apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I may be having a weird episode of déjà vu but I swore this was just discussed someone on apartment therapy recently.

I'd be really curious to hear West Elm itself weigh in here on problems before and now, in an honest way (I know. I see unicorns too. But a girl can dream.) Are you listening Elmers?

Found it. Right here.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/good-questions/good-questions-are-west-elm-beds-still-breaking-024842

Not about Platform Beds per se but I think at least one person who has one weighed in. Personally, I would rather have information from a customer and a store representative.

Meant to say *than a store representative

man, i totally remember reading this before as well. google doesn't help, unfortunately...

I've noticed in their catalog that some items are described as "wood construction" and some as "hardwood construction". What does this mean? Is there a difference?

We use a bed from West Elm, purchased seven months ago. It may not provide enough support for a World Cup team dancing into advancement into the final match, BUT it's plenty sturdy and looks great. (Hmm, that could also describe my boyfriend.)

I got the plain& simple low bed frame few years ago (West Elm was still a new thing) and the metal frame supporting the mattrress just dipped in the middle. Fortunately West Elm replaced it and it was all good.
I would say that my experience was (just) ok.
A little above Ikea level (and a little more expensive) but not much more.

Has anyone purchased just a headboard (say, one of the wooden ones with cutouts, like the Moroccan or Octagons) and screwed it to a standard metal bed frame? If so, have you been happy with quality, looks, etc.?

I have the low profile bed and cutout headboard, and they look super cool but I have to re-tighten all the screws pretty frequently because the bed loosens up quite a bit. Also, the finish isn't too hardy - a couple of cat scratches (don't ask) that would be hardly visible on real wood are vivid and light-colored on the dark frame (chocolate finish, now discontinued).

However, my taste runs to Room and Board but my wallet doesn't, so I don't really mind putting in some maintenance to save a bunch of money. It does look like I've graduated from Ikea, which is also satisfying.

I wasn't really thinking about getting the party line from West Elm itself, but if the someone there could say, like, "yes, they were crap, but we switched factories and redesigned them so they click together better and changed the veneer, blah," it'd be maybe helpful. because while customer reviews are obv most helpful i'm curious to know if they've actually done anything to change the sitch.

I couldn't find anything low enough. Even the most spare Asian-inspired pieces were too high or had too wide of a lip around the mattress. (Real shin-dingers.)

Then I realized I could just use the most basic futon frame -- no headboard, no rail, just a simple, inexpensive frame -- and put my mattress right on that, with no bedspring. 6 1/4" clearance from the floor.

My 8' ceilings have gained at least a foot of perceived height.

I can't tell you how many people have seen this setup and asked me where I managed to find such a low platform bed!

By the way: I can afford Room & Board but I've not found anything there that is as simple and direct as this. It expanded my options tremendously.

Janbrady,

I purchased the white wing backed headboard and did screw it into a standard bed frame that I had. The head board had a lot more holes and screws than I could use to attach to the standard bed frame (I guess the West Elm bed frame has more places to connect for better security). So far it looks and feels great. The headboard has remained in place. Keep in mind you can't use a box spring just a mattress, so you have to have a platform (like a plywood board) on your standard bed frame.

yeah, i knew this had been asked before. they left out part of my question: where can i get something LIKE this for a price LIKE this? ya know, w/o worrying about it breaking.

I actually asked AT a Good Question re. the West Elm Tall Wood Bed vs Room and Board's Parsons bed a couple of weeks ago. I ended up getting the Parsons bed thanks to a couple of ATers who advised me against West Elm wood beds, and a couple more advising me for the Parsons, I went to check out the Parsons bed over lunch and ordered it.

I've had it for a few weeks now, and I absolutely love it. It does not squeak or move - no screwed in joints that could loosen. A friend who had an early incarnation of the Low Bed (during the infamous metal bar years) said his broke in 6 mths. I'm sure they've worked on improving it by now, but I'd be cautious about the construction nonetheless. I paid a couple of hundred more for the Parsons, but I feel it's well worth it. That bed is not going anywhere.

