Parts of a Bed – 10 Labeled Parts, Headboard to Slats

All 10 parts on the diagram

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From the side 6

Mattress The padded layer you sleep on.
Headboard Something to lean against; often decorative.
Footboard Finishes the bed at its foot end.
Side rail Joins headboard to footboard and carries the slats.
Box spring (foundation) A covered frame of wood and springs under the mattress.
Pillow Supports your head on the mattress.

Frame from above 2

Slats Planks across the frame that hold the mattress up.
Center support rail Stops the slats sagging in the middle.

Cut across 2

Center support leg Carries the middle of the frame to the floor.
Bed skirt (dust ruffle) Hides the frame and keeps dust from under the bed.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-26. (1) A furniture maker's guide to the parts of a bed, https://www.biltritefurniture.com/parts-of-a-bed/ : headboard, footboard, rails connecting headboard and footboard, mattress support of slats, foundations or platforms, slats as long planks across the frame, box spring as a fabric-covered wooden frame with springs or a grid, center support beam with legs reaching the floor, bed skirt or dust ruffle, mattress, pillow. (2) A second furniture maker's bed-parts catalog, https://www.kemperhomefurnishings.com/bedroom/bed-parts/ : replacement slats and rails, center support legs and systems, bed frame brackets and hook plates, headboard and footboard attachment kits, bed legs. (3) Wikipedia, Bed, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bed (headboard, side rails, footboards, mattress on wood slats or a sprung base, box spring, dust ruffle or bed skirt, pillow); Bed frame, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bed_frame (head, foot and side rails); Bed base, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bed_base (foundation, box spring, slats laid across the frame). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-05 by script, from plain geometry: one single bed held as a small model (posts, arched headboard, footboard, side rails, nine slats, center rail on two legs, box spring, mattress, pillow) and shown three ways, so the three figures agree. Nothing is traced or copied. The forms were checked by eye against photographs of real beds on Wikimedia Commons (a wooden bedstead, a slatted base, a box spring on a frame, a made-up bed). Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a bed frame are the headboard, the footboard and the side rails between them, with slats across and a center support underneath. The box spring and mattress sit on top.

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What holds the mattress up

The side rails carry the slats on a ledge along their inner faces. On a wide bed the slats would sag in the middle, so a center support rail runs under them, standing on one or more center support legs.

Slats or a box spring

A box spring is a covered frame of wood and springs that sits on the slats under the mattress. Many beds with close-set solid slats need no box spring at all.

Questions and answers

What are the boards at each end of a bed called?

The headboard is the tall board at the head end, and the footboard the lower one at the foot. The side rails join them along both sides.

What is the center support on a bed frame?

A rail running down the middle of the frame under the slats, on legs that reach the floor. It stops a queen or king bed sagging in the middle, and many mattress warranties require one.

What is a bed skirt for?

A bed skirt, or dust ruffle, hangs from under the mattress to the floor. It hides the frame and anything stored under the bed, and keeps dust out.