Box Spring

Where I'm from there are no box springs. There are just beds and mattresses.

About a year ago I bought a brand-new bed with a box spring, and while the bed frame is absolutely great, the whole box spring and mattress combination left me wondering if I would have been better off spending my money on a platform-style bed.

The mattress seemed to sag, and despite my frequent and sometimes middle-of-the-night-frantic efforts at flipping and turning the mattress did not alleviate this problem. I was sad, because I had spent more money on that mattress than on a month's rent (add the bed and box spring and you're up to three months' rent. ouch), yet I woke up every morning with aches and pains.

For several months I had seriously considered buying a new mattress, but put it off, because I knew I would be moving sometime over the summer. So last week I moved, and the box spring for my queen-sized bed did not fit up the staircase. Four people tried, someone removed a window, things were shoved and pushed, but the box spring was not going anywhere. I was a little bit excited, because now I had an excuse to buy a new bed, or at least get rid of my mattress.

I actually went and looked at full-sized beds, but they are just a little short, so I mulled and moped for a few days until I realized that my mattress (now on the living room floor) was actually extremely comfortable! I concluded that the problem was NOT the super-expensive pillow-top mattress, but the box spring! So, I thought to myself, maybe I could transform my box-spring wood-frame bed into a platform bed! After consulting several handy men and women I set out with a plan and measurements, and with the wood cutting department at the home improvement store that is not orange, I soon found myself in my bedroom with a pile of 2x6's and some plywood. After two hours, my mom and I had successfully converted my bed into a platform bed and I dare say it looks good!

Unfortunately there are no pictures of the process because my camera is on an extended vacation. I will post pictures of the end result.

Cost of the conversion: $80 in lumber and screws
The averted costs of new mattress and/or new bed: $1000+
Having the neighbors think that you're crazy with all the wood bashing and drilling at 10pm: priceless.