a new mattress from leesa.

April 26, 2016

leesa mattress | reading my tea leaves


This post is sponsored by Leesa, a mattress company with the simple goal: “to help people sleep better”.

I try to shy away from hyperbole. So when I say that our recent mattress upgrade was the most significant change we’ve ever made to our home—ever—I hope you trust that I’m telling the truth.

After nearly ten years of sleeping together on a double mattress—and with the addition of a tiny human who very much enjoys snuggling between her two parents in the early morning—we were ready for a little more leg room. Arm room. Elbow room. Everything room.

Our decision to finally upgrade to a Queen came after our trip to Southern California in early March. Vacations have a way of making you look at your house differently, don’t they? It’s practically required that you sleep better on vacation, but when you have the distinct sense that the better sleep is thanks to your ability to roll over without getting jabbed in the ribcage, and then when it dawns on you that you don’t need to move to sunny southern California to sleep better, but you do need to improve your bed at home, you decide to make a change.leesa mattress | reading my tea leaves


And then, of course, the searching begins. It’s crazy out there in mattress-land. There are so many options and some of them sound stellar on paper but come with a price tag that’s out of reach, or they feel great, but are made from materials that make you cringe. Then there’s the idea that you’re supposed to be able to flop onto a mattress with a salesperson hovering above you and know that you’ve found the right fit for you. 

We’ve been on our Leesa mattress for over a month now and we’ve looked forward to climbing into bed every single night.  

Like other new disruptor mattress companies, Leesa is selling their mattresses direct-to-consumer in boxes that arrive on your doorstep. It’s a little trippy. The compressed mattresses only need to be unboxed and unfurled and they grow before your eyes.
Leesas
leesa mattress | reading my tea leaves are 10” hybrid foam mattresses made with 3 foam layers: A 2-inch top layer is perforated to keep you cool and provide cushiony bounce while two inches of memory foam make up the middle layer for what folks in the biz call “body contouring.” The mattress core is made from a 6-inch dense foam for durability and edge support.

I’ll admit I had some serious reservations about a foam mattress, but I did a little digging and learned that Leesa‘s doing a lot of things right. The mattresses are CertiPUR-US certified, which means they’re free of ozone depleters, PBDE flame retardants, mercury, lead, and other heavy metals. There’s no formaldehyde or phthalates. Instead of the chemical flame retardants—something I was particularly adamant about avoiding—the mattress is covered in a fabric sleeve that’s inherently flame resistant, not coated in toxins. And the mattresses have low-VOC emissions. (We didn’t experience any odor at all when we unfurled our mattress.) Added bonus: Every part of the Leesa is made in the USA.leesa mattress | reading my tea leaves

To put it bluntly: We’ve been resting easy. Really easy. Beyond the incredible added advantage of a larger bed, we’ve been just totally pleased with the whole experience. The mattress shipped quickly and was a breeze to set up. The memory foam means that we don’t get bounced around if one person or another shifts in their sleep. The trim, crisp lines and low-profile of the mattress just look better than our old one—and it can be used on a slatted or platform bed without a boxspring.

We’re especially excited for summertime because the Leesa sleeps really noticeably cooler than our old mattress. We actually started sleeping with an extra blanket on our bed because the difference in heat trapping meant we actually had the luxury of sleeping on the cool side for the first time in nearly ten years.

Matters of materials and sleep aside, Leesa’s social impact programs are also impressive. Leesa’s One-Ten Program donates one mattress for every ten that they sell. Since the program began in January 2015, more than 4,000 mattress have been donated to local partners working to find solutions for problems related to homelessness. Their One-Earth Program plants a tree for every single mattress sold. Leesa has partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant 1 million trees by 2025.
leesa mattress | reading my tea leaves

If you’re interested in giving the Leesa mattress a try, it comes with a 100-day return policy so you can really make sure you’re getting a good night’s sleep. (And if at the end of 100 days, you’re not satisfied, the company will do their best to make sure that your mattress gets donated to an organization that can put it to use.) Best news: Use the code TEALEAVES to get $75 off your order. [Update: We still love our mattress! And as of September 2017, the Leesa Mattress is now available to try and buy in over 88 West Elm stores nationwide! More here: www.leesa.com/westelm]

This post was sponsored by Leesa. All opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Reading My Tea Leaves.

