We Tested (and Rated!) Every Pottery Barn Bed Frame — Here Are the Best for Your Space and Style

When it comes to shopping for a bed online, it’s almost impossible to discern the finish, texture, and details that make a frame worth the cost. Bed frames include a number of constructive and aesthetic components to consider but many of us don’t have the time, patience, or ability to check them out in-person. That’s why we did the sleuthing for you, by testing Pottery Barn bed frames.

As your Personal Shoppers, we visit the showrooms and stores of your favorite home brands to put all the hard-to-online-shop-for items to the test. This time, we went, saw, poked, prodded, and laid on all the Pottery Barn bed frames on display at the retailer’s New York City locations. Now we’re reporting back with our honest opinions about them all.

Read on to find out which Pottery Barn bed frames are worth the investment, and which could be ideal for you.

As one of the premier spots to shop for home decor, Pottery Barn is a reliable retailer. It’s a brand that, overall, has demonstrated its capacity to stay on top of trends and remain true to its best-selling classics and Americana roots. The retailer also uses premium materials, namely solid wood, to ensure that your bed frame is sturdy and long-lasting.

Beyond this, Pottery Barn has its Design Crew, or team of interior design experts across the country, to help with all things planning, logistics, and aesthetics for your home. Not only can you take your pick from virtual, storefront, or in-home meetings with crew members, but they will also listen to your every desire when it comes to your dream space — whether it’s one room or your entire home — and develop custom renderings.

We judged these Pottery Barn bed frames on the following five criteria to help you find the model you’re looking for.

• Customizability: Does it come in different varieties? How many colors, finishes, materials, or sizes is it available in? How granular can you get when customizing the bed frame?
• Space needs: How much space does the bed frame require? Does it have a canopy or need high ceilings? Is it particularly bulky or does it stay close to its appointed mattress size?
• Platform height: How high off of the ground is the bed frame? Would it generally require bending down or reaching up to get into?
• Storage capacity: Does the bed frame include drawers? Does it have space underneath for under-bed storage? Does its headboard have storage capacity?
• Appearance: What style of decor does the bed frame suit best? Does its design lean warm and rustic or sleek and modern? Is it classic with upholstery and detailing or contemporary with clean lines and versatile minimalism?

All the Pottery Barn bed frames were tested by AT’s former Shopping Writers, Nikol Slatinska and Kendall Cornish. Kendall has written for Apartment since 2021, and Nikol has since 2022. The two tested and reviewed furniture for the Personal Shopper and Best List series to help readers find the best pieces for their homes, especially small spaces. From bed frames and sofas to dining tables and accent chairs, they’ve covered them all — so they’re truly furniture experts. 

Nikol and Kendall went to multiple Pottery Barn stores in NYC to evaluate the brand’s beds on their design, customizability, and storage capacity.

What impressed us: The most noticeable part of the Rylee bed is the bisected headboard, which we hadn’t seen on a bed frame in-store before, but even that is a low-key detail.

Because it’s so simple in its design, the Rylee can blend in with just about any interior decor aesthetic and even grow with you as your tastes change. It has a white-washed finish but isn’t as cool-toned as some of the other sand-washed or Seadrift pieces we’ve seen at Pottery Barn. We also appreciate that the footboard is lifted, keeping your mattress snugly in place.

Although you get some under-bed storage space, the profile of this frame is quite low, which further gives it a casual appearance. If you’re after a bed you can dress up or down and keep for years without fear of it ever looking outdated, this is the one.

Specifications:

• Styles: Also available as nightstand, mini nightstand, 6-drawer dresser, and tall dresser styles
• Dimensions: 84″ deep, 63″ wide, 47″ high
• Finishes: 1 option

What impressed us: One of the newest bed models, the Portola canopy expertly merges a solid oak frame in Pottery Barn’s signature Seadrift finish with crisp white Tencel upholstery on the headboard and footboard. It was positioned front and center when we entered the store and made an immediate impression with its imposing but clean-lined canopy.

