The Thuma bed frame took 30 minutes to assemble, starting from the moment my husband and I laid out all the pieces to placing the mattress on top of the frame and making the bed.
Emily Hochberg/Business Insider
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When my husband and I decided to upgrade to a king-sized bed, we did tons of research on mattresses. We labored over the decision for weeks, read hundreds of reviews, and toured dozens of showrooms before landing on a Sealy Posturepedic Hybrid Mattress. As a couple, it's been our most expensive purchase to date, at $2,499, which was much more than we intended to spend. But the splurge felt worth it, and since purchasing it, I've no longer woken up when my husband moves around.
Because we went over budget, we decided to be frugal when it came to a bed frame. We chose a stylish but cheap upholstered frame online and ignored negative reviews thinking, how bad could it be?
Pretty bad. It squeaked at the slightest movement, felt flimsy, and was labor-intensive to build. After a few months, it was proving detrimental to our sleep, so we decided to look for something well-made that would last for years. I began researching high-quality bed frames online and started seeing ads for Thuma on Instagram.
I was intrigued by Thuma's claim that it could be built in just minutes (the former frame took hours, not including the resulting bickering), with interlocking solid wood made from Japanese joinery techniques and no need for tools or hardware. The rounded corners were designed to protect shins, and the bed's cushioned slots and "pillow board" (a low, padded headboard) aided in noise reduction.
Everything about it seemed thoughtful, and 17,000 online reviews, averaging 4.9 out of 5 stars, raved about the quality of craftsmanship and functional style. In addition, Thuma offers a 100-night return policy and a lifetime warranty.
We decided to try the bed frame for these reasons, as well as the fact that it had the exact minimalist, midcentury-modern look we wanted. Plus, the low-profile platform eliminated the need for a box spring and still offered 9-inch clearance for storage underneath.
The company sent me a free review unit to test out, and after sleeping on it for four months before I moved into a different space, I can say that I love the frame just as much as my mattress. It was so simple to build, is beautifully made, and doesn't make a squeak. I've never slept better.
That's not to say I wasn't skeptical. A claim of assembly in "five-ish" minutes without tools seemed too good to be true. Could a couple really build a bed together with no fighting at all?
Assembly process
Our first impression was strong. As an apartment dweller, I appreciated that the bed arrived in three boxes, designed to fit up stairwells and through hallways.
My bed frame, before reaching its final form.
Emily Hochberg/Business Insider
Inside were the frame pieces, slats, pillow board, and legs with pre-applied cork-padded bottoms for floor protection and cushioning. The copy was clever, and a small smile during any type of furniture assembly goes a long way.
This is how the wooden slats arrived, cute note and all.
Emily Hochberg/Insider
I decided to time how long it took to build the bed. I spent about 15 minutes just getting everything out of the boxes and arranged in order of assembly, which is what the instructions said to do.
Significant minutes could have been shaved off had each frame bar been labeled like the legs were. This would have helped us know if we were laying the pieces out correctly. Instead, we spent a lot of time second-guessing ourselves.
Thuma suggests laying out the bed frame's pieces in order of assembly.
Emily Hochberg/Business Insider
I would suggest opening the boxes in another room if you're short on space. We opened everything in the room where we would be building and spent extra time moving around our mess.
We were immediately impressed once the frame was in place and ready to put together. Each bar locked into the adjacent one through the leg without any screws, drilling, or hardware. It really did take just minutes to put the base together. The wood was solid and smooth, and the bed felt sturdy and well-crafted.
Interlocking notches eliminate the need for tools.
Emily Hochberg/Business Insider
Two hand-tightened screws then went in on each end; no screwdriver was necessary. A word of warning: The screws came in an unlabeled box, and we almost accidentally threw them away.
Tightening the screws by hand.
Emily Hochberg/Business Insider
Next came the slats, which locked into place and were cushioned and lined with eco-friendly felt made from recycled plastics for durability and sound reduction. They, too, felt solid, unlike our rickety previous model.
15 minutes of work got us here.
Emily Hochberg/Business Insider
From the time we laid out all the materials to this point, exactly 15 minutes went by. It took about 10 more minutes to place the mattress back on top, make the bed, and position the pillow board, bringing our total assembly time to half an hour. While that's a generous interpretation of "five-ish," it was still very quick.
Our Thuma bed frame review
The Thuma bed frame is made of upcycled with a protective scratch-resistant finish and is available in four finishes: natural, walnut, espresso, and gray. The pillow board comes in four neutral colors too and is made of 100% polyester pebbled linen-weave or boucle with tapered foam filling. The covers are also sold separately, so you can swap colors when the mood strikes. They're also washable for easy cleaning. Since I initially tried the bed, Thuma has introduced additional headboard and cushion options and developed add-ons like an under-bed storage drawer.
The pillow board sits comfortably on the back of the frame between the mattress and the wall and is not attached to the bed in any way. It's an interesting alternative to a more traditional headboard, and it also reduces noise, thanks to the padding. The low profile can be covered by pillows or kept visible as a design accent.
An unobstructed view of our bed frame's pillow board.
Emily Hochberg/Business Insider
My husband and I like the look of a headboard and didn't want that lost behind our pillows. Even while visible, Thuma's pillow board still sits quite low and doesn't feature prominently. We've tried positioning it higher, which works as a temporary fix, but one side still falls occasionally. The wooden headboard configuration does sit four inches higher, however.
The bottom line
The Thuma is a high-quality, easy to assemble bed with customizations that make it well worth the investment.
Emily Hochberg/Business Insider
Ultimately, I found the Thuma bed frame to be well-crafted and thoughtfully designed. It's solid, eco-friendly, and beautiful.
Since putting it together, we've taken it apart and reassembled it again while moving apartments, and it was just as seamless and easy. It's been over two years, and the frame has held up very well.
Starting at $795 for just the base and stretching up to $2,395 with a headboard and cushion (the pillowboard configuration I tried is $1,395), it's certainly an expensive investment and a high-end alternative to its more affordable competitors.
But I'm confident it's a piece of furniture we'll have for many years to come, which, as I've learned, you can't always guarantee.
Emily Hochberg was Business Insider's Travel Editor and shaped coverage of the best places to travel including top hotels and Airbnbs, trending destinations, great deals, and much more. She has traveled extensively across six continents and some of her favorite hotels in the world include a decadent urban oasis in Bangkok, a small island villa off the coast of Cartagena, a posh eco-friendly luxury hotel in Miami, and a sprawling beachfront resort in Mexico. She has extensively reviewed hotels in New York City, Miami, Palm Springs, Las Vegas, Thailand, and many more, and has also written about safe travel, incredible Airbnbs, and travel planning tips.Prior to joining Business Insider, she was the Managing Editor for the travel app Porter & Sail, a hotel booking platform and portal to uncover unique properties, insider recommendations, and city guides. She has written and edited content covering travel, lifestyle, and entertainment for outlets such as MTV, Scott's Cheap Flights, FabFitFun, Xfinity, Secret Escapes, People Magazine, Redfin, and many more.
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