apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

okay, I have this bed...it took 3 MONTHS to get it from DWR, they kept telling me it would be shipped soon.

When I got it, it was missing some key elements, like the screws -- not wanting to deal with any more bs i just went to Home Depot.

Finally, it's anondized aluminum...basically its been painted over in this dull greyish color. In the catalogs it looks like it has the same luster as an Apple Powerbook.

Other than the color, the design of the bed is nice and simple. Much better than the steel frame bed from West Elm (no sharp ouch corners) and since its made out of aluminum instead of steel, it was easier to carry up the 5 flights of stairs

I have what looks like virtually the same bed in wood,

foamorder.com/bed_frames.php?product_id=766

Scroll down to the Atlantis Bed. There are also the Sunset Platform Beds which I like as well.

I'm sorry sara a. but your atlantis maple wood bed looks nothing like the sexy alu bed. i don't recommend ordering the alu bed before seeing it at the soho dwr though. one thing i really want to know is whether it works as well with a spring mattress, rather than the sonno mattress that they keep pushing you to buy. any comments?

I have this bed too. As Ben said, it is really nicely designed, when you ignore the weird non-color of the thing. Stream-lined and light, it also has a rubber piece between the wood slats and the aluminium. Which translates into no squeeky bed noises, in fact, no noises at all.

My husband and I have been eyeing this bed for a while. I am concerned the mattress won't be as cushy and supportive and comfy as out current traditional queen mattress with pillow top on top of box spring. Has anyone made the switch?

I've also thought quite a bit about purchasing this bed. My bedroom is pretty small, and this is a clean design that wouldn't take up more room than is needed.

But I also worry about the fit that a standard queen mattress would have. It's seems like wouldn't fit into the corners as well as the sonno, and thus look pretty silly.

Strange tho, for Design Within Reach to have something actually Within Reach.

let me say this one more time...the bed is not a shinny industrial silver color but is more like a dull gray.

it will also cost you $130 to have it shipped.

I kind of wanted this bed, but my wife thinks metal beds are really bad Feng Shui.

Woah littoo, ease up. It was just a thought, I'm not waging war against your bed.

Even though I do think it's ugly. How is painted alluminum sexy? I guess if you like sleeping in your car. I was just posting a wood alternative for a reasonable price. I love my bed. For something simple, beds like Alu shouldn't be that expensive. What craftsmanship is involved?

My bed and mattress came in about 2 weeks. It is a standard slat frame, so it should work fine with either a spring mattress alone or mattress + boxspring (or even a futon, i guess). From the catalog I thought it was brushed aluminum, but as noted above it is a powder coated finish. I like that just fine as my nightstand has a similar finish. If was brushed metal it would probably be significantly more expensive.

The details are what sets this bed apart from the basic platforms I've seen elsewhere. The design is better looking. The legs are rounded and don't stick out which reduces stubbed toes. The workmanship is good. It has a middle rail and extra foot so the slats don't sag or break. The slats are anchored in a rubber casing to prevent sqeaking and sliding.

That being said, the Atlantis looks like a great choice for a cheaper option in wood.

My only complaint with my bed is that DWR does charge a lot for shipping. I got the white glove delivery for both mattress and frame because I live in a fourth-floor walkup, and it was about $250 (although they do put everything together for you).

I guess they put everything together for you if they have remembered to pack all of the screws in the box.

sara a--
You originally said "I have what looks like virtually the same bed in wood" and litoo just (correctly) disagreed ('cuz it DON'T). And did so fairly diplomatically. Without using the word "ugly." Jeez.

and your bed ain't cheap either, btw

I just ordered this bed too. Looks cool and felt very comfy with the sonno prima mattress.

Just purchased the alu full bed from DWR. It was delivered in about a week. Parts didn't fit perfectly so I had to force some of the screws in. After about an hour, it was ready for the mattress. The frame did not fit snuggly around the mattress, so there were gaps between the mattress and the frame.

The frame is sturdy and appear strong.

To begin with, it's not anodized, it's powder coated with epoxy. Don't expect a shiny finish, if you look at the detail pictures on the DWR site, you'll see what the color really looks like. It makes a nice, non-intrusive, neutral color that can be used in a lot of different scenarios. Unless you get the Sonno mattress that DWR sells as well, you may not get a 100% perfect snug fit with your mattress, but it is made to accomodate a lot of different brands of mattresses, as each brand of mattress varies slightly in dimension. It's a product made in italy, developed by an italian designer.. so expect to pay a little more. if you want something cheap and crappy go to IKEA, but don't expect to get the quality that DWR is dedicated to providing. If you have any issues with the product, you can always contact the company and express your concern. Don't expect problems to magically repair themselves, and if you don't do the proper research on the product, then you should look where u point your finger.

Don't know if this post is still, but I cannot find any others about he Alu bed. I just bought a Alu King size bed and I love it. I bought the frame and the headboard. Both were on sale (last month). I bought the red wool headboard because it was so cheap. Much as I like the design of both, bright red was not my first choice. Does anyone know if it is possible to buy slipcover for the headboards seperately from the headboard itself? I emailed DWR about it but have not heard back. My other option is to dye it.
Thanks.

I got a queen Alu 2 weeks ago and have been very happy with it. It's solid, silent and I haven't cracked my shin on it once. One thing to note about under-bed storage is that there's a lip that extends slightly down from the rail about an inch so you need pretty flat items to go under there. My old under-bed boxes didn't fit. I ended up with a very thick mattress and it doesn't dwarf the bed like I was afraid it would. Living without a headboard is pretty easy too.

Assembly was easy although getting the slats into the rubber runner things would have been a lot more pleasant with a buddy. Overall I'm very happy with it, my one caveat is DWR's delivery, if you're going to charge almost a hundred bucks for delivery it shouldn't take 2 weeks to arrive on the west coast. Expensive or slow, pick one.

RR, the upholstered headboard is supposed to come in
woven wool (red or cocoa) or removable cotton canvas
slipcovers (orange or grey), according to January 2007 catalog. So, you could have gotten the canvas one or maybe asked DWR if the slipcovers were for sale separately.

I just visited my local DWR showroom (Cleveland),
after noticing the Alu "Upholstered" Bed in their catalog (yay!).
Guess what? The showroom manager says it's called the MIN Bed (Alu was the former name, I guess) and he has never heard of any headboard coming with the Alu Bed...He searched the DWR website and old catalogs but could NOT find anything! He thinks such thing does not exist...!

Do you think they discontinued it after a couple of months?
Or is it just out of stock and not showing inventory???
I, too, am so curious about this bed...

hello all. i realize this is a old thread, but has anyone been successful getting a headboard for the alu/min bed? i have one (queen, purchased in 2006 from dwr, with a cocoa headboard), and i just bought another frame (king) and really want a headboard for it. nothing appears to be on the dwr website. any leads? thanks!

Call one of the stores directly. They may be able to find a headboard for you, even if it's not on the website. I just did, and with a little effort they were able to locate one for me. It's plexiglass now, not upholstered. Making a slipcover would probably be very easy though.