The Penelope Wooden Bed Frame is the Dreams wooden frame I'd buy to keep: solid wood in a warm walnut finish, on solid slats, with a woven fabric panel and accent legs. If you want a bed that will move house with you twice and still look right, this is it. Skip it if you want soft give under your mattress, since solid slats are the firmer of the two slat types.
Solid wood on solid slats
Dreams describes the frame as made from solid wood, in what it calls a warm walnut finish, dark in the photos, with a woven fabric panel set into it. Under the mattress are solid wooden slats, which stay flat and give a firm foundation. Dreams' photos show slim wooden posts either side of a pale, textured fabric panel, a low footboard and tapered legs: a pared-back, mid-century look that will sit happily in most rooms. It weighs 36kg flat-packed.
Wood for life is one of my firmer views. A solid frame can be tightened, waxed and moved without falling apart, and it doesn't hold on to marks the way an all-fabric headboard does. Plenty of beds look lovely for a year. A good wooden frame is the one that still looks lovely after ten.
Firm underneath, so match your mattress
Solid slats suit a firm feel and most foam and pocket-sprung mattresses. If your mattress is already on the firm side and you like a little give, sprung slats would suit you better. Its assembly guide fits an adjustable wooden support leg under the centre slat, so the middle is held up.1 There's no storage, and the panel is woven, so avoid it if you want no fabric at all.
What to buy instead
The Brimsley is the alternative in solid rubberwood, with a softer upholstered headboard and sprung slats. If you're tempted by the Benedict because it looks similar, buy this instead: the Benedict's walnut is a wood-effect finish.