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53 Comments

  • Reply ~ carmen ~ April 26, 2016 at 10:59 am

    Leesa sounds just perfect! I like their commitment to social responsibility as well. I could definitely use a new mattress. :]

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  • Reply Erin April 26, 2016 at 11:12 am

    How did you get your bed frame to accommodate the extra width of the Queen size?

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    • Reply Erin Boyle April 26, 2016 at 11:18 am

      We got a new bed frame! We had a double boxspring and mattress before, so we were so excited to upgrade to a slatted bed!

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      • Reply Erin April 26, 2016 at 12:03 pm

        But it’s the same headboard, isn’t it? I have always admired it.

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        • Reply Erin Boyle April 26, 2016 at 12:12 pm

          Yup! Same headboard! It’s an antique headboard that didn’t come with a bed frame, so it’s always just been propped against the wall!

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  • Reply Sarah April 26, 2016 at 11:54 am

    I love the look of your bed frame – where did you get it?

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    • Reply Erin Boyle April 26, 2016 at 12:12 pm

      It’s an antique! Found in the attic of my childhood home when we moved into it!

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      • Reply Diane Williams April 26, 2016 at 1:00 pm

        The frame is an antique??

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        • Reply Erin Boyle April 26, 2016 at 1:08 pm

          Oh, sorry. I misread the question. The frame is this one!

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  • Reply Marisa April 26, 2016 at 12:14 pm

    Your dreamy headboard looks even taller without the boxspring! Will you write about the new bed frame. It looks good there, too. : )

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    • Reply Erin Boyle April 26, 2016 at 12:29 pm

      Oh, thanks! We really love it, too! Another general update coming later this week or next!

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      • Reply Renee June 30, 2017 at 10:51 am

        Hi Erin- Curious if you’re still liking the bed frame. I’ve got it in my cart and ready to click submit since we’re upgrading to a queen!

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        • Reply ERIN BOYLE June 30, 2017 at 1:22 pm

          Love it!

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        • Reply Diane June 30, 2017 at 1:31 pm

          I don’t know if it helps, but I bought the King size bed frame at the end of May. I love how simple and clean it looks and it is sturdy beyond belief. I really like the slats and the fact that they are held in place with velcro tape.

          So far it’s been very solid, although I realize it’s only been two months.

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  • Reply Carol Wayne April 26, 2016 at 12:38 pm

    What did you do with your old mattress???

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    • Reply Erin Boyle April 26, 2016 at 12:43 pm

      We left our ten-year-old mattress out for trash pick up.

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  • Reply Carol Wayne April 26, 2016 at 12:50 pm

    Where I live they won’t take them…

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  • Reply Sierra April 26, 2016 at 1:07 pm

    My husband and I bought a Leesa around a month ago, and we love it! Ours did have a little odor at first, but it is gone now.

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    • Reply Erin Boyle April 26, 2016 at 1:09 pm

      Ah, interesting. We were so pleased not to find any odor.

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  • Reply jess April 26, 2016 at 1:11 pm

    I’ve been cautiously curious about all these “mattress disruptor” companies, thanks for outlining the material safety and concerns, and I appreciate Leesa’s social impact programs too. My partner and I really needed a new mattress but the cost (even of these foam ones) was prohibitive, so we’ve settled on an interim strategy: we bought a wool mattress topper in a queen size for our double bed, which we fits snugly on our existing bed and can “grow” into a queen when we can eventually upgrade.

    It’s made in Minnesota by a family-owned company called St. Peter Woolen Mill, with US-raised wool, and was less than half the cost of a new foam mattress. Just wanted to share in case anyone else out there is looking for a natural, low cost alternative that’s still an ethical investment! I’ll definitely keep Leesa in mind for when we can upgrade.

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    • Reply Erin Boyle April 26, 2016 at 1:20 pm

      Sounds like a nice solution!

