description from the Nilson mattress website:

Nobel bed consists of three layers: the base, the mattress and the top mattress.

The pocket-spring mattress has a supple shoulder zone and is available in different levels of firmness.

The thick hand buttoned top mattress provides additional, natural comfort and support.

Further on there's some more detail:

Top mattress: Hand-knotted, upholstered in cotton ticking, filled with layers of horsehair and wool

Mattress: Hand-knotted, upholstered in luxurious fabric 8-turns pocket springs with a smooth shoulder area, covered with horsehair, cotton and wool

Base: Solid beech wood, 5-turns bonell spring, covered with flax and cotton layers

The biggest niggle with this listing is the complete lack of detail. Making any comparison nearly impossible. If you've read other parts of our site you will know that understanding the details of what's inside a mattress and bed base is crutial when choosing a new mattress. To be able to compare you need the following information:

1. Spring type and gauge
2. GSM of all upholstery fibres & position in relation to the spring unit
3. Mattress detailing and finishing touches.

This Nilson bed features a sprung edge base, but uses a bonnell coil rather than a true edge pocket spring construction method. See our Artisan sprung edge bed frame for more details on what to look for.

Their mattress features some nice natural fibres such as Horsetail (usually found as a natural support layer in mattresses below softer fillings such as Wool or Alpaca). Again you need to know the GSM and layering method to know how this will feel and what level of longevity you will get. ie is it a one or two sided mattress? If one-sided, this will impact its duration and lifespan considerable as you can't turn it over to even out settlement or use the other side at all.

The top mattress or topper again has little to no detail about the fillings other than the tufting method. The tufting method is the bit that keeps the mattress topper together and stops fillings migrating together.

To get an idea of how different mattress fillings perform here is a handy table to show both comfort and price point.

Alternatives to the Nilson Mattress:

If you're you're looking for a 100% Natural hand made mattress featuring horsetail please have a look at our three mattress models below for comparison models. These can all be paired with our sprung edge bases or luxury upholstered bed frames.

• Artisan Bespoke 004 – Medium feel
• Artisan Luxury – Soft feel
• Artisan Bespoke – Firm feel

We hope that helps and if you have any more mattress related questions please get back in touch on info@localhost or 0161 437 4419.

Sleep well
John & Ryan