Assembled bed with an upholstered headboard and a lift-up base, slatted base fitted, in a Dutch bedroom

IKEA assembly

IKEA bed assembly

We build every IKEA bed: MALM, HEMNES, BRIMNES, NORDLI, with or without storage and drawers.

We put every IKEA bed together the same way: all bolts hand-tight first, then the frame squared and levelled, and only then everything brought up to tension. Work the other way round and the frame is pulled out of square, which comes back three weeks later as creaking. A MALM or NORDLI stands within about an hour; a bed with a lifting base or drawers takes longer, because the mechanism has to run evenly on both sides.

Scope of work

Ranges
MALM, BRIMNES, HEMNES, NORDLI, SLATTUM and TARVA — with or without storage and headboard.
Storage options
MALM with 2 or 4 drawers or with storage under the lift-up base, BRIMNES with a storage compartment under the base — runners set so drawers close smoothly under weight.
Slatted base
LURÖY or LÖNSET fitted to size, slats evenly spaced, no rattling slat that comes loose.
Headboard
Anchored to the frame without play — a headboard that ticks or moves with every turn is a headboard fixed wrong.
Mattress
Optional: we'll help lift and place your mattress — handy if you're on your own and the box is on the top floor.
Old bed
On request we take the old bed away. Small surcharge for disposal; your bedroom is clear right away.

On the job

Why one bed stays silent and another starts to creak

Hand-tight, square, and only then fixed

A bed frame is not a stack of loose parts but one structure that is only true once it comes under tension as a whole. Tighten the first corner fully straight away and the rest of the frame is forced out of square, leaving a little unwanted pre-load in every joint. So we set everything hand-tight, measure the diagonals — they should match within a few millimetres — and only then tighten in rotation. Creaking almost always starts where timber moves against timber under a bolt that is slightly loose or slightly skewed, and that order of work prevents it.

Chipboard forgives you once

IKEA beds are built from chipboard with a veneer skin, and chipboard has no fibre that springs back. A screw that has once been over-driven will not bite again however hard you turn it: the hole has gone round and the chips around it have been ground to powder. So we work at a low torque setting and take the last part of the turn by hand. If a hole is already gone, we glue in a timber plug and re-drill rather than driving a fatter screw. The same rule applies to wardrobe panels, see IKEA wardrobe assembly.

A lifting base is a mechanism, not a board

With a MALM with storage or a BRIMNES with drawers, the time goes into adjustment rather than driving screws. The two gas struts or hinge arms must extend equally on both sides, otherwise the base rises askew and jams in the rim. The drawers run on runners that must sit square and be set for load: empty, everything glides; full, a skewed drawer starts to rub. So we test with the mattress in place and pull each drawer fully out twice. In a teenager's room we often combine this with a workspace, see desk and chair assembly.

The slatted base goes in last

LURÖY is a roll of loose slats on webbing; LÖNSET is a glued unit with more spring. Neither belongs in the frame until that frame is level and fixed. Fit them earlier and a slat jams in the rim and later breaks at exactly that point. Every slat must seat with an audible click, and the centre rail has to carry the base in the middle — a centre leg that does not quite reach the floor lets the bed sag, and you feel that within a month. A box spring works entirely differently, see bed assembly for every brand.

Headboard, wall and bedside tables

A headboard bolted to the frame moves with the bed; a headboard that meets the wall must either keep clearance or be fixed. If the bed stands tight against a cold outside wall we deliberately leave a few centimetres of air, so the timber does not work and no damp is trapped behind it. We set the height to the mattress you actually use, not the one in the brochure — that easily makes ten centimetres of difference in visible headboard. Bedside tables go at the height of the mattress edge, because that is the height at which you put something down at night.

The route to the bedroom

We build the bed in the room where it will stand, and that is not a luxury: an assembled double frame rarely passes an internal door or a turn on the landing. What we want to know in advance is the width of the stairs, whether there is a turn in them, and whether the mattress is already upstairs. A 160-wide mattress is the most awkward load of the whole job, heavier to handle than the boxes. If an old bed is still there, we dismantle it first and stack the parts. For a whole home we agree that order in advance, see office and living room assembly.

