My bedroom is not overly spacious, so I’m strongly leaning toward investing in a platform bed with at least 10-12" of ground clearance to provide me with more useful options for underbed storage. With all that extra height in the bed itself, I’m most interested in mattresses that neither require nor strongly benefit from a separate box spring or foundation component, as I’d really prefer not to need a stepladder to get into bed.
It seems that there’s a general consensus that pretty much any type of foam-based mattress is suitable for placement directly on a decent platform bed, provided it’s designed to allow the mattress to breathe and that the wooden slats or metal bars/wires are not spaced too far apart. On the other hand, it’s less clear how well innerspring mattresses work on relatively inflexible platforms. Some sources suggest that going without a box spring significantly increases the risk of damaging an innerspring mattress and shortening its lifespan, while others say that’s unlikely to be a problem. Then there’s also the warranty issue, with many manufacturers apparently having fairly strict requirements about what’s allowed to go under their mattresses.
I’m in the early phases of my research, and I haven’t actually tested anything in stores yet. Any general advice you could provide regarding what I should be looking for in a mattress for a bed without a box spring or foundation would be much appreciated. Are there any types of mattress construction I should probably avoid, or other special considerations I should keep in mind?
Thanks for providing all these valuable resources.
There is more information in the foundation post here and the posts it links to (in the second paragraph) about the types of support system that would be suitable for different types of mattresses but as a general rule (subject to any warranty criteria that are part of the manufacturer’s warranty) any foam mattress will be fine on a slatted platform or wire grid surface (although I would be cautious with a wire grid surface with a mattress that has a latex support core … see post #10 here).
Also as a very general rule … most pocket coil mattresses will also be fine and “some” other types of innerspring mattresses will be fine as well depending on the specifics of their construction and on what is under the innerspring that can act as a “shock absorber” but with innerspring mattresses I would always follow the recommendations of the manufacturer of the mattress you are considering.
Outside of the previous comments and suggestions … I would follow the same guidelines as I would for any other mattress and I would make sure you’ve read the mattress shopping tutorial here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines you will need to make the best possible choices regardless of which type of mattress or support system you are considering.
I just purchased the Tuft and Needle bed, thanks to the info of this site.
We’d like to have underbed storage, but how much storage is too much when it comes to blocking ventilation? It seems like the platform/sleigh beds with drawers would not allow much air flow? Is it better to get a platform bed and just put plastic bins under the bed that leave a few inches of room between the top of the bins and the bottom of the support?
I ended up getting my elevated platform from Costco for $259 queen size. I received it in 5 days via UPS. The weight is 101 lbs and holds up to 600 lbs. I am in the same situation as you in limited space. This platform has metal frame and a full wood top. It shows as being 14" high which is was and I can slide objects under it which are 12" high. Simple and fast to put together and very well constructed, Very happy it. I hope you find this of interest.
You certainly made a high quality/value choice … and congratulations on your new mattress
I doubt that any platform bed with drawers underneath a suitable slatted support surface would be tightly enough sealed or impair airflow enough to present a risk if you could still open or remove the drawers and you could still blow air through the slats. I don’t think it’s something I would be concerned about.
Thanks for the info! We are in southern Florida so humidity tends to be an issue… The paperboard(?) backing of dressers tends to get a bit moldy even when they are kept away from the wall, so I’m a bit cautious about closing off the area under the bed.
W7toc Thanks, I checked Costco’s website but couldn’t find anything like you described. Perhaps it was a limited time deal or I’m not looking in the right spot.
I wouldn’t close off the area under the bed completely but this would be difficult to do anyway even if you were trying to. While it’s really not possible to quantify “how much” airflow would be “enough” to prevent mold or mildew because there would be so many variables involved (see post #10 here) … a solid surface such as paperboard would probably be more subject to moisture condensation than the fabrics or components that are used in a mattress so if there is at least “some” airflow under the mattress through the slats it should be fine (and even if the slats were on a solid surface they would still provide “some” airflow under the mattress as well).
