Ikea Malm Bed - Questions/Comments

[DrinkMore]

Hey everyone! I have a couple of questions for anyone that has or had the Ikea Malm bed. The site says the foot board is only 12" high and the headboard is only 30" high. Is that right? How high is the surface of the actual bed off the ground?

I am trying to get an idea and it's hard to do. I mean, I have an idea but what's throwing me is how low this thing is to the ground. Is it comfortable? We are trying to put together a guest room and we want it modern with clean lines and the only thing that we have found that is decent for the price is the Ikea stuff. There is other stuff out there but were not paying $500-1500 for a guest bed frame.

Personally, my bed is 3 feet off the ground. That's what I am used to. The other beds in the house are around 2.5 to 3 feet of the ground.

Please tell me what you all think? The frame has nice clean lines, simple and from what I read - durable as hell. Especially since it's the most popular model they sell. I just want to make sure it will be ok for guests of all ages you know?

So please share!

Thanks

[brettallica]

I have this bed in my master bedroom. The way we have it set up (and I believe the way it is supposed to be set up) is you simply put the boxspring on the floor, and your mattress on top of that; the frame part of the bed encircles or borders the boxspring. The top of my mattress is around 20" or so (eyeballed).

[DrinkMore]

Originally Posted by brettallica

I have this bed in my master bedroom. The way we have it set up (and I believe the way it is supposed to be set up) is you simply put the boxspring on the floor, and your mattress on top of that; the frame part of the bed encircles or borders the boxspring. The top of my mattress is around 20" or so (eyeballed).

Supposedly there is a platform for the mattress to sit on top of. Never heard it done this way? Then again, the info seems to vary greatly. Do you have any pics if you can share? I am really trying to judge the height. Is it comfortable for you to get in and out of? Just seems low to me.

They said the headboard height is 30". Which isn't that bad.

Anyways - thanks!

[brettallica]

Originally Posted by DrinkMore

Supposedly there is a platform for the mattress to sit on top of. Never heard it done this way? Then again, the info seems to vary greatly. Do you have any pics if you can share? I am really trying to judge the height. Is it comfortable for you to get in and out of? Just seems low to me.

They said the headboard height is 30". Which isn't that bad.

Anyways - thanks!

It's possible that it may have originally come with a platform, but if it did, we would've tossed it out because our mattress set was newish at the time and it's kind of expensive. It was a gift to my wife, who's pretty picky about mattresses, and this is really the only mattress we've ever owned that she's liked so we weren't about to part with the boxspring — regardless of whether this Malm bed frame comes with a platform for the mattress. She wouldn't go for separating the set if she had a gun to her head!

OK, so here are a couple pics. I've just uploaded them to my server and embedded them as links:

#1
#2
#3
#4

The fourth picture gives you an idea of the height of the headboard relative to the other pieces in the Malm line — you can see the chest with two drawers (22" tall), as well as the table thingy that goes behind the bed. I don't think it's the same thing they're calling the "dressing table" that's online now, and I don't remember what it's called. If I find it, I'll send you the link. The gift on the chest with two drawers is for me, as I am 31 today.

I just redid my master bedroom with HDTV and am awaiting a Blu-ray player I bought online. After the Blu-ray player comes, I'll be posting pics of the entire master bedroom in my gallery. We really tricked out our bedroom, so to have an HDTV in there — finally — is a big relief. Now it feels and looks like a really nice bedroom (even though the furniture is all inexpensive Ikea stuff). That CRT was such an eyesore.

[brettallica]

^ Ah... it's the "occasional table" as seen here but in a different finish.

[DrinkMore]

Thanks for the pics and info. It does not look as bad as I thought. I have also been doing a ton of research on how these look and what not. There is a flickr group dedicated to ikea beds believe it or not.

We are going to go up on Tuesday if all goes well. Planning on getting the Malm in Queen black/brown finish. Also going to get the hidden storage behind the head board setup too. At least, that is the plan. When we get there we might see another option. They seem to have great prices.

Ikea stuff is inexpensive but it really gives you that modern/minimalist look without having to pay thousands of dollars which I think is absurd. I have looked into those beds and guess where they are made? China. $3000 dollars for a China made bed that's not even real wood. No thanks.

I am really digging the look of the bed. Clean and simple. Especially for a guest room.

[toef]

Not to throw any confusion in, but my old roommate loved Ikea, and I'm pretty sure had the Malm bed thing in her room. The bed was definitely off the ground, with maybe a few inches (5-7") of clearance underneath. No box spring, just the mattress placed in the frame.

