Can I buy a bed that's more comfortable than my floor?

January 12, 2011 11:13 PM

What type of bed is as solid and comfortable as a mattress on the floor?

I moved my mattress to the floor after my bed broke a few weeks ago (yay ikea!). Now I'm sleeping better than ever, but I look like I live in the bedroom of a poor college student. What type of bed should I get that will rival my surprisingly awesome floor? If it matters, I tend to like furniture that is simple, modern, and at least somewhat affordable.

posted by eisenkr to Shopping (15 answers total)

Wouldn't a solid wood boxspring on top of any bed frame you get give the same effect?
posted by zephyr_words at 11:17 PM on January 12, 2011

A platform bed frame is just what you need. Has a solid platform for your mattress and is usually available in simple modern styles.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 11:51 PM on January 12, 2011 [2 favorites]

Ditto a humble nudibranch. Here's my recent question re: platform beds.
posted by roger ackroyd at 12:39 AM on January 13, 2011

The Ikea Malm beds are a good cheap-ish option. They're assembled from big slabs of veneered particleboard that bolt together with a steel beam to make a reassuringly solid frame. Better to buy the slightly more expensive slats (the flexible plywood ones) than the default pine ones - sit on the bed a bit too quickly and the pine ones have a habit of snapping wherever there's a knot in the wood. We've had our bed for about seven years now and it's as solid as it ever was. They're pretty low, so you won't get a lot of under-bed storage (and anyway, it's a good idea to have plenty of ventilation under a mattress). Cleaning under the bed isn't too difficult as long as you have a cylinder vac with a telescopic handle that will lay fairly flat; otherwise you'll need to lift or move the bed (a two-person job).
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 2:26 AM on January 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

Seconding a bed with slats. My slat-bed was from Ikea, so maybe you're already familiar with them, but I haven't been happier since I ditched the idea of boxsprings.
posted by Gordafarin at 2:55 AM on January 13, 2011

Thirding slat bed, but for extra firmness, change out some of the softwood slats for hardwood (our local hardware store had lengths the right width and thickness - two seconds with a saw to cut to fit).
posted by obiwanwasabi at 5:12 AM on January 13, 2011

But get a bed with pre-bent laminated slats of some quality, not the look-and-break cheapo ones. I've put my heel through so many slats you don't wanna know. And put a westernly-fluffed-up extra-thickness futon on it (I've got one with extra latex somewhere inside).
posted by Namlit at 5:36 AM on January 13, 2011

There is a simple DIY solution, that will turn any bed into the ultimate firmness, as if the mattress is on the floor.

Measure the size of the box spring. Then cut a piece of plywood that size. Lay the plywood between the box spring and the mattress.

You can also do this to just one side of the bed, if your partner does not want that same super firm-ness.
posted by Flood at 5:46 AM on January 13, 2011 [3 favorites]

Make this bed, and add some extra slats. You could even put a third longitudinal 2x4 down the middle to make it more firm. It's cheap and easy to make. I will make it for you if you want to pick it up in Boston for the cost of materials + a case of beer.
posted by Aizkolari at 6:17 AM on January 13, 2011

Was your old bed a sprung base or a box spring base?

I've been sleeping on slatted wooden beds for the last 10 years. solid slats that really don't move at all, compared with a sprung base. If its of reasonable quality you shouldn't need to add extra slats. and also doing so can decrease the airflow to the underside of the matress - which can be bad for your mattress.
posted by mary8nne at 7:18 AM on January 13, 2011

As a step up in quality and price from Ikea, you might consider CB2. I've had a bed from them for several years now and it's working great. My model is no longer carried, it's closest to the "Double Decker" only mine is metal not wood. But all of their choices are really nice clean basic lines that work in any modern decor, and I think they're all really designed for mattress-only use, no box spring.
posted by dnash at 8:02 AM on January 13, 2011

I have a very firm tempur-pedic mattress. Very firm, like the floor, but all pressure points are removed. I can see why they are used in hospitals for burn victims. They are expensive..but you know what they say...1/3 of your life asleep! Or in my case, 1/6. But that's a whole different problem.
posted by nickjadlowe at 9:45 AM on January 13, 2011

I'm thinking that "solid" has a specific connotation of, er, not shifting under repeated impact. In that case, any kind of bed with feet won't do unless it's insanely over-engineered to an extent that I've never encountered. A solid platform would work, though.

That said, I don't understand the taboo against having your mattresses directly on the floor. If you have a boxspring, you could just get one of those skirts that covers the boxspring and it would be totally indistinguishable from a low platform.
posted by cmoj at 11:17 AM on January 13, 2011

I have a bed on slats, and though it is firm it is definitely not the same sort of immobile you get from sleeping on the floor. I know this because when my dog was very ill, we moved our mattress from the slatted bed frame onto the floor. Though our foam mattress is quite firm by itself, I could really feel the difference on the floor (which I did not like) compared to the slats, which have some spring. I think 5/8 plywood on a boxspring will be very close to the floor effect. You want no give whatsoever.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:07 PM on January 13, 2011

I've never had a more comfortable "bed" than a futon on a tatami mat. So I've had this bed in mind recently. It's tatami on slats, and I'd get a futon to put over it.
posted by zerbinetta at 5:34 PM on January 13, 2011