Emma Box Bed reviewed

The Emma Box Bed is the renewed version of Emma’s Signature bed, an upholstered frame on solid rubber wood legs sold in double, king and super king. A double costs £629 without a headboard. It suits you if you already own a boxed mattress and want a soft-looking frame that adds very little to the footprint of the bed.

Build and slats

According to the Emma product page, the frame combines poplar plywood, poplar LVL slats, solid rubber wood feet and steel, and is rated for a continuous load of 250kg. LVL (laminated veneer lumber) is made from bonded layers of veneer and is less prone to warping than a solid plank of the same size. Emma also sells alternative slat sets to change how the base feels under your mattress, an option you rarely get on a flat-pack frame.

Headboard or no headboard

The headboard is optional and adjusts in height to sit in proportion with a slim or a deep mattress. It changes the bill noticeably. A double with the headboard costs £815, so the headboard alone adds £186, and £220 to £230 on the larger sizes. Without it, Emma gives the double frame as 140 x 195cm and 33cm high; with it, the overall height rises to 90cm. The frame is only 5cm wider and longer than the mattress in every size, which helps in a tight UK double room.

Sizes and prices

There is no single or small double. If you need a single frame from Emma, the Metal Bed is the only one sold in that size.

Delivery, trial and guarantee

Delivery is free and Emma quotes one to three weeks. The bed comes in two parcels, three with the headboard, weighing 12 to 28kg each, and goes together without tools using the printed booklet or a QR code guide. Emma’s UK site gives beds a 30-night trial and a 2-year guarantee, far shorter than the 200 nights and 10 years its mattresses get, so check the fit and the headboard height early in the trial. No mattress is included.