Box Spring Alternatives

Better than Boxspring

• Better than Boxspring is a product made by Sleep Revolution that gets rid of the need for a box spring by use of a metal frame lifted high enough off the floor that your bed's height is practical. There are 14 inches of clearance between the floor and the product.

Slatted Frame

• If your bed frame is just a four-sided metal rectangle, you can forgo a box spring by replacing the rectangle with a slatted frame. These have wood placed at regular intervals perpendicular to the longest side of the frame. The mattress is placed atop the slats.

DIY Slats

• You can lay your own slats across the frame and, depending on how you approach the solution, they might provide a bit of height, too. Try 2-by-4s or 4-by-4s. Slats could damage some mattresses. If you fear this, cover slats with a plywood sheet.

Shipping Pallets

• Instead of slats, you might try pallets. Find out if a store will let you have some.

Board

• You can use sturdy plywood directly on a frame whether it is empty or slatted. Because box springs don't come with springs anymore, you'll likely not notice any difference between a mattress with a box spring under it and one without. Traditionally futons used no box spring, and neither do many beds set up in Europe.

Platform Bes

• Platform beds carry many mattresses in Europe. These can contain storage and be built to the height you like.

Converted Water Bed Frame

• If you have a water bed, it can hold a mattress. If the mattress does not fit, the sides of the frame that supported the water bed mattress can be removed.

Trundle Frame

• A trundle bed is already made to be used without a box spring, so its frame is an existing, tried-and-true solution.

Bunky Board

• Bunky boards, or bunkie boards, are used for bunk beds to avoid creating height, because the furniture is already at the height it needs to be. Bunky boards are just upholstered boards. You might try making your own with cloth, foam and a staple gun.