The Very Best Metal Bed Frames

Style: Platform | Material: Coated steel | Price: $$

This understated, minimal steel bed frame comes from Keetsa, which is primarily a mattress company. We heard about it from Colony design-group founder Jean Lin, who hails it as her “price-conscious favorite.” The frame includes only the basics — four legs, and a raised platform — but has openings for you to attach a headboard of your choice, if you prefer. Some warmth is added thanks to its hand-brushed gold finish, which Lin says that the “dresses up earthen neutrals and tones down brighter palettes.” Suitable for a variety of aesthetics thanks to its simplicity, Lin points out that its affordability leaves room for a “splurge elsewhere in the room.” You won’t have to fork out for a box spring, either: The frame works just fine without one.

Style: Headboard and footboard, platform | Material: Recycled steel | Price: $$$

If you like the minimalist lines and low profile of the Keetsa frame above but want a little bit more in terms of color and heft, check out Room & Board’s Parsons Bed. It comes in an impressive shade range — 18 rich hues — and has a medium-height headboard and a low, mattress-skimming footboard, giving you more structure and presence without being overpowering. The frame is a favorite of designer Anki Spets, founder of AREA Home, who says that the frame, hand-welded from recycled steel, is “quite sturdy and will last for a long time.” She credits the frame’s raised platform for its overall “airy look”, and as far as picking a color goes, she encourages something bold: “How about orange or onyx gloss?”

Style: Canopy, platform | Material: Powder-coated iron | Price: $$

Like the Anthropologie bed above, this canopy bed frame features some subtly-glam brass detailing. It’s recommended by interior designer Megan Huffman, who likes how despite its “industrial design”, the “streamlined aesthetic and matte black silhouette” prevent it from becoming too overpowering. Instead, with the platform (and lack of a box-spring), the mattress appears to almost float in mid-air. Made of matte black, powder-coated iron, the frame utilizes rubber wood slats to support the mattress. And at $699, it’s a steal compared to frames of an equal grandeur.

Style: Canopy, platform | Material: Recycled steel | Price: $$$

Here’s the canopy version of Room & Board’s Parsons Bed, and it, too, comes in a fun array of vibrant colors — 17 total including pink, aquamarine blue, and canary yellow. Los Angeles–based designer Betsy Burnham is a fan of the variety of shades and metal finishes, finding that they can “really fit into many different design schemes.” She adds, “We’ve used it in a guest room that had a more feminine palette and fabrics to balance things out and add modernity and linearity.” The frame’s “great lines” are made of powder-coated steel, and its minimal headrest and simple lines give it a fuss-free feel.

Style: Platform | Material: Matte or powder-coated aluminum | Price: $$$

“The Min bed, to me, is the most simple, ideal metal frame,” says Strategist senior editor Simone Kitchens. The aluminum frame comes in four finishes — matte silver, deep blue, black and white — and has a simple, lightweight silhouette that can suit any home. Senior editor Kayleen Schaefer, a self-described hater of clunky bed frames, also loves her Min frame. It’s so low-profile you “forget it’s there,” she says, and Kitchens appreciates the small details in its design, like the way its “slender, elongated, slightly curved legs” peek out from under a duvet or quilt. And although Kitchens thinks it’s a fair price for the quality of the frame, she recommends checking on Craigslist: It appears “somewhat regularly” secondhand in New York and L.A. marketplaces.