Bought this for our guest bedroom and looks really chic! There are enough slats to support a mattress with no box spring but we added a 4 inch boxspring because the 8" thick mattress we bought was too low to get in and out of easily. The description says to get an 8" thick mattress but I think 10" would be better suited. There's about 10 3/4" of clearance between the top of the slats and the bottom of the headboard.