Millbrook Contract Beds’ tips to keep you comfortable

Insomnia and sleep interruptions can be down to a lot of different factors, but the sleeping environment can be a huge factor in whether or not you get a comfortable and restful night’s sleep. In fact, dodgy beds can be the root cause of back pain, sleep disorders and sleep interruptions. Millbrook Contract Beds specialises in beds that provide the ultimate comfort and we’ve got some handy tips to make sure that you are comfortable in bed this winter. Continue reading »

What your sleeping position says about you

Our blog today is a little bit more light-hearted. We’ve been asking everyone in both the Millbrook Beds and Millbrook Contract Beds teams a simple question this week: what’s your favourite position?

Understandably, people were shocked at first, but we are talking about the positions you sleep in every night. According to some great research and infographics, the position you sleep in tells you a lot about your personality. So when you go to sleep tonight in your contract bed or Millbrook Bed at home, keep it in mind and keep a record when you wake up. You’ll be very surprised at the revelations.

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Why a good mattress matters most in winter

Well, here we are. It’s officially winter and before we can say Contract Beds, the big C is on it’s way in about 45 days or thereabouts. During the winter months, our sleeping patterns are disturbed and suffer the most because of the sudden drop in temperature. In order to keep you 100 per cent comfortable as you sleep in winter, it’s important that your contract bed and mattress are in prime condition. If they aren’t the discomfort is going to prevent you from sleeping well and the likelihood is that you’ll be suffering from now through to March.

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Millbrook is in the Top 5 Best Mattress Suppliers in the UK

Recently, WHICH?, one of the best product review sites in the country did a little poll on the top mattress brands in the UK. We here at Millbrook were included in their poll and ended up in the Top 5.

“WHICH? focus on consumer issues and ensure that you, the consumer, have the information to make the right choices – whether that’s by reviewing products or providing independent advice you can trust.”

Now there were three aspects of the poll that needed to factor in to deciding who was placed where and why in the rankings. These aspects covered the following:

–Comfort

–Durability

–Value for money

There were multiple and recognisable brand names included in their report including Vi-Spring, Tempur, Dunlopillo, Marks & Spencer, Harrison, John Lewis, Dreams and Sleepmasters. And of course, yours truly.

The results were interesting. Some of the brands scored high on comfort and durability but low on value for money or vice versa.

Vi-Spring received a satisfaction score of 85%, with five stars for comfort and for durability, and three stars for value for money.

Tempur came second with a score of 82%, five stars for both comfort and durability, but just two for value for money.

Tied third were Dunlopillo and Marks & Spencer (81%),

Tied fourth were Millbrook (that’s us!) and Harrison (80%)

Fifth, and looking very lonely, was John Lewis (79%).

At the bottom of the list, outside the top five, came Dreams (58%) and Sleepmasters (63%).

All of the top four brands received five stars for comfort and durability.

Only two of the top five however – that’s Marks & Spencer and Millbrook – got four stars for value for money!

This is something we’re particularly proud of as we pretty much rated well for not just our comfort and durability factors, but we also were unbeaten in terms of value for money. To us, that was an incredible victory and validation for our manufacturing techniques and all the hard work that goes into creating some of the finest bedding and bedroom furniture in the country today.

The Millbrook team were most definitely chuffed to bits to see the results of this report and we wanted to share this information with our readers and social followers on Facebook and Twitter.

Time to celebrate!

Contact us at Millbrook for details on our beds and contract beds.

Millbrook Beds Competition for Britain’s Worst Bed 2012 – Results!

As the competition for Britain’s Worst Bed 2012 comes to an end at Millbrook Beds, we take a look back over the entries and the very nature of what made so many of these beds bad!

It all started when we wondered just how bad people’s beds could get if gone un-flipped, unmaintained and unchanged for years and years. The shelf-life for any bed should be no longer than 7-10 years maximum. Almost a decade of comfort is a pretty impressive thing to get from any purchase. We’re particularly proud of our ranges too.

But we still wanted to know about how bad people have let their beds get! To encourage people to let us into their bedrooms and under their covers (so to speak) we thought of giving away an amazing prize for the person we found to have the very worst; a £2000 bed from one of our collections.

We asked the question last year: Are you the unlucky Brit who wakes up on the wrong side of the UK’s worst bed every single morning? All we required people to do was to share a picture of their nightmare beds on the Millbrook Facebook Page or email us a photo at: competitions@millbrookbeds.co.uk telling us why they deserved a new bed.

We wanted to see the worst of the worst – from broken bunks to mouldy mattresses. And we got ‘em!

