Height of a bed?

October 30, 2022 11:52 AM

I desperately need a new bed. I do not want a box spring - definitely want a frame and a mattress. But with beds without a box spring, I realized that a lot of them end up being fairly low to the ground. What are the benefits to having a lower bed vs. a higher bed, or a higher bed vs. a lower bed? How does one choose to go higher or lower? What are your preferences, and why?
posted by tiny frying pan to Home & Garden (37 answers total)

Low beds are safer. Ideally you should be able to put both feet on the floor when seated at the edge of the bed. Sliding out of bed in the morning, half-awake and tangled in bedclothes, is how you faceplant. Ask me how I know.

However, beds that sit higher allow for under-bed storage. If storage is not at a premium, I'd opt for a low-profile bed.
posted by basalganglia at 12:19 PM on October 30, 2022 [1 favorite]

I have a king sized bed and a very small bedroom, keeping the bed low makes the room look and feel larger.
posted by Miss Matheson at 12:19 PM on October 30, 2022 [5 favorites]

The advantage of a higher bed is that you can put stuff under it if you have a small place and need storage space.
posted by snofoam at 12:21 PM on October 30, 2022 [1 favorite]

I have both and like both. I like high up because I feel cosy and safe and hopping up into a tall bed is so luxurious. I like low because it’s clean lines and classy minimalist. Getting in and out isn’t so fun but it is more stable so if you like to lie on the bed and write in a journal it is more comfortable.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 12:28 PM on October 30, 2022

I actually recently bought a bed frame, so I had to deal with this question too. I prefer a medium-height bed for all the reasons previously mentioned. Lower beds make small or low-ceilinged rooms feel bigger; even if you don't have a small room, I personally think a lower bed makes a room feel airier and less chopped up and visually cluttered. Beds that are really low I find harder to get out of, and they also don't allow for underbed storage. Your mattress is also key in determining bed height, of course: mattresses vary between maybe 8" to 16"+; ours is around 12". I believe we got a 14" high frame, although it's a moveable frame (we can tilt the head and/or feet up), so we only end up getting 7" of usable space for underbed boxes (the motor and other bits take up the rest of the room). Anyway, for us that combo of bed height and mattress height works well, feels natural, and is the best of both worlds.
posted by ClaireBear at 12:33 PM on October 30, 2022 [2 favorites]

I sit on the edge of the bed to put my socks on, so I prefer it to be about the same height as an ergonomically positioned desk chair: feet flat on the floor when I'm sitting with my knees bent at right angles.

An issue with a bed that height is that if the bedframe has sharp corners at the foot, they are at the perfect level to attack your calves from under the duvet as you walk past. I have learned the hard way that I need bedposts.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 12:43 PM on October 30, 2022

I have a very, very tall bed (like it has little stairs to climb to get into it) and I love it because I feel like a queen surveying my territory and the bed's got loads of storage built into it. I keep most of my clothes in the bed drawers. But when I was pregnant it was just awful getting both in and out, to the point where for the last month of my first pregnancy I just slept in the guest room. I think for older or disabled people a high bed isn't really an option; you've got to be in reasonably good physical shape.
posted by potrzebie at 12:43 PM on October 30, 2022 [1 favorite]

Medium height beds are more accessible as you get older (40+) if you develop any orthopedic issues.
posted by matildaben at 12:50 PM on October 30, 2022 [3 favorites]

I had a loft bed for a long time and I enjoyed having the space under it for a desk. I enjoyed climbing into bed because it made a nice separation from daytime life-- I was less likely to get in bed during the day, so it made it easier to sleep at night.