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  • Reply Ellen April 26, 2016 at 1:13 pm

    I dig the skateboard under the bed, Erin!

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    • Reply Erin Boyle April 26, 2016 at 1:20 pm

      Ha! Gotta keep those wheels somewhere!

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  • Reply Sofia April 26, 2016 at 1:25 pm

    Do you know if these mattresses would suit toddlers and children? I wonder about proper support from foam for the younger set.

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    • Reply Erin Boyle April 26, 2016 at 1:26 pm

      I can’t imagine proper support being an issue, but I’d definitely broach the question with the company if you have concerns.

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  • Reply MissEm April 26, 2016 at 1:51 pm

    This is so timely. We just decided to upgrade to a king bc our once-toddler early morning visitor has turned into a 5 and 3 year old early morning visitor duo! We are considering a Leesa, too. However…I had wanted an antique wood headboard myself and obviously a king won’t allow for that, so I’m on the hunt. Since my ethics and aesthetic pretty much line up with yours, I wonder if you have noticed any bed frames/headboards you admire?

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  • Reply raynette April 26, 2016 at 2:21 pm

    We had a queen and a little one (who moves all over the place) sleeping in our bed. We recently upgraded to a King. Lessa was one of the beds we were looking at. We ended up buying locally (we live in Hawaii). Our Queen seemed so small but now that we have a King there is so much extra real estate. We are expecting our second child so I’m sure it will get eaten up soon enough… so to the point of my post, what type of pillows do you have/recommend? Now that we have a King bed our standard pillows look our of scale and are old and need replacement anywase. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

    Also, I just wanted to add that I’ve been following your blog religiously for the past 2+ months. I have also bought your book. As I nest during this pregnancy my urge to have minimal items in our home that I only LOVE is very important to me. I have done such a great job of letting things go, I’m sure if it wasn’t for my husbands need to keep stuff we would have an even more minimalist room, but he has been a trooper considering he does not subscribe to my minimalist goals . Anwho, THANK YOU!

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    • Reply Erin Boyle April 26, 2016 at 2:31 pm

      Thanks so much for your kind words! We have feather pillows from Pacific Coast Feather Co. that we love.

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  • Reply Kari.M April 26, 2016 at 2:27 pm

    I’d really love a post, a few years from now, on whether you’re still happy with your mattress. I’ve seen many of these posts where people rave about one of these mattresses that they’ve just received, but no one seems to know whether they’ll be good for the long term.

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    • Reply Erin Boyle April 26, 2016 at 2:30 pm

      Totally! I’m so curious to see how they wear! We tested ours for more than a month to make sure that we were really loving it before I wrote anything about it, but I agree that a longterm review would be great. Can’t speed up time, of course!

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  • Reply Allegra April 26, 2016 at 2:43 pm

    Sounds wonderful! I’m really curious – how firm is the mattress? We need to replace our mattress, but our current one is about as firm a mattress as you can find (to the point where various guests have chosen to sleep on an air mattress because it is so hard! slightly embarrassing). I’ve been wondering whether Leesa or any of the other new “disruptive” choices would be firm enough. How firm was your old mattress? Where do you think Leesa falls in the spectrum of soft to firm? Thanks for any advice you’ve got!

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    • Reply Erin Boyle April 26, 2016 at 2:48 pm

      It’s definitely what I’d fall medium-firm. It’s not super, super firm, but it’s not what I’d call soft either. My sister has a Tuft and Needle, that she loves and found hers to be slightly more firm than the Leesa!

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      • Reply Allegra April 26, 2016 at 2:53 pm

        Thanks so much for the advice! Good to know Tuft and Needle is an even firmer option.

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    • Reply Paige April 27, 2016 at 4:59 pm

      We bought a Tuft & Needle last June (July maybe?) and have been really happy with it. It’s STILL totally flat and very firm. In fact, it might be a little too firm for me! Haha. So I put a thick mattress pad on it which helps. I’d be curious to try a Leesa though, especially if they’re a little softer.

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  • Reply Peter April 26, 2016 at 10:55 pm

    I love the bed fame!

