In Brief
Divan Bases are the most economical alternative to a bedframe. They are supplied in kit form to the majority of bed manufacturers from only a handful of manufacturers here in the UK and also from abroad. These components for the divan bases are assembled on site and covered in the appropriate fabric that matches the mattress.
Like all things, the components used for divan bases are graded and you will get pretty much what you pay for. Many manufacturers will sell their bases for not much more than cost price, realising that when combined with the mattress the complete set will be a more appealing purchase.
When doing price comparisons, even in store, always price up the mattress only, and the (no storage) set separately. You will then get a truer price of the supposed mattress quality. You will soon come to see that either the mattress is overpriced with an equally overpriced base or there will be no option to buy the mattress separately.
Example: (Argos May /2010) Silentnight Sherwood Memory (Kingsize);
- Mattress Only: £779.99
- Base and Mattress: £1229.99
Incidentally, another little thing to keep an eye on is the way the stuff is priced. How many of you I wonder have already worked out that the no storage base above has a massive cost of £450.00? The nines are there not to add less than a quid on the price of a £800 mattress, but just a guess – to deter you making a quick mental calculation. If it was rounded up to: - Mattress Only: £780.00
- Base and Mattress £1230.00
It is a lot easier to calculate and to work out how much you are being asked to pay for the base.
Update 1: (May) This is absolutely scandalous! Have a look at the base - For starters, the castors are what you would expect to find on a basic divan set, not one that you are being asked to pay £450 quid for. My betting is on the fact that sooner, rather than later this will be on offer for Half Price. I shall keep my eye on this model and if I am right (or wrong) I will post the result here.
Update 2: (End May / End June) What did I tell you. The Silentnight Sherwood no storage Divan is now HALF PRICE at £614.99 (Was: £1229.99). The mattress has also been ‘reduced’ to HALF PRICE to £389.99 (Was: £779.99).
In my opinion, divan bases should not be considered as a permanent fixture in your bedroom. They are ugly boxes that invade your room space and by the time you have added the headboard and drawers you could have purchased a really nice bedframe that will last considerably longer whilst still looking good.
The basic construction for a divan base is a simple soft timber box frame stapled together. The top has a hardboard sheet stapled to it to provide a base for the mattress. The base is then covered with a matching fabric. The underside of the frame has a nylon mesh dust cover.If drawers are added, then additional support struts are used to house the drawers.
Divan bases classed as ‘top of range’ will be constructed with a lot more care with features such as screwed timber struts, padding on all surfaces and machine jigged or hand made drawers to ensure durability. A hand made divan base can truly be a work of art and I am not decrying that fact or belittling the craftsman. This particular market is well out of my league and all my comments relate in the main to mass produced products.
What about a sprung edged base?
A sprung edged base means that the entire top surface of the base has a spring system as a suspension for the mattress. Also comes as a boxspring where the base sides reach to the top of the base springs providing additional support to the edges (more expensive). Despite it’s name, a sprung edge covers the entirety of the base top – not just the edge.
Again, there are a few variations and will reflect the price you are paying. The most cheapest version (or should be the cheapest!) is the ’snake spring’ similar to the spring in a cheap sofa whereby the ’spring’ is stretched across the frame and held in place by a fixing. The alternative will be a three to four inch bed of coiled springs similar to another mattress topped off with a layer of felt wadding. The price for having a sprung edge on your base will be in the region of £65 – £85 (Double)
Spring edging only benefits mattresses with a pocket spring construction. Don’t waste your money having a sprung edge base when you are purchasing a mattress with an orthopaedic or any other continuous coil spring system. Read More on sprung edged bases ..
Storage Drawers
Many people think that they need a divan base because of the storage options they offer. This is true, however considering the average price of storage drawers is £20 each, means that you are paying £80 for 4 draws which in all honesty is money that can be used towards a purpose built set of drawers or a storage trolley that slides under a bedframe or even an ottoman bed.
Storage drawers in divan bases are renowned for failing – this means where the fronts of the draws will come off or the bases fall through. The blame for this can be equally shared between the user and the manufacturer. I have seen this problem on all ranges of drawers, from the most well known brands to the least known brands. The majority of drawers will have hardboard bases and just cannot cope with weights that many people stuff into them. Drawer fronts are doweled and very rarely glued and with regular use will just simply come away.
If you really do need a storage draw, the best option is the Jumbo End Draw. This is a draw that slides out from the bottom of the base and is one and a half times the size of a standard draw. When a manufacturer adds this drawer they have to add additional support struts in the base to accommodate. For the £25 this costs it is well worth the money and can easily store extra pillows, quilt etc.
Summary
The matching divan bases that I offer on this site are all priced around the £65 – £85 mark which is not far off the cost price. This reflects the basic nature of the product and the hope that you will only use them as temporary measures and eventually invest in a good quality bedframe. These bases are not sold separately.
Update July. I am getting a bit of flak about this particular post. If you found the information I provide useful or not useful can you please post your comments below. Thank you.
i bought a divan 2 years ago and the supposed board has completely collapsed in on my side and my husbands and the 1 softwood slat inteded to hold my sleeping body weight has collapsed too. really am not supprised when considering it was only held on by balance on a 1 cm frame. i paid 225 which was the most i could afford for a bed that i was told was good quality . it has aggrivated my bad pelvis and i am in pain everyday. now i have orderd a lovely faux leather bedstead with memory foam mattress so am hoping to have better luck this time round. but i agree divans suck and people shouldnt let those sales men in the shop talk you into buying one. do you know what if anything i can do about the divan if the bed falling apart like this is coverd in the terms when you purchase it
Hi Sarah. What more can I say? I would guess that the base you had is ‘worth’ no more than £65 (assuming it is non storage) and it has just simply reached the end of its life.
Despite what the salesman told you does not alter the fact that most mass produced divan bases are manufactured to be sold as cheaply as posible – very few exceptions. They are not built to last and as you have found out – they just simply dont. So whose fault is it?
Would you have bought the bed if you had read the article above before buying your bed? Would you be so annoyed if you knew that all you paid for the base was £65? This means that your mattress was sold to you for about £160. How long did this last? Lets say 2 years. I reckon if you cut the mattress open all you will find is a cage sprung unit – doubt if it will even be 13g. One sided, Topped with an insulator and just a thin layer of polyester. I would say for that quality of mattress and base, a life of two years is about maximum you could reasonably expect to have had. Your complaint should be why did the salesman tell you it was ‘good quality’? What is his definition of ‘bad quality’? Knowing that, would have given you an indication of the value of trust you could have put on his recommendation.
PS. Why didn’t you buy your new bed and matt from me? John.
PS. Really sorry you were let down but I’m sure a lot of people will be grateful for your comments and what to expect.