Then again, I also had surgery and had to set up a camp bed underneath the loft because I was unable to climb. Also, it was impossible for dogs and elderly cats to join me in the loft.
posted by blnkfrnk at 1:06 PM on October 30, 2022 [1 favorite]

The surface of my bed is 28” from the floor. I have to climb in, true, but I like being able to slide out of bed in the morning and be virtually upright with no effort. My bedroom is very small with a narrow casement window high up and a peaked ceiling so I feel like a princess.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 1:13 PM on October 30, 2022

I love our platform frame and mattress combo. We used to have a box spring on traditional metal rails. The slightly lower bed is WAY easier to get in and out of. It's perfect sittin' height for me (5'4") and my spouse (5'10" with shorter legs). I'm also disabled and have chronic pain, so being able to just slide into and out of bed with minimal effort is great. Our higher bed was terrible when I was recovering from surgeries. I literally needed a step stool.

And if you drop something, like your phone, you don't have to get out of bed or lean way over to reach whatever you dropped. It also makes the room feel bigger. I would never go back to a higher bed.
posted by Crystalinne at 1:26 PM on October 30, 2022

I think the ideal bed height is when sitting on the mattress your legs form a 90 degree angle at the knee. That makes it easy to get in and out and also minimises the pressure point on the mattress. Sitting with your full weight on the edge of a mattress is one of the main things that causes them to wear out. Also heat rises so a bed very close to the ground will be slightly colder.
posted by Lanark at 1:26 PM on October 30, 2022

I specifically chose a low bed because of dogs. I know so many dogs who have gotten hurt interacting with high beds: two puppies who broke a leg jumping off, several dogs with back injuries from jumping off, and then I myself have had dogs roll off a high bed in their sleep and by some miracle not get hurt.

On the other hand, I recently hurt my back and was cursing my low bed every time I had to get out of it to go to the bathroom. It would have been so much easier (I think? Maybe I'm wrong) to get upright from a high bed.
posted by HotToddy at 1:28 PM on October 30, 2022

I have a recurring back pain thing that doesn't play well with low beds. I agree that chair height is ideal for me, erring on the side of higher than lower. And underbed storage is the best.
posted by Stacey at 2:00 PM on October 30, 2022

I would choose the height that gives the least discomfort when getting up from sitting position ... if you have zero discomfort when getting up, um, just wait. :(

We have a European bed with just slats and a high mattress, so it's average height, and it's been great for so many years -- when I was younger and not at all worrying about getting out of bed, and then with painful knee trouble that lasted months, then with a broken ankle, and now with roaming aches and pains. It's been completely fine. On the other hand, our fashionable low feather-stuffed sofa ... not so much. I rarely sit on it, because I now have to have a hand on the arm rest to get up comfortably, and the arm rest is too low, and the whole getting down onto the sofa and getting up off the sofa is just more bother and embarrassment than I really want to deal with just to relax and watch Jeopardy. A bed that low would be miserable for me now.
posted by taz at 2:06 PM on October 30, 2022 [2 favorites]

The flip side of the “hard-to-get-out-of” coin with low beds is that they force you to squat a little every day. If you sit in chairs all day, this potentially provides healthy variety. Your body may vary.
posted by Comet Bug at 2:20 PM on October 30, 2022 [4 favorites]

I cannot see any benefit to having a higher bed. You have further to fall and it's harder to get in and out of. I've always had a bed that's somewhere between sofa seat height and dining chair seat height. I've always managed to fit enough stuff under it.
posted by plonkee at 2:45 PM on October 30, 2022

Without wanting to get into TMI, certain heights facilitate different sexual positions and actions, so if that's a factor for you, give some thought to what the ideal height might be.
posted by Candleman at 2:46 PM on October 30, 2022 [5 favorites]

Buddhists refrain from high beds. I'll admit that this is because of time past when everybody mostly slept on the floor-ish and high beds were luxury like having a gold plated toilet. Avoid excess without necessity. But times have changed and pretty much everybody sleeps on a higher bed than the floor, it's no longer excess (much). A lower bed if you can manage is also the "can get up from the floor" healthy. Like sitting on the floor and standing up as long as you can keep doing it. Do it every day and you'll be able to do it longer. Western bedding practices and such with a mattress I do recall that there is reason for air-flow under the mattress. Probably not much to worry about, whatever makes you comfortable, but if you can do low, that little bit of exercise every morning... could extend the time before you hit "I've fallen and I can't get up".
posted by zengargoyle at 3:36 PM on October 30, 2022

