Both names carry weight. Hästens is the Swedish zealot of natural-material mattresses—horsehair, wool, cotton, flax—handmade like a Stradivarius for sleep. Flou is the Italian house that turned the bed into design culture and then built an entire lifestyle around it—Flou beds, Flou furniture, Flou sofa beds, textiles, and even luminous pieces under its Natevo label. Different obsessions, same goal: better sleep in a beautiful room. Let’s dissect—cleanly, skeptically, and in plain English.
Brand DNA: what each is actually selling
- Hästens sells a mattress-first creed. It’s a sixth-generation Swedish maker (est. 1852), Royal Warrant holder, and devout user of natural materials (notably horsetail hair) with that famous Blue Check pattern introduced in 1978. The advocacy is purity: breathable layers, no foams, lifetime-level craftsmanship—and yes, eye-watering prices at the top end.
- Flou sells a total living vision. Founded in 1978 around Vico Magistretti’s “Nathalie”—the first modern upholstered/textile Flou bed with fully removable covers—Flou expanded into wardrobes, mattresses, pillows, duvets, and Flou furniture for a coherent, customizable environment. It’s design-driven “Made in Italy” through and through.
Icons that matter
- Hästens 2000T / Blue Check: the pattern is trademarked lore; the 2000T and Blue Check celebrated 45 years recently, underscoring the brand’s continuity in craft. Wallpaper*
- Flou Nathalie: Magistretti’s 1978 icon invented the removable-cover textile bed and still anchors the line—design history you can sleep on. Flou
Materials & engineering (comfort without the fluff—literally)
- Hästens: layer cakes of cotton, wool, flax, and horsehair—no foam—built for ventilation and pressure relief. If you run hot or hate the “sinking” feel, this philosophy shines.
- Flou: the Leonardo sleep system treats bed base, Flou mattress, topper, and pillow as a symphony—mix firmnesses (even split sides) and materials (including natural fibers) to tune comfort and ergonomics. Think bespoke tailoring for sleep.
Design scope: bedroom as a stage vs mattress as an instrument
- Hästens gives you a world-class bed and complementary accessories. It’s fundamentally a sleep instrument with tasteful options around it.
- Flou gives you an interior language: dozens of Flou beds, deep textile libraries, storage and transformable bases, coordinated casegoods, and Flou sofa bed solutions that actually look chic. If you want harmony across the whole room, Flou is a gift.
Real-life flexibility (aesthetics, upkeep, small luxuries)
- Removable covers: Flou pioneered them. Swap fabrics/seasons/styles without changing the bed—a practical luxury hotels wish they had sooner.
- Sofa bed elegance: Flou’s designs (Céline, Diletto, Duetto, etc.) let the guest room not look like a guest room. Hästens, by contrast, doesn’t really play in designer sofa beds.
- Light as part of furniture: Natevo (by Flou) builds integrated LED lighting into pieces—useful for refined, low-glare ambience and pared-back spaces.
Price & value (let’s talk money like adults)
- Hästens: entry configurations can start in the ~$20k range and soar. The Vividus/Grand Vividus lives in ultra-luxury territory—reviewed and retailed well into six figures, with some reports approaching the $400k–$1M set for special editions. It’s a statement as much as a bed.
- Flou: pricing spans widely across frames, bases, and mattresses, but the brand’s superpower is total value—cohesive design, removable textiles, storage or transformable options, plus the Flou mattress and topper you actually want. In other words: performance + aesthetics + longevity without forcing the whole budget into a single mattress. (See Flou’s catalogs for system detail.)
Sleep feel: who likes which?
- Choose Hästens if you crave the buoyant, breathable “on-the-bed” feel from natural fibers and pocket springs, and you’re philosophically aligned with heirloom builds.
- Choose Flou if you want finely tuned comfort with the option to split firmness, curate textiles, and integrate the bed into a larger visual story. Flou bed + Flou mattress + topper + pillow = system thinking, not a one-note purchase.
For designers & modern living (where Flou quietly wins)
- Room cohesion: Flou’s range lets you design the entire suite—from the Flou bed to coordinated Flou furniture and textiles. That matters when clients expect harmony, not just a great mattress under a random headboard.
- Urban practicality: storage bases, transformables, and Flou sofa bed options are pragmatic luxuries—space efficiency without aesthetic compromise.
- Innovation beyond fabric: Natevo’s integrated-light pieces reduce visual clutter and layer in ambiance—useful in hospitality and high-end residential alike.
The verdict (decisive, not diplomatic)
If you want a singular, purist mattress experience—and price is a distant second to romance—Hästens will delight you. But if you want design coherence, customizable comfort, and options for real homes (storage, transformable pieces, elegant Flou sofa beds)—and you care how the whole room photographs and lives—Flou is the smarter luxury. It’s why designers keep specifying Flou beds and why we showcase Flou at Melaaura: the brand balances sleep performance with modern Italian living, not just mattress mythology.
Quick buyer’s map (cut-to-the-chase)
- You prioritize natural materials above all, want the iconic Blue Check, and accept six-figure upper tiers: Hästens.
- You want a beautiful room, removable textiles, a matched Flou mattress to your Flou bed, storage or sofa-bed capability, and a brand that scales from primary suite to guest and media rooms: Flou.
Frequently asked (because someone will DM this anyway)
Is Flou comfortable enough to convert a Hästens loyalist?
Different feel, comparable ambition. Flou’s Leonardo system lets you tune firmness—including split-side setups—so couples can actually agree. Flou
Does Hästens really skip foam?
Yes. The build is natural fibers + springs; pressure relief comes from compacted wool/cotton/horsehair, not memory foam. GoodBed
What about “Flou Flora”?
Flou Flora is a versatile seating system/armchair series—useful shorthand for Flou’s broader design universe beyond beds. It’s one reason specifiers like keeping to a single house—clean language, consistent quality. Flou
And Natevo?
Natevo is Flou’s label for furniture with integrated light—genuinely handy when you want atmosphere without extra fixtures. Natevo
Where Melaaura tips the scales toward Flou
We represent Flou because the brand solves more real-world luxury briefs: cohesive aesthetics, removable/updatable textiles, storage and transformables, and a Flou mattress program that’s intelligently modular. If you’re comparing Flou vs Hästens, try the feel side-by-side—but design the room with Flou. It’s luxury that lives well.
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Want to test Flou beds in person, spec a Flou Natevo bed for a moody suite, or configure a tailored Flou sofa bed for the study? We’ll curate options at Melaaura and match them to your space, timeline, and taste.