Sources

Tillen en dragen — Arboportaal (Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid), accessed 2026-08-31
Gasbetonplug GB — fischer Nederland, accessed 2026-08-31
DuoPower — fischer Nederland, accessed 2026-08-31
Hoe vind ik montagehandleidingen voor IKEA producten? — IKEA Nederland, accessed 2026-08-31
Gids voor wandverankering (Zet vast!) — Inter IKEA Systems B.V., accessed 2026-08-31

Price

On request

Fixed price per bed including slatted base, headboard and drawer adjustment. Helping with the mattress costs nothing extra.

Bedroom with an assembled bed and slatted base in a Dutch interior

IKEA bed with crisp alignment and a slatted base fitted to size

01 — Detail

A bed that doesn't creak.

The biggest difference between a well- and a badly-assembled IKEA bed isn't something you see — you hear it at night. A MALM that creaks has one or two bolts that aren't tight enough. We run every joint up on a low clutch setting first and finish it by hand, check the corner connections and add felt washers between frame and headboard where needed.

02 — Detail

Storage beds need patience.

MALM with storage or BRIMNES with drawers isn't a quarter-hour job. The lift mechanism has to run evenly on both sides, the runners square, the drawers parallel to the frame. We set the adjustable feet under load (your mattress on top) so a full drawer closes smoothly and doesn't scrape the side.

03 — Detail

Small detail: the slatted base.

LURÖY or LÖNSET is often still being placed on the floor during assembly. Don't — a slat fitted under tension binds at the edge, a loose slat shifts over time. We fit the slatted base after the frame is standing, and test every slat for that little click that says: locked.

At a glance

Dimensions per bed size: what the frame occupies on the floor and how much room we need around it to work. The outside size is a rule of thumb; the exact figure is in the manual for your series.
Mattress size	Frame occupies (rule of thumb)	Working room	What catches you out at this size
90 × 200 single	Mattress plus 12–16 cm in width	50 cm along one long side	Usually still passes an internal door assembled
140 × 200	Mattress plus 14–18 cm in width	50 cm along both long sides	The headboard is often too long for a narrow landing
160 × 200	Mattress plus 14–18 cm in width	60 cm all round	Centre rail and centre leg must be levelled with the rest
180 × 200	Mattress plus 16–20 cm in width	60 cm all round	Slatted base in two halves; the joint belongs exactly centre
High sleeper or bunk 90 × 200	Height 160–180 cm	Clear height to the ceiling plus a step ladder	Must be fixed to the wall; guard rail at the right height
Bed with lifting base	As the size above, plus travel	Full mattress length clear at the foot end	The base swings forward; that space has to exist

Practical

Duration: 1–2 hours per bed
Coverage: Across the Netherlands
Payment: iDEAL · card · invoice

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Will a MALM with drawers or a lift-up base keep running smoothly?

Yes — we set the drawers with the supplied adjustable feet so they close smoothly under load.

Why does a bed creak and how do you prevent it?

Creaking comes from one or two bolts that are not tight enough. We set every joint with the driver on a low torque setting, follow up by hand, and add felt washers between frame and headboard where needed.

Do you fit the slatted base and the mattress too?

The slatted base goes in only once the frame stands, and every slat is tested for that click that says it is seated. Lifting and placing your mattress is on request, at no extra charge.

Will an assembled bed still pass the bedroom door?

A single frame usually will, a double frame rarely does. That is why we build as standard in the room where the bed will stand. Tell us in advance whether the boxes are already upstairs and whether the staircase turns — that decides how much of the time goes into carrying.

What do you do when a screw hole has been stripped?

We glue in a timber plug, let it take, and re-drill the pilot hole. Driving a fatter screw into the same hole does not work: it only pushes the chips further apart. If a panel is damaged in several places we say so honestly, rather than screwing the bed together anyway.

Will you take the old bed away?

By arrangement we dismantle the old bed and remove it for a contribution towards tipping costs. Say so in advance and we plan time for it and keep room free in the van. Without an arrangement beforehand we cannot take it with us.

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Finished bed installation — craft you'll sleep soundly on

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Last updated 30 August 2026