The oak is kiln-dried for maximum durability, and it has a weathered appearance but still sports a smooth texture. If you’re into Scandinavian-inspired home design, you’ll love the Portola’s cozy yet contemporary vibe. Making this the centerpiece of your bedroom is an easy way to instantly elevate your interior style; plus, you can dress the Portola up with plush coverings or keep it minimal with equally simple bedding.

Specifications:

• Dimensions: 85″ deep, 63″ wide, 90″ high
• Finishes: 1 option

What impressed us: The Aptos collection includes this larger-than-life bed frame that oozes coastal luxury. It was located front and center when we entered the store, but even tucking it into an obscured corner couldn’t make it ignorable.

Aside from its towering canopy, the frame stuns with its sand-wash finish — a soothing greige and a Pottery Barn signature. We also like how the four bed posts curve outward, a subtle but significant detail. As for the texture of the mango and acacia wood, it’s slightly grainy but in a soft, powdery way.

Of course, you have to be okay with your bed taking up a lot of space if you opt for the Aptos, but its canopy design makes a statement, so you don’t have to go all out when it comes to styling the piece. It perfectly straddles the line between being eye-catching and low-maintenance.

Specifications:

• Styles: Also available in nightstand, 6-drawer dresser, standard bed frame, 4-drawer dresser, tall dresser
• Dimensions: 87″ deep, 65″ wide, 84″ high
• Finishes: 2 options

What Impressed Us: Minimalists will love the Cayman, a platform bed frame with a rustic look and clean, modern edges. It’s got a touch of space underneath, about six inches high, which is ideal for some slim rolling under-bed storage containers. The solid wood it’s made with is fortified by being kiln-dried to prevent warping, cracking, and even mildew over time.

This is a bed frame that’s built to thrive through moves, decor changes, and even high humidity. And, between us, it’s one of our favorite bed frames from Pottery Barn’s collection and the one we would personally opt for given its quality, clean aesthetic, and price.

Specifications:

• Styles: Also available in nightstand, 9-drawer dresser, 6-drawer dresser, upholstered bed, platform bed, armoire, floating drawer, floating wall cabinet, and modular styles
• Dimensions: 83″ deep, 64″ wide, 46.5″ high
• Finishes: 4 options

What Impressed Us: Never have we seen a bed frame as striking as the Oakleigh canopy bed. Robust, sturdy, and statement-making, it’s the kind of bed you either don’t want to leave or only want to show off.

The canopy is fixed to the frame, and its frame is flush to the ground, leaving it without storage capacity but making it the most substantial and durable bed we saw at Pottery Barn (which is saying a lot). If you’re hoping for a strong, stationary, and show-stopping bed frame that can also support a range of decor styles, from farmhouse to industrial, the Oakleigh is for you.

Specifications:

• Styles: Also available in nightstand, 2-drawer nightstand, 9-drawer dresser, standard bed, 5-drawer dresser
• Dimensions: 87.5″ deep, 63″ wide, 90″ high
• Finishes: 1 option

What impressed us: If you insist on doing all of your daily activities from bed, the Layton is for you. Its low profile means you won’t struggle to hoist yourself up onto the bed, but what makes this piece so inviting is undoubtedly its headboard. Not only is this part of the Layton outfitted in plush upholstery, but the headboard also curves inward to cradle you as you recline back. Whether you’re eating breakfast in bed, working, reading, or just hanging out, you’ll feel comfy and supported the entire time.

You can choose between a variety of upholstery fabrics for the headboard, while the rest of the bed frame is available in four different wood finishes. No matter which combination you opt for, the result will be a rustic, homey oasis you can’t wait to crawl into every night (and day).

Specifications:

• Styles: Also available in full upholstered bed
• Dimensions: 87.5″ deep, 65.5″ wide, 46″ high
• Finishes: 2 options
• Upholstery: 41 upholstery options

What Impressed Us: The Toulouse combines the softness of natural material upholstery with the support of long-grain meranti hardwood to create a display as classic as Pottery Barn itself. Lovers of a more traditional aesthetic, right down to the bronze nailheads that adorn the perimeter, will appreciate this bed frame’s quality, coziness, and simplicity in all the right places.

