How to Pick the Right Wooden Bed Frame: Bed Buying Guide

On average, people spend up to 26 years of their lives SLEEPING. With that much time spent in bed, consider investing in a good quality support system underneath you.

A bed frame isn't just a place for your mattress to call it's home. It is usually a focal point of your bedroom.

So if you're after a warm, welcoming, natural feel - you should opt for wooden bed frames - especially when modern interiors can appear cold and sterile. 

Why is it important to choose the right bed frame?

• Improves the style of your bedroom - Your bed is the focal point of your bedroom.
• Promotes better sleep - A bed frame elevates your sleeping position, making it easier to get into and out of your bed. The frame itself will also help stop your mattress from sliding around, providing stability and preventing scratches to hardwood floors. 
• Provides great motion transfer - Poorly manufactured bed frames may wobble and make noises, waking you up every time you or your partner move throughout the night.  A quality stable bed frame will be super beneficial for light sleepers. 
• Improves longevity of your mattress - Leaving your mattress on the ground will inadvertently cause your mattress to form sagging spots and lopsidedness. A good foundation for your mattress will ensure its longevity. 
• Added storage for miscellaneous items - Bed frames raise your mattress off the ground and create an excellent storage spot for things you want hidden but close at hand, such as old trinkets and trophies or toy storage in the case of a children’s bedroom.

Is a bed frame really necessary?

While you can use a mattress without a bed frame, a bed frame will make your time and experience with the mattress more worthwhile and less of a headache.

Alongside the above reasons, using a mattress without a bed frame is like listening to a radio with a lousy signal, It works, but a proper set-up would make the experience much better.

Do bed frames make a difference in comfort?

A bed frame won’t make an old mattress with broken springs feel brand-new, but what a bed frame will do is properly support the mattress and make sure that the user is getting the total usage out of what their mattress can provide.

Upgrading your bed frame can also provide comfort in a mental sense, as a newer bed frame will creak less and be less likely to have worn out screws for the joins.

However, to truly increase the comfort in your sleeping experience, the mattress will be the more important of the two. If a new mattress is what you think you need, check out our range!

What to look for when buying a bed frame?

Slats

A sign of a quality bed frame is its slats and how they are designed. A majority of our bed frames have slats that range from 6.5 to 8 centimetres; this is an ideal distance as any further puts more strain on the mattress, putting it more at risk of tearing and wearing down quicker.

Material

This one is obvious but should still be mentioned, but a bed made from cheap material will always feel cheap. When buying a bed, consider the material it’s made from as better material will always result in a better bed resulting in better sleep.

All of our beds are either made from high-quality New Zealand Pine or American Oak.

Build Quality

This one’s a given but bears repeating. Look at how the bed itself is constructed.

How are the head and footboards connected to the side rails? Is there a central beam underneath the slats to ensure they don’t sag? How is the central beam itself supported? Questions like these are usually a great indicator of a bed’s quality and if it is a worthy investment.

For more tips, especially if you are looking at a box spring bed, check out the following link!

How to buy a bed frame and mattress?

Before you go out to buy a bed frame, there are some things to consider first:

What are you working with?

Is this bed frame a new purchase or an upgrade? What size mattress do you sleep on at the moment?

These things are essential when buying a bed frame because if you’re simply upgrading your bed frame and don’t need a mattress, then make sure you’re buying the same size of bed again. However, if you have neither a bed frame nor a mattress, then the world’s your oyster!

Compare it to what you’ve got.

Why are you looking into getting a new bed frame? Think about the issues you have with your current bed and how a new frame would solve them.

If your current bed is creaking, then make sure to buy a bed with better support so it makes less noise; if it’s too small, then consider moving up a size, if you don’t like the style, then applaud yourself for changing your tastes and buy a bed that’s more YOU!

Size and Space

What’s the space of the room you are working within? It might be appealing to go for the biggest bed you can afford, but if it doesn’t fit in your bedroom, then what’s the use?

Measure the area where you would want the bed to be and consider your options from there. Most furniture websites should have the dimensions on the product page, or you can use the handy chart below to help aid in your buying decision.

Style

This one is obviously on personal taste, but how does the new bed frame look? There’s no point going for the cheapest bed frame available if it’s painted neon-green and has a giant sad clown painted on the headboard. Make sure the bed you’re buying suits the room you are buying it for!

For more info, especially for non-slat bed frames, check out this link!

Bed & Mattress Size Guide:

When should I replace my bed frame?

Unfortunately, unless it’s completely destroyed, it can be hard to tell when you need to replace your bed frame. However, if you feel your bed frame is failing, here are some key things to check.

Creaking

If your current bed frame creaks and groans throughout the night (and keeps you up!!), then it could be worth looking into a new frame with better build quality and support that will stay quiet whenever you move around in bed.

Mattress seating

Does your mattress sag in the middle when you get into bed? This could be a sign of a lousy bed frame, either from a broken/ missing slat or a failing joint on the frame itself.

Damaged hardware

As mentioned, the number one sign it’s time to replace your bed frame is if it’s damaged in any way, whether it’s a broken slat, a worn-out joint, or a cracked headboard, a damaged bed frame can have issues ranging from it having a blemished appearance, to completely falling apart in the middle of the night.

Conclusion

In conclusion, pick the bed frame that suits your needs and fits within your requirements. A more expensive bed frame won’t turn an insomniac into someone who sleeps 18 hours a day, but a better bed frame will better support your mattress and increase the mattress’ longevity. As such, if you are looking at purchasing a new mattress, it is definitely worth looking at upgrading your bed frame to ensure you get the most out of both.

FAQ

Where to buy a bed frame near me?

If you are reading this article and live in the New Zealand region, then good news! You can buy a bed frame from the very site you are reading this on!

However, if you are reading this outside of New Zealand, our answer would be to check the local furniture and bedding/mattress shops in your area.

Is it bad not to have a bed frame?

This depends; bed frames are vital in ensuring you get the whole life out of your mattress. So, if you’ve spent a pretty penny on a new mattress, then it is very highly recommended you get a bed frame to match. However, if all you can afford is a $50 mattress that’s on its last legs and it’s on a properly maintained surface, then a mattress on the floor is perfectly fine.

Are slat beds bad for your back?

The opposite, actually! A good slat bed will better support the mattress and in turn your back. A majority of the responsibility, in this case, will be on the mattress on healing your crookback. However, a slat bed will ensure that the mattress can better support your figure and make sure your mattress works at full effect longer.

For seeing how other beds treat you back, this link goes through other types of bed so you can choose the right one for you!

What’s the average cost of a bed frame?

If we are talking about buying new, this can obviously vary from retailer to retailer, but in general, a basic fabric King box bed frame will run you around $500 NZD. In regards to a bed from our range, a king-size Pine bed-frame should run you around $750 NZD while the stronger Oak will run for twice that.

When it comes to second-hand, this is more of a wild west in terms of pricing and value for money. As such, we would heavily discourage buying a second-hand bed frame from a cheaper retailer as the lack of warranty, and already low build quality could easily turn the bed into more of a headache than it’s worth.

How many years does a bed frame last?

This depends on the quality of the bed frame itself. If it’s a cheap bed frame from a large retail joint such as The Warehouse in New Zealand or Walmart for you Americans, expect your bed frame to last only ten years. However, if you buy a high-quality bed frame from either us or a similar store, expect the lifespan of the bed frame to reach the 30, 50 and even 80 years mark!

How the bed frame is treated will also obviously affect its lifespan. Practising your belly flops on the bed will obviously strain the bed frame a lot more than getting into it normally, even if it’s a lot less cool.