admin We’re going to assume that you’ve already graduated from the mattress-directly-on-the-floor phase of life. Even if you prefer the look of a low-to-the-ground tatami futon bed, plenty of these frames will get you the same look without having you sleeping directly on the ground. So without further ado, we’ve found stylish and functional bed frames to level up your sleep setup.
The Best Bed Frame For Most People: Thuma
The internet-famous Thuma bed frame doesn’t just have a cult following on TikTok. It’s also a 2x GQ award-winning product (see the GQ Home Awards and the GQ Sleep Awards). Aptly named “The Bed,” it’s one of those rare breeds that occupies all three categories of “high quality,” “decently affordable,” and “easy to put together”—and with no trip to Ikea required. Besides its well-stained solid wood construction and sensible fabric pillowboard (with a few different color options for both), it’s also very reasonably priced. We’ve extensively tested The Bed, and we think this overachieving, mid-budget option is the best frame for most people.
And don’t be tempted to outsource this construction job to a Taskrabbit; the Thuma assembles as easily as promised. It took one GQ staffer just 30 minutes to put the bed together by himself, no galaxy brain maneuvering or drills required. Its frame and double-strength slats lock into place to prevent them moving (and squeaking) about, and the bed itself features solid, repurposed wood, plus cork padding underneath, so it doesn’t scrape your bedroom floor. The finished product is motion-stabilized, thoughtfully designed, and exceedingly sturdy.
The Best Storage Bed Frame: EQ3 “Marcel”
If you’ve ever wanted a bed that feels a little like a souped-up convertible, EQ3’s ultramodern “Marcel” bed is the one to consider for your current life crisis. Instead of a cupboard-style system that rolls out storage from underneath, the Marcel physically lifts up like a Murphy bed for stuffing all of your unmentionables and linens where the sun don’t shine. The design is so ingenious we recognized it in our Home Awards last year, with the only ding here being that it’s made from a composite core wood, finished off with a varnish (not fully solid wood).
The Best Upholstered Bed Frame: Interior Define Kaleb
Interior Define’s greatest selling point is its infinite customization options: namely, dozens and dozens of swatches to choose from, whether you want your bed swathed in antimicrobial chenille, some strapping tweed, or rich velvet. Though upholstered beds tend to look extremely dated, like something your aunt might own in her ‘80s-era “shabby chic” home, this one feels plenty modern with its rounded edges and the velvety frame that conceals hidden legs and hides a sturdy slat system in its innards. Everything’s catered to your tastes and needs, with a 60-day return policy that’ll give you some time to decide if it’s a keeper or not.
The Best Modern Platform Bed Frame: Sapling Studio
This writer recently overcame a years’ long odyssey for the perfect bed frame after scouting this one on Etsy. Made by a small woodworking business out in Denver called Sapling Studio, the bed uses a simple jigsaw construction to lock planks into place for an elegant Japanese slash Scandi-style effect. The two main pieces, and all the adjoining support pieces that form the base of the bed, fit together via perfectly whittled-out grooves to prevent the angled beams from moving around. Everything came together in about 10 minutes without any head-scratching involved, and after a couple nights sleeping on this thing, we can report that the frame is absolutely silent. For small apartment-dwellers, the bed is also high enough off the ground to offer plenty of room for storing giant underbed containers and boxes under there.
The Best Sleigh-Style Bed Frame: CB2 Drommen
Sleigh beds were big in the, uh, 19th century, but there are some modern iterations that don’t feel like they time-traveled from someone’s country estate. The CB2 Drommen is just one: a best-seller for the brand, made from angled acacia wood. Our tester loved the soft linen material of this bed’s upholstered headboard (which is surprisingly dust- and dirt-resistant after years of use), the squeakless design, and high-quality frame for the price point. Plus, the bed doesn’t use any slats at all, which equals stunningly easy assembly. Simply slide your bed on top! Because of the sloping headboard, its length is a little wider than average, so we’d recommend it to someone with ample space.
The Best Metal Bed Frame: Olee Sleep
Olee’s steel bed frame is one of the odd metal options we’ve seen that actually has a full steel slat system rather than a measly support bar holding the thing together. That means it’s more stable, and less likely to make you feel like you are emerging from a sinkhole every morning. The good shoppers over at Amazon don’t often unanimously agree, but they do on this point: This thing is sturdy as hell, and plenty convenient considering that it comes with all the tools you need to assemble and tighten it.
The Bed Frame That’ll Make Your Home Feel Like an AD Spread: Sarah Ellison “Yoko”
Australian designer Sarah Ellison’s known for her dreamy furniture that’s all soft curves, warm woods, puffy textures, and earth tones. Replacing traditional legs with spherical orbs, her spacey Yoko bed frame makes the bed look like it’s hovering somewhere above the ground, supported by a large slatless plank. Now you can finally tell them, “This is where the magic happens,” and mean it.
