My box spring and mattress sit on the floor, I have yet to trod on blankets (why would that happen? Unless the mattress is directly on the floor or you use bedding a lot bigger than the bed this wouldn’t happen) or scratch the floor in the 10 odd years I’ve done so. For me it wasn’t so much about breaking the bed frame, but breaking my toes. Harder to catch toes on the rounded corners of the mattress/box spring than on any frame I’ve found.
Yeah, it’s a little flophouse tacky. I think it comes down to how much value you place on having your entire home reflect your (good) taste, or if you are cool with having your daughter’s room be more indicative of her (teen) standards.
My son was hiding crap under his bed, old food and worse.
We dropped the bed to the floor to remove the hiding place.
No biggie to me, I guess. You can put a bed skirt in between the mattresses to cover the box spring, the sheets & comforter don’t touch the floor.
I have also always thought that just having a matress and box spring on the floor was tres tacky. Also, perhaps your daughter should learn that breaking things have consequences.
It’s your house. I’m with you that it should be on something. There are some low profile beds like Bosstone has. The floor is just icky… It is also hard to make a bed that low, not that teens care! That 250 pound kid should pay for the frame he broke. I’m trying to picture how many times a 250 pound kid would have to jump on a bed to break it? one , two , three, crash!
Personally I think it’s gross to have it on the floor, but that’s me.
I really don’t see what the big deal is. I lived without a bed for years. Just mattress and box springs. Never realized it was “flophouse tacky” but then again my living room is my bedroom so maybe I’m just not the best judge of what’s tacky! 
The question isn’t so much “Would the Arbiter of All Good Taste rule that a bed on the floor is flophouse tacky?” It is instead “If Mother and Dad think it is flophouse tacky and want all beds in the house to be on a frame, does Daughter get to overrule that decision?”
My house is no where near model home perfect, never has, never will be. The only people I have ever known to just have their mattress and box spring on the floor were people I knew in college who lived on ramen, coffee, pot and cigarettes and never heard of picking up after themselves. And there is a bit of truth that it’s a control thing. It is my house, my rules. In my opinion, mattresses and box springs on the floor is just gross. But she should have some freedom in her room.
By the time her buddy jumped on the bed, there were already 7 teens (100 - 200lbs each)piled on it. It was his fault in particular, he was the big ol’ straw that broke the camels back.
Thanks for the Ikea link, Bosstone. That might be an idea.
Having it on the floor is gross? How dirty are your floors?
But really, I just wanted to thank the OP for exposing me to the wonderful expression of “flophouse tacky.”
I had always thought the framework served to provide extra give and support of the mattress, would help augment the cushioning mechanism, extending its life. It would also allow air circulation under the mattress like Teacake mentioned.
I googled for cites to back this up - what I thought was sensible thinking - could find none.
Explain that this is her one and only chance to obtain a new bedframe from you. She doesn’t have to accept but if she declines now and in the future wants a bedframe she will be responsible for purchasing it herself.
IMO, give her control of her room. By all means protect the floor, but allow her *some *choices in her life.
Go with your gut feeling on this. You want a bed frame so get one. She can sleep on the floor when she’s not in your house. Teens always see what they can get away with.
Don’t you have some kids on your lawn you need to go yell at? :dubious:
OP: I’m sure there are probably basic bedframes you could probably get that mimic setting your mattress/box spring on the floor without it actually BEING on the floor.
We subscribed to the “Pick you Battles” school of parenting. To me, this isn’t worth fighting over. And considering the crap my daughter used to cram under her bed, I’d almost advocate for it. I personally don’t like beds on the floor, but that’s because I don’t like to struggle to stand when I roll out of bed.
As far as I’m concerned, No Food in the Bedroom is a Prime Directive. A certain degree of tidiness is also required. Beyond that, who cares? Shut the door. Let the kid think she’s got her own little empire. In the grand scheme of things, it’s just not worth making a stink about.
Maybe it’s because my own mom was so controlling…
Again, I’m a bad judge I suppose. My daughter has been allowed to keep her room however she wants since she was a kid. Up until she hit 20 it was even tackier than I could stand but lucky for me she has a door I can close.
Of course now I have a story about my youth. I had the most awful bed, one of those wooden bunkbeds (just the bottom bunk) with the spokes on the footboard like a ship’s wheel. The thing squeaked like crazy and for some activities I did NOT want a peep made.
So I purposely broke the bed. Mom was pissed but it was better for me to ask forgiveness than permission. After that I had my twin mattress on the floor.
Its no big deal and it doesn’t put you to a lot of trouble, so why not?
Does she usually get to overrule your parental decisions? If not, what does it matter what the SDMB has to say? If it means that much to you, get a frame. But let her know that if it “accidentally” breaks again, she’s paying for it.
And for the record, I had a mattress on my bedroom floor for a year or so when I was 16. Didn’t ruin any floors. Then I got a waterbed! Maybe that’s where she’s going with this.
For me, I don’t think having your box spring on the floor is a big deal. I know plenty of people who have done it with no ill effects. Under normal circumstances, if that is what she wanted, I wouldn’t put up a fuss.
BUT
I also believe that actions have consequences, and if she broke the bed frame through unthoughtful behavior, the she should bare the consequence of having to purchase a new bed frame. This sounds and awful lot like rewarding her with what she wants from bad behavior.
FWIW I don’t have teenagers and I am not a parent, so what do I know?