The Phoenix Upholstered Bed Frame is the one I'd buy of Dreams' Aries, Orion and Phoenix frames. It has a rounded headboard without wings or deep padding, on sprung slats. That simplicity is why it'll date more slowly and suit more rooms than its showier siblings. If you want a headboard to lean against for an hour every night, the Orion is the better fit.
A clean curve on sprung slats
The headboard is a single rounded shape in woven fabric, curved at the top and flat across the face. Below it are sprung wooden slats, which flex a touch under the mattress. The frame stands on dark, splayed tapered legs with a mid-century feel. Dreams photographs it in a light, Scandinavian-style room, which is where it looks most at home. It weighs 35kg flat-packed, which is light enough for one confident person to carry up the stairs, though not to build alone.
Plain is a good thing in a bed frame. The less there is to go out of fashion, the longer you'll be happy looking at it. A rounded headboard also sits as easily in a spare room as a main bedroom. Pick a darker shade if you can, because woven fabric shows marks on a pale headboard first. Measure the gap between your bedside tables too; without wings, the Phoenix needs less width than the Aries.
The middle of three, and the one to buy
Of the three frames that share this base, the Aries adds wings and a traditional look, while the Orion trades the curve for a tall padded board you can lean against. The Phoenix sits between them, and it's the one I'd buy for most bedrooms. Would I put up with the Orion's padding to sit up in bed? Only if I read every night.
The Phoenix assembly guide answers the support question: a middle cross bar on two legs, with 28 bentwood slats in a double.1 The one thing it leaves out is the gap between slats, so check that against your mattress before you pay.
What to buy instead
The Phoenix Upholstered Ottoman puts this headboard on a lift-up base, which I'd choose in a small bedroom. If you'd rather have wood, the Penelope is solid wood on solid slats.
