The Benefits of Simplicity - The Japanese Platform Bed

BENEFIT # 1: Traditional Value & Contemporary Convenience

The platform-bed is not a new invention; it’s more of an ‘evolutionary concept’, since the first platform-bed started out as a loft-bed. Like many things in life, this natural development is ironic, because, initially, platform-beds were raised up on poles, allowing people to use the space underneath the bed to do whatever they needed. However, with the passage of time, trends evolved and bed-frames became in height until they eventually got to the point where they were almost at ground level, giving birth to the modern platform bed.

Over time, a few incarnations have presented themselves like:

A) Accented Platform-beds are constructed from solid wood and are delicately designed with accents to create a classical impression. Imagery and motifs are often used to decorate accented beds. Many of these bed-frames are coated with traditional colors, such as cherry or oak.

B) Contemporary platform-beds take on similar traits of both accented and modern beds, giving you the best of both worlds. They commonly use clean lines, such as those found in modern platform-beds, often with small accents for additional charm. Contemporary styles utilize a large range of finishes, from white to black to brown and beyond.

C) Canopy platform-beds have four high posts in each corner that you can cover with drapes to add more privacy to your life. Not only are canopy platform-beds unusual, but they may be the most ironic beds of all, since the mattress is so close to the ground and the drapes are so far above.

D) Platform storage-beds offer the ultimate option when it comes to spatial efficiency. Not only are they vertically inconspicuous but they’re also horizontally deceptive. Storage-beds have the added benefit of drawers that can be used to store bed-clothes and other personal items.

BENEFIT # 2: Living without a Headboard & a Footboard or Box-spring

One of the things that makes platform-beds different from other bed-frames is the lack of a box-spring. Headboards and footboards are also sparingly used in the formation of platform-beds. These factors may seem like something is missing, but all it really means is that ‘less is more’.

One could say that the box-spring was invented capriciously, simply to make money, or to allow children an indoor trampoline to jump on. The only real advantage to having a box-spring is to raise the height of a mattress, so that it’s easier to get in and out of bed, but this is a practicality that can be easily replaced by having a platform bed-frame with longer legs. And when the day comes to put your platform bed-frame to sleep, you can recycle the wood and you won’t have to worry about who’s going to dump your box-spring in the local, overflowing landfill.

BENEFIT # 3: The Freedom of Extra Space

When most people think of extra domestic space, they think horizontally, from left to right, and side to side. However, space as a whole has other dimensions, such as height and depth and all the ups and downs of life. Traditionally, Japanese beds are close to the ground and very flat, often with Tatami mates underneath, instead of box-springs, for additional orthopedic support. Modern and elegant platform-beds have similar traits, providing more vertical space in your bedroom.

BENEFIT #4: Beauty Wedded to Simplicity

From a cultural point of view, the Japanese people have always valued simplicity, and for them space in any room is just as important as the design of that room and its contents. Homes and rooms designed with a Japanese style have an uncluttered appearance and are always decorated sparingly, and these same principles apply to Japanese beds and other bedroom furniture. The qualities that allow Japanese platform-beds to stand out is that they’re made of solid wood with exceptional designs and aesthetic contours. The moral of the story is whether a simple, attractive bed-frame is enough, and the choice is yours.