Low beds are better for dogs' joints, and it's a lot easier to build a walkable path for a dog too big for stairs/who won't use a ramp when they get older. I myself have had some knee and elbow issues that meant at times the only way I could get into bed was to sit on the edge and then do a sort of diver's pike to swing around and land without ever resting on knee or elbow, and it wouldn't have been possible on a high bed.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:38 PM on October 30, 2022

I will say that, if my sleeping room can't be 100% completely dust free, I have a sense that the air is not as clean if the bed is super close to the ground.

Also, you end up with sheets, comforters, etc. trailing on the ground, which can make them less clean, too.
posted by amtho at 3:50 PM on October 30, 2022

I intentionally purchased a high box-spring-less metal bed frame for underbed storage with those plastic totes, and I even specifically sought out the totes with the right height. However, do keep in mind a few caveats that you don't realize are there until you put it into practice.

a) the larger ones are two pieces clamped together, and this creates a semi-barrier between the two halves, so passing a tote through may be difficult (i.e. you can store, but you have to push it in from BOTH SIDES of the bed, rather than only from one side. So putting the bed in a corner or with a side against the wall can be a problem.

b) getting the bed high does help you get off the bed in the morning... If you don't have slick floors. Let's just say I almost twisted my ankle learning this lesson. :D Don't worry about it if you have carpet in your room. :)
posted by kschang at 4:12 PM on October 30, 2022

"I do not want a box spring"

Do you have a specific dislike of that object, or is it solely because it adds height? Box springs don't necessarily contain springs, in case that's relevant...
posted by soylent00FF00 at 4:16 PM on October 30, 2022

I have slept on a mattress on the floor for many many years. I agree with the couple of people above who mentioned that getting up from it is good exercise. I'm in my seventies and I'm in better shape than a lot of people my age. I have a small low table close to the bed and I often sit/squat on the edge of the bed in the morning and set my computer on the table to read. My bedroom is very small and the ceiling is low so it does make it feel more roomy. In the last place I lived having the mattress on the floor had the added bonus of allowing me to see the sky above the roof of the house next door and none of the roof.
posted by mareli at 4:22 PM on October 30, 2022

I have a really high captain's platform bed -- no box spring, and tons of storage space (6 drawers on each side). I like being high up off the ground for sleeping -- it feels "correct" in some primal way. The point of my comment being, you can have a high bed without a box spring if that is what you would like.
posted by virve at 4:32 PM on October 30, 2022 [1 favorite]

I like a high bed for 2 reasons: easier to get out of when my back is hurting, also a better height for folding laundry on. I have a small cat climber next to the bedside table, better access for the old cats, less in-the-way than stairs for them.
posted by dorey_oh at 5:23 PM on October 30, 2022

There are mattresses that are intended to be used without a box spring and compensate in one way by simply being thicker.

I kind of hate it. Our bedframe I made decades ago with the intention of using a normal mattress. As such, it tended to sit on the low side. However, the current mattress was bought by my wife online, with the option of being a mattress intended to be used without a box spring. What we got was the thick mattress, which makes out bed look and sit as if it's a normal mattress and box spring. My wife didn't consider this. It doesn't bother her, but has bothered me more and more as time goes by. Next mattress we'll have to be careful to order a normal mattress.

