YOURS FOR $175,000
British bed costs a lot of G’s for the Z’s
It’s better than sleeping on a pile of money.
Calling it “the most expensive bed in the world,” British manufacturer Savoir Beds introduced its $175,000 creation in a downtown showroom Wednesday — and the Daily News took it for a test snooze.
The verdict: You wake up feeling like (you have) a million bucks.
It’s no wonder, considering the 70 pounds of South American horse tail in the mattress that serve as cushioning while wicking away heat and moisture. Two toppers, filled with more hand-teased, curled horse tail and wrapped in a marshmallow of pure Mongolian cashmere cushioned my body even more as I drifted to sleep. All told, I was snuggled up in 22 pounds of the soft stuff.
“The most important things in your life happen in bed,” says Alistair Hughes, Savoir Beds’ managing director. “What makes a bed fantastic is that you don’t know it’s there. You should feel like you’re floating weightlessly.”
Indeed, life did take on a dreamlike, fuzzy quality when I climbed under the blanket. This was no mail-order mattress. This was sleep nirvana.
The so-called Royal Bed is based on designs used by British monarchs from 1640 to 1740. Back then, says Hughes, the bedroom was the center of royal power, and if you wanted an audience with the king, you went into the bedroom — not the throne room om — to have a chat.
The bed’s canopy — embroidered with more than 1,600 miles of silk thread from the same craftsmen who make ties for Hermes — boasts a custom crest, done by The Royal School of Needlework, which embroidered Kate Middleton’s wedding dress.
Only 60 of the $175,000 kingsized beds will be sold worldwide, in honor of Queen Elizabeth’s 60 years in the throne. Rest assured, there are plenty available: So far, a single Royal Bed has been sold, too a buyer in China, who wanted his upholstered in red silk.
“We all look at this as art,” says Savoir master craftsman Jonathan Mason. “Every craftsman signs his name when he is finished making a bed.” It takes Mason and other artisans in London as long as 700 hours to make each Royal Bed. That time commitment is reflected in the price, Hughes claims.
“[It] is not a price we picked out of the air,” says Hughes. “This mattress and boxspring will last you 25 years.”
Also, all that at horse tail keeps the Royal Bed cool and dry, which, according to Hughes, fends off bedbugs — making your dreams all the sweeter.