fabric which can fold in half and can be sent by shipping and courier companies. With the increasing height of mattresses, manufacturers now make box springs in different heights so that the mattress and box spring pair maintain a standard height. Standard "high profile" box springs are in height, whereas "low profile" box springs are between . Changing the thickness of the box spring and mattress require revisions to the mattress and box spring coil stiffness. This is often why box springs and mattresses are matched and sold in pairs. Alternatives Box-spring beds are especially popular in North America and Western Europe. Alternatively, in Japan, futon mattresses are usually either placed on a bedframe or on the floor, without the use of springs. In Europe, wooden frames with a middle section consisting of springs held in place by wire (to be put into the wooden bedframe as a unit) used to be the standard for most of the 20th century. The springs have mostly been replaced by pre-bent wooden slats (usually glued laminated timber made from beech or birch) which are joined to the outer wooden frame by some form of flexible rubber bolt, shoe or socket. This lath floor provides suspension, allows the mattress to ventilate, and can be designed to be vertically adjustable in order to elevate the legs and / or the torso. A more simple approach is to join straight laths with a textile strap so that they can be rolled up for transport and placed right into the bedframe. References Bedding Furniture Upholstery