For twenty years we have made beds in Britain and sent them straight to the people who sleep in them. That has always suited us, and it has always suited most of our customers. But every so often somebody would ring up and ask whether they could pop in and see one, and the honest answer was no, this is a workshop, not a shop.
As of this month the answer is yes. Our building on Bromford Lane now has a proper shop front, and anyone who wants to walk in and lie on a mattress is welcome to.
Where to Find Us
British Beds Direct, 608 Bromford Lane, Birmingham, B8 2DP
Look for the black and white signage and the Proudly British Made roundel above the door.
Opening hours:
There is no appointment system, nothing to book, and nobody will follow you around the shop. You can park in the Tesco car park just over the road.
What You Can See When You Walk In
It is a compact space rather than a vast retail park showroom, and that is deliberate. We have put in the things you genuinely cannot always judge from a photograph alone.
The Mattress Wall
Six mattresses, standing side by side, so you can see how each one is built.
You can lie on them too, and you should. More on that below.
Bespoke Headboards
Headboards are the part of a bed people agonise over longest, because they are the part you actually look at. Deep buttoning, vertical fluting, a plain winged shape. On a screen they all read as tidy silhouettes. In a room with daylight coming through the window, a buttoned headboard throws shadows that a fluted one does not, and suddenly the choice makes itself.
The Fabric Range
Every fabric we upholster in is in the shop, and you can hold them against each other. The soft tweed of Arran next to the depth of Hugo velvet, the crisp weave of Linea next to the brushed finish of Skye. Seeing a dozen colours together is a completely different exercise from looking at them one at a time.
If you would rather take your time over it at home, we will still post you complimentary swatches, exactly as we always have. Plenty of people prefer to see a fabric in their own bedroom light, and that remains the sensible way to do it.
How to Try a Mattress Properly
Since you can now do this in person, it is worth doing it well. Most people spend about thirty seconds on a mattress in a shop and then buy it. That is not long enough to learn anything.
Lie down the way you actually sleep
Not on your back with your hands folded like a museum exhibit. If you sleep on your side, lie on your side. If you are a front sleeper, get on your front. The way a mattress supports you is completely different in each position, and the position you use for eight hours a night is the only one that matters.
Give it ten minutes, not thirty seconds
Your body needs a few minutes to stop bracing and settle. A mattress that feels too firm at first often turns out to be exactly right once your shoulders and hips have sunk in. One that feels wonderfully soft in the first ten seconds can be the one that leaves your back aching by morning.
Bring the person you share the bed with
If two of you sleep in it, two of you should try it. A mattress that suits a side sleeper and a back sleeper equally well is a real thing, but you will only find it by testing it together.
Check the edge
Sit on the side of the bed as though you were putting your shoes on. A well-made mattress holds its shape at the edge rather than collapsing away from you. It is the detail nobody thinks to test and the one that tells you most about how it was built.
Everything Else Stays Exactly As It Is
Most of our customers will never come to Bromford Lane, and nothing about their experience changes. Complimentary fabric swatches still go out in the post. Every bed is still handcrafted in Britain by expert British craftsmen, still healthcare endorsed, and still covered by our five-year guarantee. Complimentary two-man delivery to your room of choice comes as standard wherever you are in the country.
The shop is an extra door into the same business, not a better one. If ordering from your sofa at eleven at night is how you would rather do it, that has always worked and it will carry on working.
Come and Say Hello
If you are in Birmingham, or passing through, put the kettle on us. Come and lie on a few mattresses, ask the awkward questions, and see how the beds are actually put together.
We think you will find it easier to choose once you have felt the difference for yourself.
