How to compare a bed frame

Size first

Match single, double, or the centimetres. A 4 ft 6 double is not a king. A cheaper single is the wrong bed if you measured a double. Children’s beds use their own sizes. Read kids or single before you compare a price with an adult frame.

A daybed with a built-in desk is a different piece of furniture from a bedroom double. The heading can file both as beds. Read the title. A headboard height, when the listing gives one, matters if you have a sloping ceiling. We do not measure rooms.

The doorway you must bring the frame through is your constraint. Flat-pack changes that problem and does not remove it. Read whether the row is flat-pack.

Mattress, drawers, trundle

A frame and a frame sold with a mattress are different offers. The mattress guide is the separate checklist for the feel and the centimetres of the mattress. Do not let a styled photo of bedding put a mattress in the box.

Drawers under the frame are included only when the title says storage or drawers. A trundle on a bunk is included only when it is named. A trundle without a mattress may still need one. Read the contents.

Slats and a centre leg should be mentioned if you are counting on them. We do not assemble frames. Missing parts are a question for the shop after you have read what they said was in the box.

Bunks and the ceiling

A bunk needs a ceiling height. The shop’s overall height is the figure to compare with your room. We do not certify guards or ladders. Read the shop’s own safety note. A cheaper bunk that does not fit the ceiling is not a saving.

Graphite and grey can be different finishes of a similar bunk. Open both if the prices are far apart. Mattresses named in the title are part of that offer. A frame-only bunk is cheaper for a fair reason.

Which side the ladder is on matters in a small room. If the title is silent, the shop page has to say, or you are guessing. Do not guess and then call two bunks the same.

Delivery and when to leave

Delivery upstairs is the shop’s rule. The feed price is the frame. A bulky flat-pack can cost more to send than the gap you were comparing. Visit retailer and read it. Returns of a built frame are often refused.

One shop is one offer. The link is an affiliate link. You pay the retailer. Commission does not choose the bed. Leave a frame with no size. Leave a bunk with no height. Search bed frame if the department is the wrong mix. You can stop.

Slats, legs, and a headboard

A frame with a tall headboard and a simple platform are different beds. Headboard height matters under a shelf or a sloping ceiling. If the title gives a height, use it. If it does not, the shop page must. A cheaper frame with no headboard is a different product, and it may be what you want.

Centre legs and solid slats are what stop a mattress falling through. They should be in the description if you are relying on them. We do not assemble the frame to check. A gas-lift ottoman frame is another product again: it stores bedding and it needs clearance to open.

Children’s beds and bunks

A kids single with a drawer and an adult double are different sizes even when both are called beds. Children’s beds have their own department. Bunks have theirs. A trundle is a third sleeping place only when the title includes the trundle and you have the mattress for it.

Mattresses named in the bunk title are part of that price. A frame-only bunk is cheaper because the mattresses are still to buy. Use the mattress guide for the feel and the centimetres once you know the frame size. Do not buy the frame and discover the mattress size later.

The door and the returns rule

Measure the stair and the bedroom door, not only the wall the bed will sit against. Flat-pack helps and does not guarantee the cartons turn the corner. The shop will not know your landing. Delivery to the room is their sentence to read.

A built frame is often outside a change-of-mind return. Read that before you open the box if the size is close. Leave a listing with no width. Leave a bunk with no overall height. Search bed frame if the department mixes daybeds you do not want.

Before you click

Match the width in centimetres or the named size, and match whether a mattress is in the title. A daybed with a desk is not a double. A bunk needs the shop’s overall height against your ceiling. Drawers and a trundle are included only when named. Slats and a centre leg are worth reading on the shop page because we do not build the frame.

Measure the door and the stair as well as the wall. Flat-pack still has to turn the corner. Delivery to the room and the returns rule after assembly are the shop’s. Leave a frame with no size. The mattress, if it is not in the box, is the other guide.

Ottoman frames need space for the mattress to lift. A divan with drawers needs space for the drawer to open. A simple slatted frame needs less. Those are different footprints even at the same mattress size. Headboard fixings to the frame should be in the description if the headboard is tall. We do not bolt them. Children’s storage beds and adult doubles can share the word bed. Read kids, single, or the centimetres. A bunk ladder on the left or the right changes whether the bed fits the wall you have. If the listing is silent, the shop page has to say.