A Closer Look at Platform Bed No. 1

Is there a secret to a great night sleep? We’ve found it helps to start with a great bed–one that is beautiful, strong, and quiet. Platform Bed No. 1 is a design we’ve continuously refined over a decade in pursuit of the perfect bed.

“I’ve looked everywhere before finding this bed!”

We hear this pretty often, and we’ll let you in on a little secret: If this were easy, everyone would be doing it. Let’s take a look at some of the details that make this bed what it is:

Platform Bed No. 1’s tangent tapered legs, sculpted headboard and continuous edges make this frame a piece of functional art for your home. It’s simply too much work and too much solid wood for major manufacturers to consider, which is why you haven’t seen it before. Each one still brings smiles though, which is something we can appreciate.

While many beds use thin boards for side rails, Platform bed No. 1 uses solid wood beams 2.75″ x 2.75″ in cross section. This is what gives the frame visual lightness and contributes to its incredible strength. We are occasionally asked how much weight the bed can support. While we’ve never tested one to failure, we believe it is safe to say it can support well over 600lbs.

Joinery is the secret to longevity in a high quality bed. The mortise and tenon is one of the oldest and strongest joints in woodworking. We use this joinery technique throughout this bed, but many of the joints are permanently glued (and therefore invisible).   Obviously, for a bed frame to be practical, not all joints can be permanently fixed. For the connection points between the side rails and headboard and footboard, we utilize high-quality bed bolts to lock the mortise and tenon joints.  The resulting connection is as strong as a glued one, while also allowing for easy assembly and disassembly when it’s time to move the bed. 

Throughout the year a piece of solid wood will shrink and swell with changes in humidity. This is an extra detail that must be respected while using solid wood panels rather than MDF or plywood. Platform Bed No. 1 uses a frame-and-panel design for the headboard. This allows the solid wood panel to expand and shrink as needed, while remaining flat and captured in the sculpted frame. It is also a nice visual detail and reminder that the bed frame is solid wood throughout.

“This bed is even more beautiful in person. It’s so solid and makes it feel like we have a new mattress.”

Andrea S.

Is your current bed supporting you in the best way possible? Mattresses often get all the attention, but the foundation underneath can determine how long your mattress will last and how comfortable it will be. Platform Bed No. 1 utilizes closely spaced hardwood slats. In all of our beds, slats are spaced 2in or closer. This aligns with most mattress makers’ recommendations for a balance of airflow and support. A solid wood center rail with center leg provides additional support for the foundation.

And for the ultimate quiet bed, we install a felt lining to the slat pockets on Platform Bed No. 1. This eliminates squeaking caused by wood-to-wood movement in some slatted beds, giving you an extra edge in the quest for a great night sleep.

One more reason to rest easy: We only use sustainable sources for lumber. Fun fact: Wooden furniture that gets kept continues to store carbon. (Carbon is released when wood rots, not when a tree is cut down and put to use.)

Eco-Friendly Finishes. On darker wood species we use Rubio Monocoat (a no VOC oil wax finish). On lighter colored species we use ML Campbell Aqualente waterborne lacquer.

We hope this tour has been helpful. Have questions? We’d love to answer them. Comment below or contact us in any of the usual ways and we’ll respond asap!

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