People looking to buy a bed often wonder, "what is the point of a box spring?" The benefits of box spring are keeping your mattress at a height from the ground and offering support, but they can be costly and heavy, making it difficult to move around.
If you are wondering, "what can I use instead of box spring," you are just at the right place. Read on to find the best box spring alternatives.
Best Box Spring Alternatives
A box spring is a wooden frame that consists of springs that evenly distribute the weight of your body across your mattress to keep it safe from sagging. That makes you wonder, are box springs necessary? The answer is no, they aren't necessary, and several other alternatives to box springs serve the same purpose without costing as much.
Under Mattress Slats
Using metal or wooden slats under the mattress is a cheap alternative to a box spring. The under-mattress slats are a frame consisting of wooden slats that offer support for mattresses without a box spring. In addition, the slats are spaced at a two to five-inch spacing, which offers proper airflow beneath the mattress to maintain its freshness.
Not only are these cheap, but they are also easy to replace if they ever break. You can buy them for $300-$500.
Mattress On The Floor
A no-cost alternative to using a box spring is to put your mattress directly onto the floor. This setting doesn't need extra cost and helps relieve many health problems like backache or bad posture.
The flat flooring of your bedroom is the ideal surface for keeping your mattress, and the mattress itself is thick enough to offer the optimum support to your body.
The most significant disadvantage of putting your mattress directly on the floor is that no proper airflow beneath the mattress can make it an ideal place for microorganisms to grow and cause health risks like asthma attacks, and irritation in the eyes, skin and nose.
DIY Box Spring
If you know your way around tools, then DIYing your spring box might be the best cheap box spring alternative to buying those expensive box springs. There are a few ways you can create your DIY box spring using the materials of your own choice. You can work with hardwood or engineered wood, depending on your budget.
Start by measuring and cutting the wood according to the size of your mattress and create a frame. Cut and add wooden slats to hold the weight of the mattress properly. Build an outer frame and attach the top frame to complete your bed frame.
This would just cause you anything between $20 and $40.
Milk Crate Bed Base
One of the cheapest alternatives to a box spring that you can make on your own is recycling milk crates. Milk crates are heavy-duty plastic materials that can take up a load of 50 pounds or more without breaking.
Arrange several milk crates to form a platform-like structure and secure the crates in place by tying them with zip ties. You can arrange them sideways with the storage side facing out to keep some of your belongings in there. You can also arrange the crates facing downwards to make a platform or base which can be used to put your mattress. Placing two layers of the milk crates will add height to your mattress.
Platform Bed
As clear from the name, a platform bed acts as a platform for you to keep your mattress. It is a bed frame that consists of a support structure for the mattress, which can be made of wood or metal.
These solid structures are designed to add height to your mattress—their flat-top acts as the perfect base for your innerspring, memory foam or hybrid mattresses.
A platform bed is costly ($1,000+) but offers the best support to a mattress and avoids deformation.
Since the platform bed is a solid structure, you can have drawers or storage space on the sides.
Adjustable Bed
Adjustable beds are a great alternative to a box spring. As it is clear from the name, these beds are height adjustable to bring the bed to a position that offers the best support to your body.
Whether you are sleeping, reading a book, or watching your favorite shows, you can do it all from the comfort of your bed. An adjustable bed also helps find the optimum height and angle while sleeping, irrespective of your partner's preference. Most adjustable beds cost between $1,000 and $3,000.
Memory Foam Mattress
A memory foam mattress is a great alternative for a spring box. It is made of high-quality foam that adjusts itself according to the shape of your body.
A memory foam mattress is composed of foam that conforms to the body at varying levels of stiffness. The purpose is to provide support to all parts of the body based on the sleeper's choices.
If you are suffering from back, shoulder, or neck pains, then sleeping on a memory foam mattress will be comfortable for you.
It is one such mattress that doesn't need a box spring. To utilize the maximum efficiency of the memory foam mattress, all you need to do is put it on a flat surface, and even the floor would suffice.
You can find a good memory foam mattress for between $800 and $2,500.
Hybrid Mattress
A hybrid mattress combines the best of a memory foam mattress and an innerspring mattress. It is a perfect mix of firm and soft. The bottom part of a hybrid mattress consists of an innerspring system that offers firm support to the person sleeping on it. The pocket coil support keeps the foam from sagging and increases the mattress's longevity.
The top part of the mattress consists of one or more layers of memory foam which adjusts according to your body shape to offer relief from any aches or pains.
Using a hybrid mattress eliminates the need to use a spring box as it already has the same functionality as the innerspring layer.
You can find a hybrid mattress at around $1,000.
Innerspring Mattress
An innerspring mattress also can be an excellent alternative for box springs as they offer the same functionality without needing the spring box. These are also known as coil spring mattresses.
Innerspring mattresses come with an inbuilt spring coil system inside them, eliminating the need to use a box spring.
Choosing this mattress significantly reduces the cost, with no need to buy a spring box. These mattresses have longer durability, and they offer firm support to your body without creating any pressure points.
These mattresses can cost anywhere between $500 and $1,200.
Mattress Foundation
A mattress foundation is a bed frame made of wood or metal with bed slats, which are spaced at two to five inches. A mattress foundation is traditionally designed to use with a bed frame, and it offers more firm support to a heavy hybrid of memory foam mattresses.
The gap between the slats allows proper airflow. The wooden slats are sometimes curved upward to offer extra support to the mattress, and some even come with upholstery to avoid tearing off the mattress from where it sits on the slats.
Mattress foundations can typically cost between $100 and $2000, depending on personal choice.
Wood Slat Foundation
A wood slat foundation is similar to a mattress foundation in its construction, but instead of metal slats, it consists of wood. They are cost-effective and effortless to replace if any of the wooden slats gets broken. You can find it anywhere between $90 and $500.
A wooden slat foundation can have a wooden or a metal frame with designated space for you to fit the wooden slats. The space underneath the foundation is empty, and you can use it to store something. The space and the gap between slats allow proper air circulation.
One problem with this foundation is that the wooden slats sag with use and can even break if the person sleeping on the bed is heavy.
Foldable Metal Bed Frame
One of the cost-effective ($50 to $150) bed spring alternatives is foldable metal bed frames. These bed frames are made of solid metal frames with metal wires supporting your mattress. Depending on the size of the bed frame, they can have six or more leg support.
These bed frames are lightweight and reasonably priced. They are an excellent option for your guest bedroom if you don't want to go over your budget.
One of the best parts about these bed frames is that they have plenty of space beneath them, which you can utilize as storage space. Their foldable design makes them easy to store when not in use.
Conclusion
While buying a mattress, people often wonder if you need a box spring with a mattress? The answer is no, you don't, and there are several cost-efficient alternatives that you can choose instead of a box spring. Some mattress manufacturers even recommend not to use a box spring to increase the mattress's longevity.
