Floor beds have become extremely popular in North America in recent years. They are the recommended sleeping arrangements for children whose parents follow the Montessori school of child-rearing. At the same time, they have become more and more popular for adults and people of all ages.

Floor beds offer some advantages over traditional Western beds. Indeed, many Asian countries have been using floor beds as the standard type of bedding for hundreds of years now. Learn more about floor beds, their pros and cons, and some online retailers that sell floor beds in this introductory guide.

What is a Floor Bed?

A floor bed is a bed on the floor. It’s that simple. Really, in practice, this means a basic mattress or some other form of padding, placed directly on the floor. This is in contrast to traditional beds that have bed frames and then may have a box spring, slats, or other support mechanisms below the mattress.

It’s also in stark contrast to the normal sleeping arrangements with babies and young children, where they are first put in a crib, and then later onto a bed with guards/rails or bumpers, to keep children from falling off the crib or bed and injuring themselves.

With a floor bed, there is no risk of a fall, since the distance between the bed and the floor is negligible. This makes them extremely popular with young children and babies and is one of the main reasons why they are pushed as the default bedding choice in Montessori child rearing.

Top Sites to Buy a Floor Bed

To buy a floor bed, you can buy a traditional mattress and place it on the floor, or more specialized floor beds that are designed specifically for that purpose. You can also utilize air mattresses and other similar bedding technology. Many of these kinds of floor bed options are available from major online retailers, as highlighted below.

Wayfair

Wayfair is a major online store selling furniture and home goods items of all types. They offer free shipping and have a wide range of choices in their catalog of options. Traditional mattresses, air mattresses, and other kinds of floor beds are all available in a variety of styles, colors, materials, and sizes. Prices range from very affordable to a bit more expensive depending on brand, quality, and style.

Amazon

Amazon offers incredibly low prices on many tens of thousands of items. While traditionally a bit lacking in the large home furnishings department, floor beds are an exception to that rule. Likely owing to the fact that they are largely compact (compared to a traditional bed and bed frame), you’ll find more options for floor beds on Amazon than for many other styles of beds or bed furniture.

eBay

Though online marketplace eBay is mostly synonymous with selling old collectibles, vintage records, keepsakes, and other “garage sale/swap meet” kinds of items; they’ve worked hard in recent years to develop a robust set of marketplace vendors.

Much like non-Amazon sellers who sell through Amazon, these sellers often offer new, unopened merchandise – sometimes direct from manufacturers – but at a discounted price. Inventory is changeable, and your options may be limited from day to day, but it’s worth a look – you might just score a great deal on a floor bed.

Walmart

US retail kingpin Walmart has an extensive online catalog, reflective of almost everything they stock in their stores, as well as offerings from third-party sellers. Indeed, their furniture offerings in some areas online far exceed what is usually available in stores. Floor beds and beds of all types can be readily found on Walmart in most regions of the US, and usually at competitively low prices, as is the Walmart way.

IKEA

Swedish furniture giant IKEA has made a name for itself in Europe, North America, and elsewhere as one of the go-to choices when consumers need a furniture product. They offer several floor bed options, ranging from the affordable DIY style that is synonymous with IKEA, to higher-end options that cost a bit more. They have one of the most extensive collections of furniture choices on the planet, so they’re always worth some online searching to see what’s available.