I liked how it looked... she had the birch colored one.

[brettallica]

Originally Posted by toefer

Not to throw any confusion in, but my old roommate loved Ikea, and I'm pretty sure had the Malm bed thing in her room. The bed was definitely off the ground, with maybe a few inches (5-7") of clearance underneath. No box spring, just the mattress placed in the frame.

I liked how it looked... she had the birch colored one.

Yeah, see I could see that. It is vaguely familiar in the depths and annals of my mind that we simply discarded the mattress support brackets that came with the bed. It's been about four years now, though, so the memory is hazy. Our box spring is pretty thick/tall, so it made sense for us to just keep our mattress set intact.

[Stephie_is_a_dork]

lol @ brett! there are "bed slats" sold separately (starting around $40 or so for queen sized) that you put inside the bed frame INSTEAD of the box spring.

to answer the original question, our pillowtop mattress is 19" high with the bed slats. that number may vary according to mattress thickness, but it's still a comfortable sitting height. it's not the kinda bed that requires a flying leap to get into, that's for sure!
we have the kind with rolling pull-out shelves behind the headboard too, which are awesome, but ours are always out anyway. the only thing I don't like about it is that the frame protrudes 3" on the sides and 2" at the foot, so we both had majorly bruised shins the first month. you may want provide your guests with a nightlight...or an ice pack. beats a guestroom with a futon though!

[brettallica]

Thanks for clearing this up. It's been eating at me all evening! I knew I wasn't crazy.

I can vouch for the shinburgers. I still get them on occasion; you never really get used to those corners!

[DrinkMore]

We just got back from Ikea! Man that is a freaking sweet store. TONS of goodies in there and all for excellent prices. It was my first time in there so it was all new to me. The whole go get your own boxes of furniture and stuff. Really neat how its all laid out.

We picked up the Malm bed in black/brown along with the sliding storage that goes behind the headboard. Also picked up the 3 drawer dresser with the glass top. Got 3 big pillows and covers, 3 small pillows and covers, 4 lamps, some bulbs and a few other things.

Spent $740 bux. We did an entire room for that much. Freaking AWESOME!

I will say the black/brown is more black than anything. They had several Malm beds on the floor that color and all were black to me. The dressers and such were actually black/brown. You could see a difference in the color.

We checked out the Hopen bed and really liked it. However after having several people test it - sitting on the side of the bed - we decided against it. The side of the bed really bowed bad. Didn't trust it. The Malm was much more durable.

It was a great trip. So much goodness for not a lot of money. The stuff is sturdy and great looking too.

Thanks all for the info!

[pacificvibes]

IKEA is the best. All my furniture is IKEA

[brettallica]

Good to hear that you had such a great experience with Ikea. We did our bedroom for probably right around the same price (four years ago). We have a lot of Ikea furniture in the rest of our house as well, but our bedroom really features the stuff.

Don't get too attached to the idea that Ikea is extra-durable or anything, though. I'd say it's durable relative to what you'd see at Target and a step or two up design- and functionality-wise, but its durability probably won't blow you away or anything. I've had to make some repairs over the years. Nothing major, but worthy of note.

[DrinkMore]

Yeah, I know it's not a $1000 dollar bed by any means, but it will be just fine for a guest room. Were talking very little if any use. If people use these sets as their main bedroom and it holds up just fine - were good

[DrinkMore]

I need to take some pics and postem here. Forgot about that.

[DrinkMore]

Here are the pics in case anyone is interested..











The bed is a queen. The chair is a vintage La-Z-Boy we got on ebay. The chair is in pristine condition. It's from the 70's and it looks and works like it's brand spanking new. We love the color.

I am still hoping to find a teal/brown type of comforter for the bed. The gray is nice, but I want something "plushier" and a bit more vibrant. Also still working on what to hang for pictures. Less is more, but something really cool is needed. I have plans on getting some small 2x3 sisal rugs for each side of the bed.

I think it looks great.

[brettallica]

Looks great. Did you see from the pics I posted a while back that we have the same rectangular lights? We don't have those globe lights, though. Those are a neat look. The room overall looks really good based on the pics you put up.

[DrinkMore]

Thanks. I don't remember seeing those lights in your pics. I might have missed them? They are nice, simple and cool. They don't feel or look cheap like other lights I have seen. All of it is glass except for the sockets of course. It's just how nicely the things all go together.

The globe lights are really cool. The "glow" and it's just really nice.