Paula Evans won Britain’s Worst Bed 2011 with this entry:

So for the 2012 edition of Britain’s Worst Bed we thought; why not get our Twitter friends involved with this competition too?

And so it began; three long months of entries coming from all over the UK across Facebook and Twitter. Some of the entries were truly awful (in the best way) and reminded of us just how much this competition was needed!

These are some of the beds we were sent over the past few months that have caught our eye for all the right and wrong reasons:

This is a deflating sight – a blow-up bed as the main bed in the house! Poor Helen Jarvis:

Jo Marie’s bed entry proved to be a bit of an ugly sight for sore eyes:

Katy Benet gave us all angles on her bed that looks like it is falling apart from every corner:

Then again Sandy Shaheen Yousef could give many of the contenders a run for their money with this entry. How many times do we have to say “slat base beds are useless!”

There were of course many other entries submitted but we could only list a few of them here. The winner of Britain’s Worst Bed was indeed Carla Maloney, who we felt really deserved a new Millbrook Bed and we’re currently making it right now.  Her entry was a bit of a shocker:

Read more from Millbrook Contract Beds on our blog or follow us on Twitter and Facebook for industry information and some thought provoking topics, designed to help you navigate your business through 2012.

The ultimate sleep guide – advice from Millbrook Contract Beds part three – Insomnia

Most people know what the condition of insomnia is, but not very many actually know the kind of problems it can cause or lead on to. This is a sleep disorder often defined by a person’s difficulty getting to sleep. There are various stages that insomnia can take. Some people suffer from a mild case of the disorder called Transient Insomnia, which lasts for only a short period of time, while in more extreme cases Chronic Insomnia can lead to hallucinations and muscular and mental fatigue. These cases can last well beyond a month. Continue reading »

Millbrook Contract Beds Presents The Children’s Guide to Sleep Part One

As Christmas comes into full view this week, we were thinking about just how many children out there are anticipating the big day. As we explored in a previous blog, Christmas Eve is the only day in the year when children actually want to go to bed early!

So in keeping with that idea and in the spirit of Christmas, Millbrook Contract Beds wishes to talk about children’s sleep, its importance and how to get the kids to have enough of it. Continue reading »

Contract beds for student housing

Academic contract beds

When it comes to decking out student housing with all the bells and whistles of comfortable living, it’s important to balance economy, feasibility and practicality. That’s even more important when kitting out student bedrooms with that crucial piece of furniture: the bed. Millbrook Contract Beds has a range of affordable contract beds that suit the needs of landlords looking to fill their houses with tenants.

The Academic Collection from Millbrook Contract Beds services every possible situation, location and need that comes with the hectic job of filling your property with furniture in preparation for the arrival of your tenants.

After Christmas is another busy time for landlords decorating student accommodation, as they find a spurt of students looking to switch accommodation after their first student digs didn’t work out.

Millbrook Contract Beds’ Academic Collection is excellent value for money because these beds can go the distance in terms of their lifespan. They are strong, durable and great for space-saving. The other advantage is the  hygiene factor, as these beds come with wipe-clean mattress surfaces. All the bases are sturdy and there are multiple choices available for the bed frames and legs.

The Residence

The Residence has a PVC mattress cover and is highly practical and durable in many types of locations. As far as beds go for student accommodation, The Residence Bed is a simple and functional bed that serves the basic purpose. It will last longer than most beds with a sturdy frame and headboard designed for serious punishment. The Residence may be basic, but it doesn’t compromise on comfort or hygiene. The mattress is woollen felt for softness and extra comfort and the surface is wipe-clean. This is the bed  to choose if the tenants are messier than normal.

The Conference Bed

The Conference Bed has an open coil mattress on a metal skid leg base. It’s a very functional and basic bed, but it’s a good contract bed option for student housing. The mattress is completely breathable, which prevents odours and dissipate body heat for the person sleeping in it. The advantage of this one is that it comes with a wipe clean mattress. That’s a huge benefit in student housing, where parties can go awry or dinner can be spilt onto it. All the student needs to do in such circumstances is take off the sheet and wipe it clean.

The Campus Bed

A smart design featuring open coil springs, standard comfort level. The Campus Bed is the next step up in terms of aesthetic and comfort for student housing. Millbrook Contract Beds offers this one with a stitchbond cover to keep the mattress very clean; the coils are open coil springs for added comfort. There are no drawers, but the legs are removable if you want to adjust the height on the bed.

As a provider of contract beds, we think it’s important to offer ranges like these to suit the particular needs of student housing and bedroom furniture. To learn more about pricing or further details on the beds, please contact our team.