Logo | Wool Mattress and Box Spring | Le Briand mattress maker

Horsehair and wool mattress

A handcrafted mattress made in France.

from €1,780 incl. VAT, cattle hairSee prices
Wool and animal-hair mattress being opened on trestles in the Le Briand workshop

Driven by altruistic commitments, we handcraft in France wool and animal-hair mattresses, handmade and made to measure, tailored to each customer’s wishes, needs and specific requirements.

Cross-section of a wool and animal-hair mattress in the workshop: sheep’s wool, animal-hair core, sheep’s wool

Drawing on centuries-old expertise, we create an essential piece of bedding so that you can sleep comfortably: the wool and animal-hair mattress.

Wool and animal-hair mattress filling: layers of sheep’s wool on either side of the hair

So many reasons to sleep on the natural wool and animal-hair mattress

All the benefits of wool

Animal hair generally forms the middle third of the mattress: you sleep in contact with sheep’s wool and enjoy all its benefits, just as on a pure wool mattress.

Animal hair, the perfect complement to wool

Its fiber is long, flexible and silky.

Hollow like a tube, the fiber carries moisture away and lets air circulate; once soaked and wrung out, it dries very quickly. Animal hair therefore limits excess heat and moisture during sleep. It does not break, stays flexible and returns to its shape after compression.

More spring, more support

For the same quantity, animal hair provides more spring than wool. An animal-hair core firms up the mattress’s surface feel and gives it more support.

100% natural bedding

As the price of animal hair has risen, replacing the hair core with a less expensive foam core has become common. We continue to make 100% natural bedding.

Surrounded by wool, the animal-hair core generally forms the middle third of the mattress. It supports the wool and provides lasting stability: for a large mattress, for heavier sleepers, or on a slatted bed base when a slightly more flexible combination is wanted, supportive without being hard.

Wool and animal-hair mattress prices

We adapt to your request. Although a pure wool mattress is usually preferred when putting together a bed for standard use, there are specific cases where natural wool filling with an animal-hair core can make sense.

We would not want you to think that this type of filling is beyond our expertise. Tell us more about what motivates this choice and we will guide you if needed.

Mattress sizeWool and cattle hairWool and horsehair
single mattress | 90 cm × 190 cmfrom €1,780 incl. VATfrom €2,320 incl. VAT
single mattress | 120 cm × 190 cmfrom €2,360 incl. VATfrom €3,080 incl. VAT
double mattress | 140 cm × 190 cmfrom €2,800 incl. VATfrom €3,630 incl. VAT
double mattress | 160 cm × 200 cmfrom €3,260 incl. VATfrom €4,320 incl. VAT
king-size mattress | 180 cm × 200 cmfrom €3,730 incl. VATfrom €4,440 incl. VAT
(*) Reference price in euros incl. VAT for the standard making of a wool mattress with cattle hair or horsehair, with the following proportions: a filling of 2/3 sheep’s wool and 1/3 animal hair, paired with a sprung box spring
The wool-to-hair composition can also be adjusted.
(**) Price per item
(***) Ex-workshop price (excluding the delivery package, transport, handling, installation, organization and any removal of the old bedding)
(****) Making price (excluding maintenance and refurbishment costs)
(*****) Price for a standard firmness and standard finishing details
About the prices shown on this page

These are price estimates.

Every request has its own price.

We make everything to measure, one item at a time, to meet every type of request.

The price is therefore adjusted according to how complex the piece is to make.

The prices above ☝️ are indicative because they are adjusted according to the characteristics of the order.

The final price depends on:

  • the desired firmness
  • the combination of techniques
  • the complexity of the making
  • the comfort characteristics you need
  • the personalization and finishing choices

French, handcrafted making of the wool and animal-hair mattress

We make every wool and animal-hair mattress by hand, one at a time and to measure, in our workshops in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine in Paris. Here is what it is made of and how we make it.

Materials

You know what your mattress is made of.

Sleep the natural way on a wool and animal-hair mattress made from healthy, natural materials.

Our mattresses are handcrafted from fine materials that are natural and recyclable.

With a wool and horsehair mattress, sleep the natural way in a healthy space made from natural materials just as with the pure wool mattress.

The main materials in a wool and animal-hair mattress are:

Virgin sheep’s wool

The wool is selected for its loft, resilience and ability to provide comfortable bedding.

The extraordinary properties of wool are not diminished by the successive processing stages before the mattress is made.