The Best Budget Platform Bed Frame: Helix
Platform bed purists need look no further than this no-frills, Scandinavian-style birch wood frame from Helix that’s everything you want—a well-made throne for your cushy mattress—and nothing you don’t. There’s no option to add on a headboard or anything, but for just under $600, you don’t need to know much else except that it’s sturdy, completely inoffensive style-wise, and offers a 100-night sleep trial (and returns) if you’re not absolutely loving it. Plus, putting it together doesn’t require any tools—just a little free time.
The Best Canopy Bed Frame: Clauson Canopy Queen Bed
If upholstered bed frames are old-fashioned, then canopy bed frames are positively Victorian. Even after central air made true canopy beds obsolete, four poster beds continued to be popular for many decades. Of course, most modern furniture shoppers refuse to look any further than the mid-century period for design influences. Or maybe you prefer minimalist, Scandinavian or Japanese designs. The Clauson Canopy Bed takes design cues from all over, geographically and temporally, with a unique modern design by the Spanish design studio Mermelada Estudio. This modern bed is also available in king size.
The Best Starter Bed Frame: The Foundation by Casper
Casper didn’t make the world’s first bed-in-a-box mattress, but it the the entry point into this model for most of us. Now, Casper says that it’s “reinvented the box spring.” This simple bed frame includes a mattress foundation that provides support, elevation, and breathability, ensuring your fancy new mattress lasts as long as possible. And like the popular Thuma frame, no tools are required to assemble this piece of furniture. This here writer propped her bed up on it for years before finally shelling out for a real bed frame, and it served her very well across several moves. We do wish its sense of style was a little more developed, but for $349, it’s tough to beat this construction.
Plus, 7 Other Bed Frames We Like
If you’re online in any sense, it’s probably algorithmically unlikely that you’ve missed Floyd’s elegant, low-lying platform bed. The jewel of Instagram’s targeted ads owes a lot to the minimalist Donald Judd aesthetic: It uses a slatless, screwless design relying on a couple of wooden planks. It’s a heck of a lot easier to assemble than any old IKEA step-by-step. Reviews online vary—some point to peeling wood and sometimes flimsy support straps—but if you’re looking for a stylish low-to-the-ground option to take with you to your next five apartments, it’s hard to imagine a superior combination of aesthetics, ease, and price (even if the Floyd isn’t a slam dunk A+ in any of those lone categories). This is also the type of product that’s much more compelling when it’s on sale.
Burrow’s more well-known for its couches-in-a-box than its sleeping arrangements, but the brand’s sturdy sofas show it knows a thing or two about a good foundation. And the Chorus bed takes the right cues. With its low-lying frame—constructed from solid hardwoods and anchored by Japanese-inspired joinery—plus ‘grammable chubby legs (aw!), it’ll earn you some style chops and a trustworthy throne for your bed and bod. It’s just the thing if you want something low-stress, low-mess, and zero excess. If you did want to dress it up a little, there’s even the option to tack on a fabric or wood headboard.
If budget isn’t a concern, design studio Sun at Six makes one of the best low-profile options with a built-in headboard. The studio is a family affair, guided by the trade of traditional Chinese joinery, and using oil-finished white ash that resists stains and breaks down for flat-pack shipping. Combined with a frame that nestles your bed inside it like a throne, the chubby, rounded legs give it a fun childlike touch. There’s even an option to buy it in a black finish directly from the site if you’d prefer something a little vibier.
Do you have more shoes and knits than you know what to do with? We promise, you’re not the only GQ reader with that problem. The Sundays Cloud Bed is now available with hidden storage compartments, which make this bed even dreamier. The curvy slopes of the upholstery resemble a cloud, and the removable cushions provide a softer alternative to the standard wooden headboard. If you prefer the puffy upholstery aesthetic that making the rounds on Instagram, it’s a worthy alternative to the EQ3 above.
Designer Jenni Kayne also makes a solid upholstered bed with a headboard that doesn’t scream “period piece!!” The frame is kiln-dried to last you for years and years, and it perfectly accommodates a low-profile mattress for a soft, elegant look. Choose from a range of muted earth tones (in linen or boucle) to set your bedroom setup to “chill,” with only downside here being that the bed is final sale only—so no second thoughts.
Brooklyn-based design studio Akron Street (makers of one of our favorite desks) is always a winner for modern, well-made furniture pieces that won’t look like everyone else’s Ikea collections or Alvar Aalto knockoffs. It makes two beds—both platform-style—but we like the extra under-bed storage options on this one that allow you to squirrel away sweaters and bedding in its innards without having to worry about moths attacking your precious cashmere, or dust bunnies building up under the bed. The only downsides are a less forgiving return policy. If it’s not brand new in the box, buddy, you’re stuck with it!
The ‘Zon might not be your first choice for a direct-to-doorstep bed frame, but the retail powers that be do stock a mean platform bed from the likes of KD Frames, a woodworking company based in Athens, Georgia (go dawgs). The Scandi-style design works with kiln-baked woods that are perfectly low-profile and budget-friendly for a starter apartment. There’s even the option to tack on separate storage drawers to give yourself more places to conceal your mess.
