I just bought a new bed frame at IKEA, the bestest home furnishing store ever. Rather than the usual setup of rails on the side where a box spring would lay, it has wooden slats that go across the entire bottom of the frame. In the display at the store, they have the mattress sitting on top of the slats, with no box spring.
I’ve asked around, and opinion is 50-50 on whether not having a box spring ruins a mattress. Almost all are agreed that the box spring provides some kind of support or extra cushion, but are they absolutely necessary? The bed looks very nice with the mattress lowered into the frame, with a box spring it would sit on top like a pat of butter. I’d also like to save the little bit of $ when it’s time to buy a new mattress.
I had a bed frame that used those wooden slots in lieu of the box for ten years and it worked jsut fine. The mattress never sagged. In fact, it was just passed on to another needy body, so I think it will last a while. I doubt the box springs are necessary.
For the most part, what a mattress needs is a firm foundation. A box spring is often the best way to get it, but slats on the bed frame (or putting the mattress directly on the floor for that matter) can work as well. At that point, it’s a comfort thing, as much as a support thing.
Nope, you don’t need a box spring. Europeans don’t really use box springs; they tend to use platforms. Since your bed is from Sweden (isn’t that where everything at Ikea is designed and manufactured?) it probably wasn’t designed for use with a box spring.
My bed had a wooden platform, and a mattess over it. Very comfortable. Then I got married, and my stupid wife somehow convinced me that it wasn’t, and we use her bed.
Hell, a box spring is basically just a cloth covered wooden frame, so it’s not like there’s anything special about it.
Here’s a test:
If, when you (and perhaps a significant other) are on the bed, look underneath and if you see the mattress sort of poking in between the slats, then you need more support for it. If you don’t see anything wierd, you’re fine without one. And by ‘support’, I mean a piece of cheap plywood, not an expensive boxspring.
I think the main purpose of a boxspring is to add height to the bed so you’re not sleeping 1 foot off the floor, making it easier to get in and out of the bed. If you’re happy with a ‘lowrider’ bed and don’t need a boxspring, by all means, don’t buy one. If you’re concerned or want that height, buy a used boxstring from a Salvation Army store. And, since no one sleeps on the boxspring, you don’t have to worry about those bonus sweat and urine smells you get with a used mattress.
I’ve slept on a mattress/box spring combo, on a platform bed, and with a mattress directly on the floor. I like all three. The mattress is the most important part, though. I’d stick with the slats if I were you - depending on how many you have, you could add more in necessary.
I have a futon that I sleep on nightly. It is a metal framed bifold futon, with an “Innerspring” mattress. Basically Cotton, two foam inserts, and a section of springs in the middle to add support, but which are specially designed to bend with the mattress when folded into a couch. I love it. I’ve been sleeping on futons for 5 years now, and love 'em, no box springs needed.
The mattress I had before used just the foam inserts and cotton. If you don’t turn the matress frequently (every several weeks) it will start to lose it’s shape.
Anyway, goodluck with the bed… I prefer to sleep low, so I say nix the box springs and save the $$$ to buy new digital toys.
Does IKEA use American or Swedish bed sizes in the States? If they use Swedish sizes, this could be tricky, since they are just different enough to make it unlikely that you’ll find a perfect fit.
Personally, I’d forget about the box spring and just use extra slats or a decent piece of plywood if the matress needs more support. After ten years on this side of the pond, American beds seem freakishly high to me!
