With the emergence of the foam mattress within the sleep industry, it didn’t take long to recognize the need for a more supportive base to keep your mattress sleeping right. Enter the platform bed, a bed that uses either a solid or slatted surface to provide a proper foundation for all mattress choices.
Due to their construction, the need for more traditional mattress supports are no longer needed, but yet many people still enjoy innerspring and hybrid mattress choices. This leaves you wondering do you need a box spring with a platform bed? Or can they use a box spring with a platform bed?
The short end of this answer is no, you do not have to use a boxspring, although the use of one, depending on your mattress construction- is actually available. The reasoning and explanation of this is detailed below to help you decide what is best for your mattress.
What is a Box Spring?
A box spring is a traditional innerspring coil mattress support that is constructed of a wooden frame with either springs or metal rods to help keep your bed feeling like it should. It is generally the same size of your mattress and is often sold as a set to help hold up the mattress and keep it lasting longer by reducing wear. It also raises the mattress to a height that makes it easier to get into and out of bed.
The use of this type of support also keeps certain mattress types under warranty as mattresses do have specific care requirements. In order to keep them from wearing unevenly, compressing, or creating uncomfortable mattress sinks, a foundation holds your mattress evenly under your weight.
What is a Platform Bed?
A platform bed is a low profile, non-traditional bed frame. Often they sit only a foot (or even lower) off the ground and use either a closely slatted or solid surface to provide support to your mattress. They are acceptable choices for memory foam mattresses and have become popular due to the increase of memory foam use in mattress construction. Since foam mattresses need a very supportive foundation, platform beds are the perfect solution for this attention to care.
The original platform beds were very simple in design: using angular, clean lines and either black or white styles, or natural wooden hues for decor matching sans any sort of head or footboards. More recently, an expansion of styles to include built-in storage, higher profiles, and the option to add head and footboard have become popular to meet the needs of varied consumer’s decorating preferences.
Do I Have to Use a Box Spring on a Platform Bed?
Platform beds are created in order to provide the proper support for your foam mattress and keep it under warranty, but they aren’t only specific to this type of mattress type. Due to their very supportive nature, any mattress can be used upon a platform bed surface, even those that normally require a box spring- without the use of a box spring.
The platform bed is considered a stand alone support for your mattress and can help save you on both space and money. Since the added cost of this type of support is no longer needed with the use of a platform you can put that money into something else you may need. Plus you also don’t have to deal with the added bulk of a box spring, and can take advantage of storage platforms if you live where storage is lacking.
You may want to read: Best Platform Bed Frames
Can I Use a Box Spring on a Platform Bed?
If you have a mattress that already has this type of foundation, or you were required to purchase one with your new mattress due to warranty issues, you may wonder if you are able to use a box spring with a platform bed. The answer to this is yes, of course you can as the platform construction provides great support for anything you place upon it, but you may want to consider a few factors before putting it into use.
To start, the use of a box foundation with a platform will raise the bed profile. In many cases this may be desirable, especially since a platform bed often has a low profile to begin with and may be too low for comfort. But since platform beds are made to work without the need of any other type of support- as they were created to address the needs of mattresses that are unable to use a box spring- head or footboards may also be of lower profile. If this is the case, by raising the profile of the bed overall, you may cover up any head or footboard that is part of the decor.
You may want to read: Can You Use a Boxspring with a Platform Bed?
Box Spring and Foam Mattress Compatibilities
Another thought to consider is that you can actually use a box spring with a foam mattress IF you include a bunky board, or another flat, supportive surface on top of it. This means if you are not impressed with having to purchase a new, supportive bed design for your foam mattress investment, you can convert what you already have into the support that will help keep your mattress under warranty. This also holds true if you want to use the box spring to raise the platform bed profile with a foam mattress.
Box Spring
Bunkie Board
You may want to read: The Best Mattress in a Box
Conclusion
The use of a box spring with your platform bed frame is an entirely personal choice as long as you have a mattress that is supposed to be supported by one. You also can invest in a bunky board as well to take advantage of what a box foundation has to offer- namely added height and additional support overall.
But you do not have to use anything else with a platform bed for any reason other than personal- no matter what type of mattress you have. They are built to work as a stand alone piece of bedroom furniture to provide all the support your mattress needs.