'Now the party's over, I'm so tired...' (Avalon Double Bedstead Frame)

Member Name: sunmeilan

Product:	Avalon Double Bedstead Frame
Date:	24/04/08 (136 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to assemble, cheap

Disadvantages: You need a good mattress or you can feel the metal slats

For years, I have lived without a proper double bed. For part of that time, I slept on a mattress on the floor because of the difficulties of getting a bedstead up the stairs of my duplex flat. Then I lived in a London studio flat and had to make do with a futon that doubled as a sofa during the day. So when I moved into a house with plenty of room and no impediments to getting a mattress upstairs, a double bed was at the top of my agenda. Unfortunately, I didn't have a lot of money to spend...

Sourcing the bed
I hate going to furniture stores and being followed around by sales people, all anxious to sell the most expensive deal they can. So I spent a couple of days looking at double beds on the Internet; and as I had already bought some furniture from Argos, that was one of the first places I looked at. I originally wanted a pine bedstead to match the rest of my bedroom furniture and had more or less decided on the bed I wanted when an offer caught my eye - this was the Avalon Double Bedstead for £99.99, including both the frame and a mattress. Bargain, I thought, and snapped it up.

Delivery
Argos called me about a week later to arrange the delivery date; I wasn't around on the first day that they suggested, but an alternative date was given, between the hours of 7 and 12 in the morning. At 6.40am I had a phone call from the driver, saying that they were around the corner and could they deliver it a few minutes early. I was only too happy, particularly as they humped both the frame (in parts) and the mattress up to my bedroom with the greatest of ease.

Assemblage
I have never had a problem with putting together furniture if it means that I can get it cheaper. However, it did suggest on the website that two people would be needed to put the bed together. As I live alone, that meant waiting until someone could come over and help me. Being stubborn and too independent for my own good, I decided to try putting it together myself. I read through the instructions, or rather, looked at the drawings, sorted out all the parts into piles and started putting the bed together. Who needs men anyway?!

Made of metal poles, in crome and black, I found the headboard and footboard easy to put together. All the pieces that were supposed to be there were there. Even better, there were two metal rods that were designed to turn the screws until tight - this way I found that I didn't even need a screwdriver.

The most difficult part of the assembly was attaching the headboard and footboard to the two main slats of the bed, simply because the slats were heavy and I needed to hold them at ninety degree angles to the boards so that I could screw them together. However, I did manage, with a little bit of swearing, and once that was done, it was easy to attach the secondary slats across the two main slats to form the base of the bed.

All in all, it probably took two hours to put the bed together. I must admit I suffered the next day - sore arms and backs of legs from bending - but it was worth it for the satisfaction of being able to tell the male members of my family that I didn't need their help thank you very much!

Comfort
Now, I managed to buy both the mattress and bedframe for £99.99 as part of a special offer at the time. This meant that the mattress was just about the cheapest it is possible to buy - it was actually possible to fold the mattress in half, it was so thin. This does mean that when I fall heavily onto the bed, I can feel the metal slats through the mattress. This doesn't bother me too much for now, but I will buy a better mattress at some point. However, for anyone wanting to buy the bedstead now, it either comes without a mattress for £159.99 or with a firm mattress for £219.99, so this problem is irrelevant. Just be warned that the mattress needs to be fairly firm so that it is not possible to feel the slats through it.

Size-wise, it measures approximately 2 metres by 1.5 metres and is fine for me and my cats. However, it is probably a bit small for two people, particularly if they are on the heavy side. There is about 25 centimetres between the floor and the base of the bed, so fine for storage if necessary.

Durability
I have had the bed for over three months now and have had no problems yet. I do occasionally check the screws and tighten them up as necessary just in case. I was a bit worried that the crome on the head and foot board would tarnish, but so far it has been fine.

Conclusion
At its current price of £159.99 for just the bedstead, I'm not sure I would have chosen it - that does seem rather a lot, especially with the price of the mattress on top - and there are a number of other options in the same price range. However, for the price I paid, I'm very pleased with this bedstead and hope that it will last me a good few years yet.

In case you were wondering about the title, it is a line from the song 'Avalon' by Roxy Music.

This review will be published on other review sites under the same pseudonym.

Summary: A bargain at the price for which I bought it