Complete with moderate under-bed storage space and a highly coveted beautifying and texturizing wood veneer, the Toulouse is well worth the price in-person if its visual is up your alley.

Specifications:

• Styles: Also available in 6-drawer tall dresser, armoire, and writing deskstyles
• Dimensions: 83.5″ deep, 64.5″ wide, 54″ high
• Finishes: 2 finishes

What Impressed Us: Tightly upholstered top-to-tail, the Jake bed frame achieves 5-star hotel-level luxury, construction, and accessibility (and since it’s contract grade, it very well might already be used in some 5-star hotels out there). It lies low to the ground without totally eliminating the possibility for under-bed storage and is supported by slender, mid-century modern metal legs.

We’re not always fans of metal furniture detailing, but Pottery Barn does it right with the Jake. The biggest pro this bed frame has going for it, though, could be the plethora of size, upholstery, wood, and metal options it’s able to be customized from. Go bold with velvet upholstery and brass details or stay neutral with tweed and bronze — the Jake is your oyster.

Specifications:

• Styles: Also available in square platform bed, storage platform bed, and daybedstyles
• Dimensions: 85″ deep, 65.5″ wide, 38.5″ high
• Finishes: 2 options
• Upholstery: 40 upholstery options

What impressed us: The Atwell bed is quite similar to the Portola in terms of its modular canopy design and mix of hard and soft materials. With this frame, however, you get 49 fabric upholstery options for the headboard, sides, and footboard. The pairing results in a piece that’s slightly austere, putting a modern spin on an otherwise traditional design.

The Atwell is plenty functional and even offers a bit of underbed storage despite its low platform height, but if your room gets a lot of direct sunlight, this might not be the model for you. To avoid singeing yourself on hot steel, place the bed in a shadier corner of the bedroom, ideally not right next to a window.

Specifications:

• Styles: Also available in a standard bed
• Dimensions: 80″ deep, 60″ wide, 86″ high
• Upholstery: 48 upholstery options

What Impressed Us: We almost didn’t even notice that the Harper bed had drawers upon drawers’ worth of storage space when we first saw it. As it turns out, you can even choose to have drawers on the sides of the bed or at the foot, both being extremely discreet but the latter being pretty much invisible.

It comes in 52 upholstery options, including Pottery Barn’s own performance velvet, which stands up to scratchy kitties as well as it does clumsy kids (and adults). Its very tall headboard is not only handsome but also adds some serious comfort to the bed frame overall.

Specifications:

• Styles: Also available in non-tufted upholstered bed, tufted upholstered bed, non-tufted upholstered headboard, tufted upholstered storage platform bed, and wall-mounted headboard styles.
• Dimensions: 91″ deep, 68.5″ wide, 61″ high
• Nailhead Finishes: 2 options (also available without nailheads)
• Upholstery: 52 upholstery options

What Impressed Us: The Farmhouse canopy bed is Pottery Barn’s answer to a more space- (and wallet-) conscious version of the Oakleigh. The Farmhouse’s canopy doesn’t reach quite as high, nor does the bed frame come all the way to the ground, making it suited for rooms in which excess space is more limited.

It has considerable space underneath for storage, but we do recommend containers that are just as attractive as the bed frame itself, as they’re likely to be visible. A few of the finishes that the frame comes in are done by hand with a multi-step process, resulting in beautiful tonality and dimension (versus the inauthentic wood-like look often seen when engineered wood is involved). Bonus: the white finish is currently on sale!

Specifications:

• Styles: Also available in a standard bed, platform bed, day bed with trundle, 6-drawer dresser, 4-drawer nightstand, 7-drawer tall dresser, 5-drawer tall wide dresser, 4-drawer nightstand, 2-drawer nightstand, mini nightstand, 4-drawer dresser, armoire, and standalone headboard styles
• Dimensions: 87″ deep, 68.5″ wide, 80″ high
• Finishes: 5 options