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  • Reply melissa April 27, 2016 at 6:24 am

    I wonder if buying a mattress like this means buying a new bed frame. We have a frame that accomodates a box spring with mattress. Love the simplicity of what you have.

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    • Reply Erin Boyle April 27, 2016 at 8:53 am

      Only if you want to! If you had a boxspring in the right size, they work on those, too!

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  • Reply Jodi April 27, 2016 at 9:06 am

    Patiently waiting for Leesa to launch in Australia! I’ve read so many glowing reviews! x

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  • Reply Morgan April 27, 2016 at 9:39 am

    Hi Erin! I know you aren’t one for hyperbole, so I was excited to see just how much you love the new mattress! Leesa just donated hundreds of mattresses to a homeless shelter in Seattle and the city has been so, so grateful. If we hadn’t just bought a new mattress last year, I would definitely be on board for getting on of these mattresses today!

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  • Reply danielle April 27, 2016 at 7:35 pm

    Is your head board anchored to the wall or screwed into the bed frame?

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  • Reply Linda August 22, 2016 at 6:45 pm

    Any updates or changes of opinion closer to 6 months on? I’m very interested in both the mattress and how it’s breaking in over time, as well as in the frame and if it has become squeaky, how solid it feels, how many toe stubs on those legs?

    Thanks so much for any new insights and for the original post!

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    • Reply Erin Boyle August 22, 2016 at 7:53 pm

      We still really love our mattress! Doesn’t feel any different now than it did when we first got it! Just ordered Faye a mattress from Tuft and Needle and love that too. The bed frame is great. No squeaks or stubbed toes!

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      • Reply Linda August 22, 2016 at 8:59 pm

        Thanks so much for the reply! One other question – any issue with the placement of the slats on the bed frame being too far apart? Does the mattress sag at all in between the slats?

        Again, greatly appreciate you alleviating my first-world-problem anxieties…

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        • Reply Erin Boyle August 22, 2016 at 9:03 pm

          Ha! No problem. Slats quite close together. We haven’t had a single issue with slats or anything! I’d let you know if we did!

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          • Linda August 22, 2016 at 9:12 pm

            Thank you!

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  • Reply Diane May 17, 2017 at 6:31 pm

    Hi there,

    I was just curious if the mattress is still great now that you have had it just over a year.

    THANKS!

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    • Reply ERIN BOYLE May 17, 2017 at 8:57 pm

      Yes! We love it!

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      • Reply Diane June 8, 2017 at 6:17 pm

        Thanks! We ordered a Leesa mattress and the same Keetsa bed frame. The mattress is so comfortable. I hadn’t realized that a huge cause of my chronic walking in the night was the bounce off our spring mattress. But now my husband can roll over and I don’t feel it. So much better sleep.

        And the bed frame isn’t just pretty, it’s unbelievably sturdy. Lots of slats to support the mattress and the frame itself is steel.

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        • Reply ERIN BOYLE June 9, 2017 at 10:30 am

          So glad to hear that! We love ours too!

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  • Reply Alexa July 19, 2017 at 11:21 am

    Hi Erin! I am digging through your archives, looking to see if you ever mentioned the mattress you used when you slept in a loft space, but so far I’m not finding specifics. Obviously height is our issue, but I don’t want to sacrifice comfort! Any recommendations there?

    Thanks so much!

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    • Reply ERIN BOYLE July 19, 2017 at 11:26 am

      We had a super old double mattress that was definitely taller than our current one and also required a boxspring! Not sure what kind of bedframe you have, but a genius thing about the leesa and similar mattresses if that they can be used directly on the floor or on a low platform and the mattress itself is only 10-inches!

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  • Reply John Turner January 3, 2018 at 11:16 am

    I love the photos you have made for this article, Erin. Not only showing the mattress good but also I like the way you have styled your bedroom.

    You have posted this review in 2016, do you still use this mattress today? How is it doing after some time and usage, the foam is still as good as it was new? I’m will be looking for a new mattress very soon an after reading your article Leesa is a new option on my list to consider. Thank you.

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    • Reply ERIN BOYLE January 3, 2018 at 11:27 am

      There’s an updated post! Just search ‘Leesa’!

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