We had the same problem and switched out box spring for a low profile version and it was much better. Or, depending on how much it shows or what your mattress needs for a foundation, you can look at metal platform bed frames that can fit inside your rails and put your mattress on top. We used this from amazon on our current bed for having the opposite problem once we moved to a foam mattress that did not require a box spring and the mattress sat too low. This solves the problem of having ventilation below but might not come in heights that work for you or may show too much. We have a black bed and you can't really notice.

Try a low profile box spring: http://a.co/akouUPp

Or a bunkie board: http://a.co/f5HXAul

I assume a "Bunkie Board" will require a bed frame?

Frances: You HAVE a bed frame. Your original post and this latest read as though you don't understand how a 4-poster works. Just lay slats across the frame and then a Bunkie board (or not) and mattress on top. If you have a 'no flip' mattress you don't need anything but the slats.

This is what the boxspring sits on

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ETHAN-ALLEN-LAUREL-FOUR-POST-KING-SIZE-BED-ORNATELY-CARVED-MAHOGANY-POSTER-/192340693504

A bunkie board is a cushioned board used in place of a box spring. It is most commonly used on a bunk bed.

Why is your boxspring on the floor? You should have wood boards placed in the frame that keep everything off the floor. Was the bed set up incorrectly? Or did you take out the boards because the frame plus box spring plus the mattress are too high?

Frances, a photograph of your actual bed with your current set-up would probably be helpful at this point.

d_gw "Or did you take out the boards because the frame plus box spring plus the mattress are too high?".................YES! Thank you!

I have a Charleston Rice bed. I had a local mattress company custom make my mattress and true box springs for my bed. The new super-tall ones would swallow my headboard and I'd need a ladder to get in bed. It was the only way to solve the problem.

Anglophilia:

I have an older house & my bed posts are exactly 1 inch from the ceiling.. The Mattress/box combo was too high, ridiculously high. My best option, maybe a low profile box spring & use with my mattress.

Having anything custom made is simply out of the question. I am just a poor girl, trying my best to bring life into this old house that has been neglected for so long.

I have an antique bed that is very high. I use an antique wooden step stool (has sentimental value) placed next to it. Easy peasy. You can also buy a piece of plywood cut to measure to lay snuggly along the inner edges of the rails where the slats would rest normally. Very cheap fix along with the stool!

Frances, I had a similar problem with my mahogany sleigh bed when I needed to replace our mattress several years ago. We had the mattress for about 20 years, during which time mattresses got crazy thick. Not only were we sitting up so much higher (our night tables and lamps receded into the distance lol) but the headboard was all but swallowed up. I got rid of our old standard size boxspring and bought a low-rise 4" one.

Figure out the maximum height for a foundation (low-rise boxspring or bunkie board) and get that. Done!

beckysharp:

A most excellent reply (Also the one I was waiting for).

Much appreciated.

Glad I could help!

The worst part in our situation was that the new mattress (a Sealy or Serta bamboo something or other) was awful lol. We replaced it after two years with a Costco Novaform Pearl which I love, and which was delivered by mail : ) . The new low foundation I think was 2" or 4" Tempurpedic flat ultra low profile, which I found on deep discount.

I have found 4" online, I believe when the time comes, that would be sufficient, with my mattress.

Would like to add, that my bed is neither an Antique, or family heirloom, just a run of the mill, reproduction, cherry finished, bought used a few years ago. (If it's not real Cherry, then just yuk! At that fake veneer)

It shall be painted, not chalked, distressed, or antiqued in any way, just a nice black satin.

"I have found 4" online, I believe when the time comes, that would be sufficient, with my mattress."

Measure and be sure : ) . Less is available, if necessary.

I don't understand why you need a box spring at all, to be honest. Our mattress simply rests on the slats. No box spring.

Same as jmm. My mattress rests right on the slats of the bed, no box spring. It's the most comfortable bed/mattress I've ever had. And there's plenty of air space underneath. I used to store a few things under there, but not anymore.

My bed does not have slats.

OP - I'm very confused. You said above that you took the "boards" out. That sounded like you had slats and removed them. Maybe you could explain a bit more clearly what the box spring used to sit on to make it so high.

The bed came with:

1. Metal frame.

2. Box Spring

3. Mattress.

4. Bed/headboard/foot board & side rails.

The set up was TOO HIGH.

So the bed frame has been removed, and now the box spring/mattress are sitting "Inside" the actual bed it's self, not supported, no slats, no nothing, directly on the floor. There were no boards to remove.

OP - so you do have a bedframe that fits inside the wood. Great. Then you should be able to use a bunkie board that fits the frame, or a thinner box spring. Depending on the structure of the frame and how much height you want, you might also be able to get a piece of plywood or slats cut to go across the frame, and just put the mattress on top. You don't actually have to have a boxspring at all if it makes the bed too high.

The inner lip, along the insides of the bed rails, is not very wide, and as I have a King-size bed, a center support is always recommended. Or there will be nothing supporting it down the center, length ways. I may just find me some king size slats, and screw them along the inner lip. Or throw this stupid bed out, and just sleep on the floor!

Since you bought the bed used, I'm wondering if the previous owners got rid of the slats/boards and replaced with the metal frame. Isn't there a ledge on each of the side rails to support slats or a box spring? Are the legs of the metal unit visible when inside the wooden frame?

Your bed support is missing, clearly. You need this.

The previous owner did exactly as I am doing now, because the bed was too high, they removed the "Metal Bed Base with adjustable legs" And so did I, after I fitted another frame I already had for another similar bed, I couldn't even climb on the bed, and my headboard was just a few inches visible.

This bed NEVER came with slats. Just a metal base, that supported the box springs and mattress.

Plywood will not "Give" like slats, and there will be no ventilation, as there is with slats, The majority of beds in England, and Europe do use slats, it's more hygienic. But they are generally made of pine, and over time, they will eventually split, and need replacing.

That's an odd way to do it, but perhaps the bed frame was made to go around an adjustable bed. What you should do, is measure your mattress, and figure out what your optimal finished height is. If there is no where to attach slats inside the frame (which it sounds like is the case), then calculate mattress + metal bedframe - optimal finished height. Then, purchase a bunky board 1 1/2 - 2", or low profile foundation 4 - 5 1/2" to get you as close to that optimal height as possible.

So you HAVE the "Metal Bed Base with adjustable legs" and you removed it due to the fact that the mattress and box springs were too high? Then toss the box springs, put the base BACK IN, put a bunkie board in there and put the mattress on it.

I don't get why this is so difficult. I must be missing something.