minimalist life

Now that I am packing to move, I can clearly see how I have been in collecting stuff. I haven’t been bad at all. The part that bothers me is the amount of large furniture I own.

I have a TV stand, a futon couch, a chair & ottoman, one large book shelf, two small book shelves, a dining table and a dresser. Oh, and a platform bed.

The TV stand will be given to a friend for free since my new apartment has a built-in cabinet in the living room. I had to buy some furniture (two Bekvam kitchen carts as counter tops and a Gorm basic shelving unit for the microwave) for basic cooking preparations since my new kitchen comes with nothing more than a spice cabinet.

I just finished dismantling the platform bed and started to wonder if a bed frame is needed at all. The more I thought about it the more it became apparent that It is purely a social pattern to use one. We people are conditioned to use one since we were kids. Moreover, people like to use a spring box with the mattress and I don’t.

I use a futon mattress resting on slats. The bed will be positioned in the corner of my new bedroom with walls on two adjoining sides.

Objective Reasoning on not owning a bed frame:

• The futon mattress on the hardwood floor will be more comfortable than the mattress on slats.
• I will have one less furniture to dust and clean.
• My dog likes to jump up on the bed. She is a large greyhound. Her jumping will not make the headboard and sides scratch the wall.
• I will lose under-the-bed-storage
• I will not be able to use a night stand

Subjective Reasoning on not owning a bed frame:

• It is a college look portraying an immature living condition (people actually told me this when I asked them)

Inferences to above reasonings:

• I will be more comfortable
• I will own one less furniture
• I will not need a night stand. The floor is my night stand.
• I wont get my walls scratched
• If I need under-bed storage, I probably have too much stuff
• If people judge my personality by my lack of bed-frame, they are probably not good friends

The minimalist bed frame is actually not having a bed frame at all.

Is it worth it?

Can I make it stylish like the zen masters?

Can it be executed in a mature way?

Let me know on twitter @abhishek_m