Frequently asked questions about wool
Cattle hair or horsehair

We chose to work with a spinning mill in Austria that is committed to traceability and the quality of its hair, far removed from other, much lower-quality sources of cattle hair.

This sourcing significantly increases the budget: cattle hair and horsehair cost 7 and 10 times more than wool respectively when purchased.

Whatever its material, the mattress core is enclosed within the mattress and generally forms its middle third. In every case, you are only in contact with the wool.

Horsehair or cattle hair: what is the difference?
Untreated mattress ticking

Comfortable and durable

Our fabrics receive no treatment after weaving.

Frequently asked questions about ticking

The materials are carefully selected in direct collaboration with the processors.

These are quality materials whose extraordinary properties are not diminished by successive processing stages.

These materials contain no industrial chemical or synthetic components.

An alternative to the pure wool mattress, the wool and animal-hair mattress provides more support. It comes in two possible compositions:

  1. The most common composition: 2/3 sheep’s wool and 1/3 animal hair, with the hair forming the core at the center of the mattress
  2. More animal hair for those who want it, to be considered according to your needs

Depending on your needs and constraints, the amount of animal hair varies to create a truly made-to-measure product.

The composition of such a mattress stands out for its formidable simplicity and effectiveness.

If you are looking instead for a pure wool mattress, we also make made-to-measure mattresses with a 100% wool filling.

Compared with a sheep’s wool mattress, a composition that includes animal hair gives a new mattress more spring, which purists appreciate. It all comes down to individual taste and preference.

Beyond sourcing that respects the sleeper’s well-being, the entire handcrafted making cycle, through to delivery, has an environmental dimension and is Made in France.

French, handcrafted making

You know the men and women who make your mattress.

Comfort is the whole point of a wool and animal-hair mattress made for you

We make wool and animal-hair mattresses by hand, with a craft of the highest order, so that the finished piece meets the sleeper’s demand for ever more comfortable nights.

Before making begins

Whoever makes a wool and animal-hair mattress owes it to the customer to guide that choice:

  • by asking the right questions
  • by listening to the need
  • by taking any constraints into account

At Les Ateliers Le Briand, we take the time this requires to set out the specification, so that we design a mattress that is good for your health the first time around.

Part of our trade is to guide you and to pass on, in all honesty, the experience and knowledge of a mattress maker.

During the making

Once we are convinced that the bedding solution suits you, we start making the sheep’s wool mattress using methods and techniques that belong to the house.

Every stage of the handcrafted making of a traditional mattress, filled with pure wool, hand-built and made to measure, is set out on our platform of advice and practical guides.

Every step of Le Briand making takes place in the workshops of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine in Paris, France.

Do come by, in fact, and see more of it for yourself.

To learn everything about how the Le Briand wool mattress is made, we share the frequently asked questions that many of you have raised, and that you may be asking yourself.

Made-to-measure making

Producing one-of-a-kind pieces.

A made-to-measure mattress that brings comfort and style together.

Personalize your mattress so that it suits you, not only in comfort but in looks as well!

We adapt to every sleeping profile.

While we follow traditional methods, making each piece by hand and to measure, one at a time, leaves room both for a few flourishes of style and personalization of the mattress characteristics according to the customer’s comfort preferences, build and taste.

Without ever losing sight of comfort, we want to be able to answer the widest range of requirements:

  • the size of the mattress
  • the firmness of the mattress
  • the support of the mattress
  • the surface feel of the mattress
  • the style and type of ticking
  • the decoration of the piece
  • the shape of the mattress
  • with or without side rolls

To see more of what is possible, discover our work, always designed with well-being in mind.

made-to-measure sheep wool mattress
wool and animal-hair mattress

Lead time

Lead time
4 to 8 weeks

We can adapt if you are working to a deadline. Do share it with us so that we can do our best.

As we talk things through before production begins, we will be able to estimate how long the making will take.

It matters to know when you will be equipped to sleep better.

The lead time varies mainly according to:

  • the orders already confirmed
  • how busy the workshop is
  • how complex the piece is to make
  • where the mattress is going

Thanks to a direct, local and short supply chain, sourcing the materials weighs less heavily on our lead times.

If you are working to a deadline, do share it with us so that we can do our best.

Lead times in the world of bedding

Against the race of the big brands toward ever more immediacy, there is no logic of quality in going ever faster where bedding is concerned.