Point of all this is, it's possible to get a bed without a box spring and not sacrifice height.
posted by 2N2222 at 6:50 PM on October 30, 2022

My bed is higher than seems normal in this post, although I’ve never thought it particularly tall. (My feet dangle several inches above the floor when sitting on the edge.) I think everyone has made a lot of good points, but the one reason I will never go back to a low bed is that when I had abdominal surgery, having some height to the mattress was absolutely necessary. I was able to lever myself into and out of bed in a way I never could have with a lower mattress. I’m all for exercise, but I’m not at a point in my life where I can make sleep contingent on my ability to bend or squat.
posted by CtrlAltDelete at 7:04 PM on October 30, 2022 [2 favorites]

This thread actually made me curious how my "very, very tall bed" measures up. It clocks in just shy of 42 inches. Tall enough we don't let our young kids in there without adult supervision. Tall enough that before we bought the steps (sold separately, natch) I had to take a running jump in. I love it but suspect I won't when I'm older and creakier.
posted by potrzebie at 7:27 PM on October 30, 2022

I thought of another point. There are low beds, but not many low nightstands. This creates a situation where the lampshade on the lamp on your standard-height nightstand is not doing anything to protect your eyes from the glare of the bulb. I'm used to it but that doesn't mean I like it.
posted by HotToddy at 7:40 PM on October 30, 2022 [1 favorite]

I love a high bed. Lots of storage underneath. Higher off the floor is less dusty and warmer in the winter. I live in a historical district and on the annual tour of homes I notice that a lot of antique beds are high (with quilts!) and it just looks right in an old house. I have high ceilings too so a high bed seems less like being down in a well. I do have to use a one step box to get in but I can slide out. I keep a kitchen chair at the foot of the bed for the cat to have an intermediate step although he can jump the full height when he wants to. I have a high, storage-underneath wooden bedframe, a box spring, an innerspring mattress, and a tempurpedic mattress on top. I 'm weird but I like a bouncy bed so the tempurpedic mattress feels too "dead" alone. It's also an ideal height for standing sex...and bouncy.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 11:41 PM on October 30, 2022

Note you should always be able to raise a low bed if you need to. For example, I have a very low IKEA Utaker platform and use these risers to get it to a height that doesn't require squatting and that allows a little under-bed storage. (No particular recommendation, those were just what I found on a search of Amazon, and they're working OK.)
posted by bfields at 6:28 AM on October 31, 2022 [1 favorite]

If you want a box-spring-less bed that's higher up, get one with drawers underneath.
posted by radioamy at 11:48 AM on October 31, 2022 [1 favorite]

In recent decades I've had beds with a top mattress height of ~15", 20", and 24". The 20" height was far and away the most comfortable in terms of ease of entry/exit--not so high you have to climb in, but not so low you have to launch yourself up to get out. My current setup is the 24" height and while I do like having nearly 12" of clearance to store stuff underneath, in the best of all possible worlds I'd have it a couple inches lower. The 15" setup reminded me of my college/poor days of sleeping in a mattress on the floor, in a bad way.
posted by drlith at 12:31 PM on October 31, 2022

I've had different bed heights over the decades for different reasons, just wanted to note:
- If you go with a higher bed, you might like a grabber tool for the dropped-item issue Crystalinne mentions; these are available in several lengths and colors, with and w/o magnets, and some versions fold (tuck behind a nightstand / store on a Command hook on the bed side)
- One under-bed storage option is a frame with a hydraulic-lift feature (no box spring; examples 1, 2, 3, 4)
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:00 PM on October 31, 2022

I skimmed quickly, might have missed it, but did not see mention of "low profile box spring" - these are frames that are about 2" thick that support your mattress on a bed frame without being the height of a regular box spring. They come in sizes, we've had two twin size ones under a king size mattress before, and it really made it easier for us to get in and out of bed.
posted by TimHare at 8:01 PM on October 31, 2022

When we bought our mattress, it came with low-profile box springs, but between that and the bedframe, it was high enough that it hurt my knee when climbing into the bed, so we ditched the box springs.

We recently bought a frame that's slightly lower than the previous one, and opted for one with roll-out drawers, not for the storage space, but because the drawers block off all the access for the cats, to minimize the hassle of hunting them down and coaxing or prodding them out from under the bed when it's time to go to the vet.
posted by telophase at 10:13 AM on November 1, 2022