Best Upholstered Bed Frames

After moving into our new house, Mike and I wanted to decorate our master bedroom and the guest room to make it our home. We had always loved the look of upholstered headboards, bed panels, and frames. We did extensive research online and even looked at a few showrooms in-person. We bought the Declare Upholstered Panel Bed for our master bedroom first. We loved the experience we had with our first purchase like this online, so we ended up buying the Alrai Upholstered Panel Bed for our guest room. If you are looking for something similar for your bedrooms, we hope that our buying guide below will help save you time and answer many of the same questions we had in our search. I’ve included a few images of the upholstered bed panels and headboards we purchased along with links to where you can buy them.

The most common question we get asked is ‘Does the frame fit a standard box spring and mattress?’ The answer is yes. A standard box spring and mattress fit both frames. We also get asked if there’s a gap between our mattress and the bottom of the headboard. This only happens if you don’t have a standard mattress and box spring. We actually have an oversized mattress on the Alrai bed frame in the guest room. Since it’s oversized, we use a low profile box spring. As you can see in the photos, there’s a slight gap between the mattress and headboard. Again, this will not happen if you get a standard mattress and box spring. 

Pricing – Upholstered bed panels (usually 3 items – headboard, side rails, bed frame) range from $350 up to $900+. We settled on the mid range products that were around $500 to $600. You still get good value on a quality product.

Assembly – From unboxing to putting together you are looking at an hour minimum – in some cases closer to 2 hours. We found that having 2 people to help really sped up the process on the Alrai upholstered panel bed. You have to lift the box spring and mattress into the upholstered panel section and you want to make sure you don’t rip or tear anything. Some box springs have sharper edges so be careful. Also, it’s nice to have a second pair of hands when attaching the headboard into the bed frame. The holes don’t always line up so easy if you are trying to do it by yourself. Overall, it’s not difficult, just a little time consuming.

Final Thoughts

Declare Upholstered Panel Bed – We’re extremely happy with this bed. We have the regular gray color (as opposed to the dark gray) in a queen size. It’s sturdy, well made, and looks exactly like it does in the photos on the website. We have a regular queen box spring and regular queen mattress and as you can see in the photos, there’s no gap between the mattress and the headboard. We get so many compliments on this bed. For the price, it can’t be beat!

Click HERE to shop the Declare Upholstered Panel Bed

Alrai Upholstered Panel Bed – This bed frame is stunning! We have the Zuma Pumice color, which is a gray chambray color in the full size. The bed frame is well made, sturdy, and comfortable. It’s a little better made than the Declare, but that’s reflected in the slightly higher price point. Although it was more than we wanted to spend on a bed frame for the guest room, it was absolutely worth it!

Click HERE to shop the Alrai Upholstered Panel Bed

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