Okay, you got the platform bed out of the way, but what mattress should you buy? Do you need some type of special mattress for a platform bed frame? Can your old mattress work on the platform bed?
More than likely you have bought a new bed frame and want to buy a new mattress to go along with it. There’s something about having nice new things that make a person feel good inside. Plus you got a new bed frame that looks good, so you probably want a new mattress to go along with it.
For your new platform bed, you can’t just throw any mattress on it. You have to find the best mattress for that platform bed frame before you start to sleep on it or you run the risk of destroying the mattress or the bed frame.
What mattresses work best on a platform bed?
There are about 3 different types of mattresses. You have spring, memory foam, and latex. Out of the 3 types of mattresses you want to stick just 2 for when it comes to platform beds.
Memory foam or Latex are the two categories of mattresses you want to stick to when buying for a platform frame.
Here’s the tricky part, it doesn’t stop there. Some memory foam or latex mattresses will not work on a platform bed or may have certain requirements. The slat length and spacing can be a critical factor when it comes to these mattresses. The usual rule is that you want the spacing between each slat to be as small as possible. For example, you want to keep it under 3 inches.
This can get complicated quickly. So we have compiled a little list of what we consider the best mattresses to use for just about any platform bed available.
- Zinus Memory Foam Green Tea Mattress
- Dreamfoam Bedding Arctic Dreams 10-Inch Cooling Gel Mattress
- Zinus Memory Foam 12 Inch Premium Ultra Plush Cloud-like Mattress
- Tuft & Needle Mattress
- Leesa Mattress
What’s the big deal about innerspring mattresses
The truth is that you can use a spring mattress if you wanted to, but there is only a few of them that will work. The spring mattress that you might have now will not work, in fact, if you bought it from the mattress stores then it’s a good chance it will need a box spring and not work on a platform bed.
Older mattresses were designed for use with a box spring, the mattress and box spring acted like one unit. Mattresses now like the memory foam are made so that you don’t need a box spring, just need a strong flat bottom. You can place it on the floor if you had to, but we don’t recommend doing that and go into more detail about it here.
It’s a lot easier to find memory foam or latex mattresses that will work great for platform beds, but it’s not as easy to find innerspring mattresses that will cooperate with them.
The good news is that I have found some that will work, if you got to have a spring mattress then here is a small list of options to try out…
- Signature Sleep Contour 8-Inch Independently Encased Coil Mattress
- Zinus Extra Firm 10 Inch Big & Tall Support Plus Spring Mattress
- Signature Sleep Signature 13-Inch Independently Encased Coil Mattress
Where is the latex?
If you noticed so far, I have not shown an option for a latex mattress. A latex mattress will work on just about any platform bed frame, so you can’t go wrong.
One of the reasons why I did not list it or better yet I’m listing it in its own section is that latex can be a bit more expensive than all the other mattress. I didn’t want people to be put off by the prices.
In the grand scheme of it all, most of these mattresses you buy online are going to be a lot cheaper than the retail store equivalent. It’s kind of crazy how much retail stores can sell a mattress for. I remember a friend telling me he got this nice new Tempur-whatever mattress, and he paid over $2,000 for it. I was blown away by this because the memory foam mattress I sleep on was less than $400, and we both can’t tell a difference.
If you want to learn more about why Latex is so much better, then the other two mattresses then check out my guide about it here.
Why were box springs so important years ago?
Mattresses use to be two-sided, which required them to be flipped about every 6 months. These mattresses needed a box spring to give them the correct support and function.
Well, those days are going away. Most of the mattresses you get nowadays are one-sided, and you don’t flip them ever. Many people did not like this; they felt like they were getting half of a mattress. This is not true. In fact, the very nature of latex and memory foam mattresses means they can only ever be one-sided non-flippable.
The box spring was needed mostly for the mattresses you had to flip because the coils were on both sides and had no support. So the box spring gave that support.
When they started to make mattresses one-sided this made them a wee bit stronger because the bottom of the mattress was more rigid and not springs.
Some platform bed frames do give the bounce that box springs provide, so it really is the best of both worlds when you buy a platform bed.
Don’t put this on a platform bed!
Waterbeds should never be placed on a platform bed. A waterbed will destroy any bed frame that is not made for the weight of the waterbed.
And yes, they still make water beds, and they’re not what you think they are. They are fading away, but there is a small market for them.