This bed is beautiful and sturdy. I am so pleased with how it looks. I was also concerned about the look of the support slats. In the end, I decided to not reinforce them and they have been fine. I ordered the queen bed and have a 7.5 inch box spring base resting on the slats. The box spring tops off about a half inch above the sides of the bed which works great. I originally tried a 4 inch box spring but didn't like the lower height.