Updated at: 16-07-2022 - By: Sienna Lewis

Unfortunately, bed height is often disregarded. Your bed’s height should be customized to your age, height, and health to ensure a safe and comfortable night’s sleep and morning rise. Bed risers are a convenient way to increase the height of a bed. A bed riser option, however, may be desirable for a variety of reasons. We’ll go over five different options for elevating a bed and how to use them below.

Bookshelves or dressers, cinder blocks, lofting kits, chains, and wooden pallets are all viable alternatives to traditional bed risers. It is possible to use bookcases, dressers, cinder blocks, or even wooden pallets to elevate a bed. A lofting kit can be used to raise a bed off the floor and provide more storage space underneath, and chains can be used to suspend a bed from the ceiling.

Beds that are elevated even a few inches can help with a variety of problems. It’s possible you’d like to have a bit more floor space underneath your bed for stowaway items or simply to sit on the edge of the mattress in comfort. Beds that are raised can make getting in and out of bed much simpler for people with mobility issues. Beds with elevated heads are helpful for people experiencing back discomfort, nausea, acid reflux, or other digestive issues. If you want to learn more about the advantages of sleeping on a bed that is elevated to some degree, check out this research.

How to use a bed riser, as well as several alternatives, are covered below. Read our analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of elevating a platform bed if you own one.

What Are Bed Risers?

A bed riser is a secure and robust piece of furniture that is used to raise a bed off the floor. Bed risers are used to raise a bed and make use of the space under it for additional storage.

Bed jacks range in height from one inch to twelve inches. They come in a wide variety of sizes and forms, and can be purchased in plastic, wood, or steel. The combined weight of the bed frame, the mattress, the box spring, and the people sleeping in it can be quite a bit heavier than the weight of just one of these components alone, so it’s important to choose carefully based on the specifics of your situation. These bed raisers have received rave reviews and can be found on Amazon.

5 Bed Riser Alternatives & How to Raise a Bed with Them

To make getting in and out of bed easier, especially for the elderly and those with back difficulties, bed risers can be used. See this research for more on the challenges of getting up from low surfaces. Those with medical issues including indigestion and acid reflux, as well as those recovering from surgery, may benefit from sleeping on a bed that is elevated only at the head or foot of the bed using bed risers. See this study for more information on how bed elevation can help with healing after surgery.

How To Raise a Bed with Bed Risers

Raised beds work only with frames that already have legs. Each bedpost can be safely inserted into its own individual hole in the bed riser. Despite the fact that bed risers simply slide under the mattress, it’s still a good idea to have an assistant on hand for installation. So, how exactly do you use bed risers to make your bed higher?

Bed risers allow you to add the desired amount of height to your bed by simply inserting each leg of the bed into a riser.

Here are some more specific instructions for using bed risers to make your bed higher:

Step 1. Determine how much height you want to add to your bed

Use a tape measure to determine the exact dimensions of the area already available under the bed. After that, calculate about how much elevation change you’d like. To ensure that the goods you intend to put under the bed can fit, it is a good idea to take their heights into account.

Step 2. Choose the right set of bed risers to raise your bed height

Bed risers are sold in sets of four most of the time. Go with the height-appropriate option and the material you prefer (plastic, wood, or steel). Buy stackable plastic risers to achieve the desired height if you can’t find the right size. Make sure the risers can hold the bed and everything on it by checking the package’s weight capacity (including yourself).

Step 3. Elevate one corner of the bed frame

Raise one of the bed’s legs till it’s level with the riser’s hole. It’s important that the bed’s leg risers’ diameters match those of the bed’s legs.

Step 4. Insert the leg into the riser

Lower the leg so that it slips into the hole and fastens securely.

Step 5. Do the same for all of the remaining legs

Bring the leg down until it slides into the opening and clicks shut.

If you’d rather build your own bed risers than buy them, check out our guide on the subject: Raise a Platform Bed and Lift It with Bed Risers. Read our piece, “Are Bed Raisers Safe?” for more.

List of Different Bed Riser Alternatives

Bed risers aren’t the only option for getting your bed off the floor, though. The use of furniture or anything else that is strong enough to hold the bed up without collapsing is a viable alternative to purchasing and installing bed risers. These alternative bed risers work in the same way as traditional bed risers, but they also allow for additional storage space to be created under the bed.

Bookshelves or dressers, cinder blocks, lofting kits, chains, and wooden pallets are just some of the many items that can be used as makeshift bed risers.

Alternative 1: Bookshelves or Dressers can be great bed riser alternatives

You can make a captain’s bed by placing two long, tall bookcases or drawers under your mattress. When you’re short on floor space, having a bed that also doubles as storage is a great option, and that’s exactly what you’ll get with this DIY.

How to Raise a Bed Without Legs | HouseRituals.com

Following these instructions will allow you to use bookcases to make your bed higher:

Step 1: Place the two pieces of furniture on the floor and make sure they’re evenly spaced

A bed’s weight, and whatever else is on top of it, should be appropriately distributed between two bookshelves placed at the head and the foot of the bed.

Step 2: Stabilize the bookshelves with cross braces

One cross bracing (here’s an example from Amazon) should be drilled and screwed into the back of the bookcase at the foot of the bed. Do the same with the one you plan to use as your bed’s headboard. The bed won’t be able to rock because of the cross braces.

