apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

beds are likely the only thing i wouldn't buy from ikea.

Does anyone have the hemnes canopy bed? I always see it painted in mags, and it looks great. Does anyone know how the materials are?

Also how deep is the box? We have a super thick pillowtop mattress...

I've seen the Grimmen bed in person. It is HEINOUS. it looks like it's made out of Oscar the Grouch.

I've actually been quite happy with my Noresund bed. I have the slats, but I decided to hang onto my boxspring and so I use both.

Oscar the Grouch is a perfect description of the Grimmen. It is frightening in real life. But after a thorough visit to IKEA last week I am just not impressed with ANY of their upholstered offerings. The fabric on the Grimmen helps detract from the upholstery workmanship.

About to order the Malm in white for my tween's room redo replacing a beautiful antique carved mahoghany bed. It is just about to kill me but she wants a modern look and I am hoping this is just a short-term phase.

Great ideas but I'm pretty sure you can't stain the Malm bed. I wanted to stain some of my Ikea furniture that is similar and read all kinds of horror stories online about staining them. Most people seem to have luck painting them instead.

I love this web site, but it is so annoying that the links are often wrong. For example, the Vanvik Bed link sends you to the Manger Headboard page. I don't know how the posting structure around here works, but I suggest someone double checks the links before publishing.

(Sorry, just a copy editor’s observation. I do appreciate the posts!)

I actually have the Malm, but the slats aren't in that great of shape anymore. The bed isn't also as sturdy as it used to be (no surprise, should have reconsidered buying a bed from Ikea). Any suggestions on how to make it sturdier??

I actually have the black wrought-iron Lillesand bed from Ikea. While the online photos make the headboard and footboard appear to have "Alice in Wonderland"-like proportions (being extremely tall and similar to the bars of a jail) with a mattress and boxspring it is perfect.

The Lillesand bed is the single most sturdy and well-made thing I have ever purchased from Ikea. It is a nice blend of vintage and modern and goes well with my antique dresser and contemporary, abstract art.

I would love to use the Manger headboard for a trellis or fencing.

Wow, and apparently this comment box doesn't like my apostrophes, haha.

But in reference to the post... I'm actually considering the Manger Headboard. I don't have an Ikea bed, but I do have a plain frame with no headboard currently, so it might work.

I have the Malm bed and after about 3 years it's still in good shape. I actually like the simplicity of it and have no need change it. I don't mind Ikea hacks but I also don't like the Ikea snobbery that some ppl have, just because it is cheap and a lot of ppl have it, doesn't mean it doesn't look good.

I was in Ikea this weekend and saw the hideous Grimmen bed. It looks like someone has planted grass seeds all over it!
I have the Malm bed, and the drawers, wardrobe and bedside tables to match, and I don't care that its Ikea, it suits the room its in, it was quite cheap and it looks good.
I just wish Ikeas bed sizes weren't so irregular, and I'm surprised no one has made pillows to fill in the space between the Ikea bed and a normal (uk sized) mattress!

Had a Malm bed for a while and HATED it. How the heck to you make the bed. You have to lift the whole damn mattress up to get the sheet on. It's infuriating!

A couple tricks to keep IKEA beds (and most of their other furniture) in good shape...from a former employee...

Tighten the screws/bolts a couple times a year. It helps to keep eveything square.

Check the slats periodically and realign as necessary. They tend to move very easily especially if there is a lot of..um..motion on the mattress. If its in the buget, go for the higher end slats rather than the standard ones that come with the beds. Since everything is sold separately, just ask the clerk for an upgrade.

Remember, IKEA beds do not require box springs. If you have a box spring and/or a pillow top mattress, your bed will look different than in the showroom. That being said, this is slowly changing especially in the US and some beds have two settings on the side panels for the support pieces for the slats...just ask. It is good to know the height of your whole set up so you can get an idea of how much of the headboard will show. Also, even if you are using a box spring, you should still get the slats.

Hope that helps some of you.

It amazes me that folks say that the MALM bed isnt' sturdy - I had one in my guestroom for years and never had any trouble with it - even after extensive "extracurricular activity"...

Perhaps folks just arent' putting it together correctly?

(And yes you can stain the veneered MALM beds, with gel stains)

My Ikea Vinstra bed (without the headboard) matches with all my Kartell Componibili like a perfect set.

You can stain Ikea furniture?! This is great news. Just bought the Malm with the Oak veneer but it's not exactly right. Anyone have any tips? Do I sand a bit first or just go for it?

A guest bed still isn't going to get the same sort of nightly use a normal bed would have. Even if you have guests over half of the year, that's still prolonging the bed's life by twice as much.

Seconding the suggestion that your Ikea furniture will be happier with regular upkeep. I have three Malm dressers in the bedroom, and I make sure to grab a screw driver and check on the screws every few months. You'd be amazed how much constant use can loosen them up.

Mookiejane...
See the recent 'good question' post about staining a west elm vaneered desk. You can only stain the IKEA furniture with real wood vaneer, not the plastic fake stuff. Malm has the real stuff.

My husband and I love our Hopen Ikea bed. No problems whatsoever and still looks new several years later.

I have the Noresund frame (in a full) that I use with a normal box spring/mattress pair that I already had. I love love love this bed for the money!!! It doesn't look too IKEA-ish yet it checked in at around $150. For not having a lot of money to spend on furnishings, I'm exceptionally happy with this sturdy frame.

I bought the Malm bed frame when we moved to Virginia and I've had more problems with it then any thing I've ever bought at IKEA.
The metal beam that the slates sit on bent about three days into sleeping on it (I think one of us sat on the bed to put our shoes on and it just gave in). As soon as I was near another IKEA I bought a replacement beam and it hasn’t failed. But, I did make a small wooden box for it to rest in just in case.
The two brackets that hold the metal beam together came with screws that were too small. After finding screws that were long enough to work I found out my sister had bought the Malm too and had the same problem.
The veneer started to peel about two months after using it. My sister hasn’t had problems with the veneer; she lives in Philadelphia, so I’m pretty sure it can be attributed to the humidity/moisture issue that has taken over my life while living in Virginia.

I'm not entirely sure about the Hemnes - but I have a similar, older Ikea four-poster bed that's 10 years old. It's withstood 3 moves (where it was taken apart and put back together), daily wear and tear and it's still sturdy. The only problem with it is that my cats have ruined one of the posts with their claws.

I love my malm. It has nice clean lines and my dog can get on it unlike my previous bed. I do use a boxspring, just used the lower settings on the bed when I put it together and it still is a platform bed but easier to make :)

I love my Hopen bed too! I had to settle for a Ramberg a few beds ago as my tiny room in NYC had no room for the Hopen. Since then, I have had a Hopen in NYC and one here in LA. There is just something about the headboard I really like (and the price as well.)

Trish M , COULD U POST A PIC OF YOUR MALM BED WITH BOXSPRING. I fell in love with one today and i also have a boxspring and I would like to see how it looks with one

The Manger actually looks nicer in person than in the picture on IKEA's website. I saw it for the first time this weekend past and I'm giving it some serious consideration. It's a little shiny though so I think I may spray it over with matte black paint to make it look more like unpainted cast iron.