As others have previously mentioned there will be a substantial gap around the mattress and bed frame. We built a seat at the end of our bed like others before is have done as well. Also, this bed is not meant to be used with box springs which I wasn't satisfied with as well as it was uncomfortable for our backs. Therefore, we removed the slats and replaced with plywood so that we were able to use our box springs and the bed is more enjoyable this way.