Beds

Sarchí frames, factory beds and bunk beds:

the three suit different buyers and age at very different rates. The workshops of Sarchí, in Alajuela, build frames in solid guanacaste, cedar and other local hardwoods, often with drawers underneath, and a frame like that can be sanded and re-varnished long after a factory bed has been thrown out. Factory beds include flat-pack board frames, metal frames and beds with button-tufted upholstered headboards. Bunk beds free up floor space in a shared children’s room, and some split into two single beds once the children have rooms of their own. Bedside tables are listed under side tables, and the wardrobe that matches a bedroom set under cabinets.

Costa Rican mattress sizes and the frame around them:

national mattress makers such as Coruña build a double at 140 by 190 cm, a queen at 152 by 200 cm and a king at two metres square. The king is where imported frames catch people out: a US king frame is about 193 cm wide, so a Costa Rican king mattress will not drop into it, and a US full is a few centimetres narrower than a Costa Rican double. On a made-to-order bed, ask for the inside measurement between the side rails rather than trusting the size name. On a queen or king, look for a centre rail with a leg to the floor, because without one the slats bow under two sleepers. Be clear which base a listing means, too. A bed frame is the outer structure, while a mattress base is the fabric-covered box that sits inside it, and an ad that only says “base” can mean either.

Guanacaste against board, in colones:

a flat-pack double frame starts around ₡140,000 new, while a queen in solid guanacaste from a Sarchí workshop starts around ₡400,000 for the frame alone, before mattress, bedside tables or transport, and carved or storage models go well past that. The two lose value at different speeds. A used factory frame has to undercut a new one that is still in the shops and already cheap, and a chipped board edge cannot be sanded back. A sound guanacaste bed mostly loses its finish, which sanding and fresh varnish put right, so it is fair to price it against the workshop’s frame-only figure rather than against a factory bed.

A used wooden bed, tested assembled:

ask to see it put together and push the headboard sideways. A frame that sways has loose joints or stripped bolt threads. Turn a few slats over, look for cracks running with the grain, and count them, because missing ones tend to be replaced with mismatched offcuts. A listing that says only “wood” can mean solid timber or veneered board, so look at an unfinished edge or the underside of a rail, where veneer shows its layer. On a button-tufted headboard, run a hand over the buttons and seams for tears and loose staples. On a bunk bed, the ladder and top-bunk guard rail should be bolted to the frame, not hooked on or nailed.

Measurements, wood and bolts for a bed listing:

give the inside width and length between the rails, the outside footprint and the height of the headboard, and say whether the mattress base or a mattress goes with it. Name the wood and the Sarchí workshop if you know them, since buyers look for guanacaste and cedar by name. Photograph one joint up close, the slats from underneath and an unfinished edge. When you take the bed apart, bag the bolts and tape the bag to a rail. Someone coming from Limón or Puntarenas will ask whether it is already dismantled and whether the headboard lies flat in the back of a pickup, so answer both in the ad.