Can You Put A Mattress on the Floor?

You can potentially put a mattress on the floor without problems, but there are a few important considerations to be aware of: proper support, adequate ventilation, aesthetics, and the height you want your bed at.

Proper Support

All mattresses need to be placed on a proper support — this isn't built into the mattress itself. Proper support can come from springs in a box spring, slats in a foundation, a rigid solid platform, or slats in a platform bed. The common denominator is that you need something flat and rigid to support your mattress. The good news is that the floor is obviously supportive enough, as it is typically flat and rigid.

Ventilation

Ventilation is very important to prevent mold or mildew growth, especially in humid environments. Even in arid environments, mold or mildew can easily form under a mattress placed directly on the floor — perspiration from the sleeper moves into the mattress and, without air flow, creates an ideal environment for mold and mildew. A box spring, foundation, or platform bed allows proper airflow under the mattress and prevents this from occurring.

However, there are products available that allow you to forgo a bed frame while still maintaining proper ventilation. The two most popular options are coconut coir bed rugs and traditional Japanese tatami mats. Coconut coir bed rugs are woven coconut fiber mats dipped in natural or organic rubber sap — usually only about 1" thick — with a very loose structure that allows air to flow freely through it. Tatami mats are traditional woven grass mats, usually about 2" thick, also with a loose structure that allows abundant air flow. With either of these options placed under your mattress on the floor, ventilation is no longer a concern.

Aesthetics

How do you want the room to look? If you want the mattress low to the ground for a small child but still like the idea of a bed frame for aesthetic reasons, there are bed frames that can be customized to be very low to the ground. For example, most of our natural wood bed frames can be purchased with customized shortened legs. This would be a custom alteration but most of our manufacturers can accommodate it — please contact us to order.

Height

What height do you want your mattress? For example, if you have a 12" mattress placed directly on the floor, your mattress height will be 12". If you want it higher for ease of getting in and out of bed, you can place your mattress on top of a foundation or box spring that sits directly on the floor. A foundation or box spring provides both proper support and ventilation, and typically comes in heights ranging from 2" to 12".

We also offer bed frames that, similar to a foundation or box spring, do not extend past the footprint of the mattress. The Organic Upholstered Platform Bed can be used with or without legs. Some foundations also come with removable legs, giving you the flexibility to use them at floor level if you prefer the aesthetic of no visible bed frame while keeping your mattress at a greater height.

As long as your mattress has proper ventilation, you can place it on the floor with no concerns beyond your personal preferences for room aesthetics and mattress height.