A mattress follows rules of making that cannot be compressed and that are incompatible with producing well in twenty-four hours.

We waited a few years before changing our mattress, so we can wait a few weeks for a cozy night’s sleep.

made-to-measure wool mattress | French making
antique, made-to-measure sheep wool mattress | handcrafted making

Frequently asked questions about the wool and animal-hair mattress

Price, horsehair or cattle hair, the difference from a pure wool mattress, refurbishment: here is the essential information to know before choosing a wool and animal-hair mattress. For anything else, we are always available to help.

What is the price of a wool and animal-hair mattress, or a horsehair mattress?

Our wool and animal-hair mattresses are made one at a time and to measure, so the price depends on your order. With a filling of 2/3 wool and 1/3 cattle hair, prices start at €1,780 incl. VAT for 90 × 190 cm, €2,800 for 140 × 190 cm and €3,730 for 180 × 200 cm. Horsehair prices are also listed in the price table.

See the price table
Horsehair or cattle hair: what is the difference in a mattress?

Both types of hair come from a spinning mill in Austria, chosen for traceability and the quality of its hair. At purchase, cattle hair costs 7 times more than wool and horsehair 10 times more: hence the price gap between the two columns of the price table. In both cases, the hair generally forms the middle third of the mattress, surrounded by wool: you sleep only in contact with the wool. The best way to compare them is to handle both types of hair: visit our workshops.

Wool and animal-hair mattress or pure wool mattress: which should you choose?

Compared with a pure wool mattress, animal hair provides more support and spring, which purists appreciate. It all comes down to taste. For standard use, the pure wool mattress is still preferred most of the time; animal hair makes sense in certain specific cases. Tell us what is behind your choice and we will guide you.

Discover the pure wool mattress
How long does a wool and animal-hair mattress last? Can it be refurbished?

Yes. It can be refurbished on the same principles as a pure wool mattress: we recard the wool and generally reuse the hair. For our wool mattresses, we recommend refurbishment every 8 to 12 years; with refurbishment, a mattress can last more than 50 years. The price of refurbishment is provided as an estimate.

Read the full answer
Who is a wool and animal-hair mattress for?

For people looking for more support and spring than a pure wool mattress, and who enjoy that feel. There is no universal rule: each mattress is made to measure according to your build and comfort preferences. Before making begins, we take the time to ask you the right questions.

Contact us

8 simple questions to get straight to the point.

Guiding you toward the essential information we need to make estimating your project easier.

Get an estimate for making your mattress

Reviews of the Le Briand wool and animal-hair mattress

Knowing the strengths of the Le Briand mattress is one thing. It is better still when those strengths are confirmed by the sleepers who have lived with it.

In your search for a mattress that suits your comfort, do browse the reviews of the Le Briand mattress left by those who have already taken the step.

If doubts remain, we invite you to read fresh perspectives on the supposed drawbacks of wool and animal-hair mattresses.

Delivery of the Le Briand wool and animal-hair mattress

After the careful work is done, we stay with you right through to the delivery of the new mattress.

We adapt to where the mattress is going:

  • whenever we can, we like to deliver the wool mattresses ourselves!
  • For customers further afield, we call on a carrier.
  • If you prefer, you can also come to the workshops and collect your order.

To keep exploring the handcrafted, natural and French traditional mattress

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Hands of a mattress maker tufting a striped wool mattress

Refurbishment

Like the wool mattress, the wool and animal-hair mattress can be remade. Its refurbishment follows the same fundamentals as the refurbishment of the pure wool mattress, both in lifespan and in the way it is done.

Read more about our principles for refurbishing a mattress

Remaking a wool and animal-hair mattress can be done within a single day if the piece presents no complication. So we invite you to contact us beforehand to agree on a time for the repair (depending in particular on how busy the workshops are), so that you do not have to find somewhere else to sleep in the meantime.

Made-to-measure striped sprung box spring at the foot of an antique headboard

Other pieces of bedding

Beyond making wool and animal-hair mattresses, we also craft other made-to-measure pieces of bedding, to the same principles such as:

The Les Ateliers Le Briand team

Guiding you

We invite you to explore our guides to traditional bedding, such as wool mattresses, box springs, headboards and footboards:

Another way to move your wool and animal-hair mattress forward is to:

Contact us Visit us

...and we will be glad to guide you in your search for ever more comfortable sleep.

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