SAN FRANCISCO, Ca., September 25 — Bulky box springs? Unwieldy frames? You just want a healthy night’s slumber, for the love of Nod, and you don’t have the space or budget for a mammoth sleep system that’ll overwhelm all those little décor touches you’ve so carefully chosen. Hmm... better dig out that old college futon, right? Wrong.
How did snakes and locusts put style in North American bedrooms? In the Beginning. Okay, so beds are nothing new; we’ve been sleeping on ’em since the Neolithic period. But platform beds? Well, their basic premise — a raised, flat, hard, horizontal surface meant to support a mattress — is also a little long in the tooth: Egyptians, trying to get a little distance between the insects and reptiles slinking around their floors, decided to try raising their beds a couple of millennia back. And (much) more recently, the loft bed premise refined the idea with a blend of streamlined sleeping quarters and extra bedroom space. While lofts are still all the rage in college dorms, those of us blessed with bedrooms larger than your average refrigerator box have started picking up the platform bed scent, a lovely bouquet of style, function, and blessedly healthy sleep.
Innovations
As platform beds started dotting the bedrooms of savvy shoppers, manufacturers began multiplying and competing in earnest. More than ever, platform beds are a great budget choice, and it’s not like you can use d’ecor dissonance as an excuse; they come in styles from cottage to contemporary and finishes from black to white, maple to walnut.
What’s In It For You?
Savings. No boxspring = no extra cost. Buy the frame, buy a mattress, buy the bedding, and you’re good to go. Or, more accurately, good to stay in one place for eight luxurious hours.
Space. No boxspring = no bulk (not to mention plenty of space under the mattress for lazy "storage" purposes).
Support. No boxspring = no problem. The firm support of platform frames has proven to be good for backs, necks, etc. Which doesn’t exactly make chiropractors or the big-name mattress manufacturers happy, but there you go.
Style. As we said, you can get a sleek little platform number to fit any motif, from Tribeca loft to Tahoe log cabin. Whatever your pick, it’ll add to the room’s flavor without overwhelming it, especially if you choose your ideal...
Size. Twin, full, queen, king, cal king, eastern king. That just about covers it, no?
Meet your match:
Metal or wood? Elegant or Country? Sleigh or Mission? Coffee or Cherry? Twin or Queen? Hmm. How about we just show you the ones that really caught our eye?
| | Save & Share |  5% off on $400!
Take 5% off any platform bed over $400. Enter coupon code PLTFRM at check out. Coupon valid through 10/5/2006 at | | |
| Penny For Your Thoughts? |  We sell a lot of stuff. Is there any particular line of products that's always mystified / fascinated you? (Go on, admit it. We're retail freaks. We're into this.)
Tell us why you're so curious -- give us a good enough story, and we'll give you the inside scoop. (Nobody wants pennies these days anyway.) Send your reply to readers@mercantila.com | | |