Thanks bonline--I didn't realize I couldn't use a boxspring with the headboards. Will have to buy a plywood board, because a platform has extra size I don't have room for (as ddg425 mentioned--dinged shins).

Speaking of ddg425--if my standard bedframe doesn't work, I'll try the futon frame suggestion. Thanks. And I too could afford a a Room and Board headboard, but West Elm's wooden headboards are far less deep than those of any other store I've seen (including R B), and I need every inch of space around my bed I can get!

Yep, space around the bed is important. Sometimes I like to stand.

>>yeah, i knew this had been asked before. they left out part of my question: where can i get something LIKE this for a price LIKE this? ya know, w/o worrying about it breaking.

That would probably have explained alot.

Janbrady, if you use a plywood board with a metal bed frame, remember to support the middle of the board somehow or your mattress will definitely sag, and the board may break. Plywood generally comes in 4'x8' sheets. Anything bigger than a twin would call for two sheets of ply, so you'll have a seam to support as well.

I have a West Elm basic platform that I bought a couple of years ago and, like Frau, had a problem with the original metal support. They replaced it for free with a much sturdier one and I have had no problems since.

I have a west elm frame, and no problems whatsoever. Granted it's hard to go wrong because the entire thing rests on the ground, so there's not much of a "support" issue like other people have had. IOW, there is nothing under the platform because it rests on the ground.

My only thing is that the wood is fairly soft, so it dings pretty easily. This is what you get when you by cheap beds though. I got mine through West Elm on clearance.

I *really* wish we could get past the West Elm bad-bed days.

Kurt--
Tell me more!

We have a West Elm platform bed and it is plenty sturdy. It is definitely true that the headboard wiggles a bit now, and we'd probably be smart to pull the bed away from the wall and tighten all of those bolts down again. It's been a year I'd say. We haven't done it and nothing's happened yet.

I think eventual loosening of bolts is a symptom of most headboards bolted to standard bedframes... it's just an odd and awkward distribution of weight.

When a headboard is a designed part of an actual bed, that's another story.

My dream bed is still the architectural four-posters from Room & Board... the blackened steel for the (fantasy) country house, the stainless for the (fantasy) Florida condo.

the quality of my West Elm cabinet makes Ikea look rock solid. It sucks. Buy with caution. On the other hand, I have a Malm platform bed from Ikea that actually is quite solid (skip the optional attachable side tables). And I think it looks good.

I'll second your positive feelings about the Malm. It's low, simple and clean, and it's been shockingly sturdy. In the brown-black it looks a lot more expensive than it is. I've surrounded it with other higher quality and stylish modern pieces and it really elevates it, I call it strategic use of IKEA.

My boyfriend has the west elm bed pictured above (but in the espresso color) and we've had no problems with it. Still seems pretty sturdy and no wiggling. It did scratch when we were putting it together, but I haven't really noticed it lately so it must not have been that bad.

I am an ex-sales associate of West Elm and can tell you that all their furniture is made in China for West Elm. Solid wood is only used on chairs, dressers and table legs. Just a piece of advice, AVOID all the "assembly" required pieces they are made of poor grade particle board and the veneers are very thin and brittle and nick/scratch/chip very easily. We had tons of returns & complaints of this type of furniture cracking, wobbling and coming apart weeks after purchase. We also received complaints of poor fitting pieces and missing hardware or pieces that literally crumbled while being built (the low grade particle board). The tables are made of a particle board frame covered with a thin veneer thus the "hollow" sound they make and yes they are made like cheap doors. The "simple assembly" pieces usually require adding legs to a chair, sofa or dresser and are made of higher quality but are more expensive. West Elm has quality problems, inventory problems and shipping problems. They have a lousy inventory control system, constant errors on what pieces are in stock and which are not - pieces were usually oversold becuase someone entered the information wrong into the system or are on backordered for weeks and months! Try selling under these conditions! Shipping problems is that they have outrageous shipping costs and surcharges but apparently corporate is working on reducing prices. All the sales associates knew how poor the quality was but we had to sell to meet our quotas and the store's quotas. On the other hand, our store (will not name where) had top notch customer service.