Step 3: Spread shelf liners on top of the bookshelves

Protect your bookcases from dings and scrapes and keep your bed from sliding off by placing shelf liners (like these) on top.

Step 4: Put the bed frame on top of the shelf liners

The last step is to set the bed’s foundation in place. Screws might be used to attach it to the walls, the dresser, or the bookcase. When you’re ready to sleep, set your mattress atop the bed frame.

Alternative 2:  Cinder Blocks

There should be a minimum of 10 cinder blocks used to get the desired height for your bed. In order to maximize storage space under the bed, stack as many blocks as possible on top of each other.

Here’s how to use cinder blocks to elevate a bed:

Step 1: Choose the number of blocks you want to use

How many cinder blocks you’ll need to raise your bed is a function of your preferred method of assembly and desired mattress height. When stacked, two 6-inch cinder blocks can create a storage height of 12 inches.

Step 2: Paint the cinder blocks with gripper paint

To prevent the blocks from drying out and chipping, you should first treat them with grippy paint (like this one). If you want to improve their appearance, paint them the next day with a color of your choosing.

Step 3: Cover each cinder block with a piece of shelf liner

To prevent the blocks from scratching each other or the bed’s foundation, cut a piece of the shelf liner into small pieces and glue it to the sides of the blocks where they will be in contact.

Step 4: Arrange the blocks at every corner of the bed

Place the blocks so that the middle and four corners of your bed are supported. Insert as many blocks under the bed as you think you’ll need to hold the mattress and yourself.

Alternative 3: Lofting Kit

A lofting kit allows you to raise your bed to a higher level, freeing up extra room on the ground below. Extra legs, pegs, a safety rail, and a ladder are standard equipment in a lofting kit. When a bed is raised, the area under it can be used for other pieces of furniture, such as a workstation or a couch, or for extra storage. An Amazon twin lofting kit like the one shown here. If you’re looking for more loft bed height options, check out our page here!

Following these instructions will help you loft your bed:

Step 1: Turn the bed frame on its side

Just take the mattress off and turn the bed over on its side. Bed frames are heavy, so make sure you have some help.

Step 2: Join the extra legs to the original legs

If your lofting kit legs don’t already have holes at the bottom, you’ll need to drill them. Slide the new legs onto the metal pegs that have been slotted into the old legs.

Step 3: Flip the bed onto its feet

After securing the new legs to the existing bed frame, you can turn the bed so that it is upright. Install the guardrail and the ladder for further security.

Alternative 4: Chains

To get your bed off the floor without resorting to utilizing bulky materials, you can suspend it from the ceiling using chains. Having a bed suspended like this is a novel and interesting way to free up a lot of floor space.

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Here’s how to use chains to lift a bed:

Step 1: Decide where to position your bed

Get the bed ready to be hung by setting it on the floor underneath the desired location. It is recommended that you use a stud finder to identify the ceiling studs at the four corners of the bed.

Step 2: Drill 4 holes into the ceiling and 2 holes into each end of the bed frame

Install 4 ceiling eye bolts by drilling pilot holes into the studs. Then, put four eye bolts into holes drilled evenly apart on opposite ends of the frame.

Step 3: Attach 4 chains from the frame straight up to the ceiling

Connect the frame’s eye bolts to the ceiling’s eye bolts using fast links (here’s an example).

Alternative 5: Wooden Pallets

A robust and homogeneous bed base can be made from wooden pallets, like the ones seen here. The sleek, contemporary design of your bedroom will be enhanced by the addition of these bed risers.

The following are the steps of elevating a bed on wooden pallets:

Step 1: Arrange the pallets to your desired height

If you want something taller, just keep piling on pallets. You can also use wood glue to join together multiple pallets into one large structure that is the right size for your bed.

Step 2: Paint the wooden pallets

Refurbish the pallets’ appearance by painting them a color you want.

Step 3: Place the bed on top of the pallets

First, install a shelf liner on top of the pallets, and then set the bed on top of it.

How To Make Bed Risers Look Better

The aesthetics of your bedroom could clash with the addition of bed risers. Bed risers can be improved in appearance if their current appearance is unappealing.

These are some ways to improve the aesthetic appeal of bed risers:

  • First, pick bed risers that complement your existing decor.
  • Two, if you can’t find bed risers that go with the room’s aesthetic, consider painting the risers a different color.
  • Third, if you want to conceal the bed risers completely, you can put a bed skirt on top of them that reaches all the way to the floor.

Bed risers can be improved and your bedroom’s design can benefit from any of these solutions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does bed height affect sleep?

That’s the case, yes. A better night’s sleep is the result of better blood flow, which can be promoted by elevating your bed.

Are loft beds safe?

Just like any other piece of furniture, the safety of a loft bed ultimately depends on how it is set up and used. If your loft bed is elevated off the floor, make sure you have easy access by installing stairs or a ladder. Remember that the bed rails are there for your protection at night.

How do you layer a comfortable bed?

To some extent, it is up to personal preference. A feather-filled duvet comforter and a knit throw blanket folded at your feet will do the trick if you prefer to cuddle up in something fluffy and soft. To finish the look, toss on some plush throw pillows.