Once upon a time everyone slept on the ground or the floor. It wasn’t very comfortable. The ground is cold and hard and full of rocks, bugs, snakes and mice. Mattresses were made of straw and leaves. Eventually someone figured out that cotton and wool were more comfortable than straw and leaves. Then some unknown inventor came up with the idea of raising the mattress off the floor. He thought that raising the mattress would make the bed warmer and more comfortable and help with some of the problems with vermin. The first bed frames were probably a divan and made of a board with legs.
It appears this development occurred in the Middle East and quickly spread to Europe. Bed frames improved the comfort of mattresses which were pretty much very large pillows. Ancient bed frames all had a platform to support the mattress, since mattresses weren’t stiff enough to support themselves. Improvements to bed frames continued. During the Renaissance and into the 18th century it was common for wealthy travelers to travel with all their bedding and linens, public health laws being non-existent and hotel accommodations somewhat questionable. Bed frames were made to be easily disassembled and reassembled for traveling.
Even with all the innovations in bed frames and mattresses, insects were still a problem. In the 19th century, during the dawn of the industrial age, the metal bed frame was introduced. Its inventors claimed that it would not attract or house insects like wooden bed frames could. Now bed frames were made with brass and cast iron. An innovation in mattresses, called the inner spring mattress, allowed bed frames to dispense with any platform and use ropes or slats for support. Inner spring mattress were stiffer than other mattresses. The bed frame now consisted of a headboard, a footboard and side rails.
More recently, there has been a return to some of the older ideas for bed frames. The platform bed frame has made a comeback and interior designers seem quite taken with the idea. Water mattresses were used in the ancient Middle East, but they were cold and leaked making them impractical. With new materials and electric heaters, water mattresses are back. A bed frame had to be designed to contain and support these fluid mattresses. Man constantly seeks to improve the comfort of his sleep and the bed frame continuously evolves to meet his needs.