Platform beds started to become popular in the 1970s. A simple mattress was put on the platform and they were not very comfortable. They also came in various shapes (remember the round bed in Austin Powers?). Those old beds were very uncomfortable and they soon made way for the mattress and box spring combo.

Things are not coming full circle. It seems that platform beds are again making a comeback. What is the difference? The mattress. It is not the old, lumpy mattresses from the 60s and 70s but a new kind of memory foam mattress. These mattresses are comfortable and less expensive than their mattress/box spring counterparts.