My system works well for my needs. Unfortunately, I am not learned on picture posting - but will try to be as coherent as possible. My planters look similar to yours - I also have 9 in all. My only regret is that we didn't make them all the same size, life would have been easier - as far as the cages were concerned, best to have 2 for each box. I built PVC pipe frames - 2 frames to a box. The materials are readily available from Home Depot. The pipe is the usual kind used for moving water - about 1/2 inch size. The 3-sided corner fittings need to be 1/2 in. as well, and 8 are needed total. For each corner an adapter is needed because one side of the 3 corner piece is threaded (bummer), and a slide in adapter is necessary (not always easy to find). Also needed is a plastic pipe cutter (Home Depot), chicken wire, wire cutters, wire or rope for securing wire to pipe. The cages are about 3 feet high and covered with chicken wire - secured all around the pipe with wire/rope - leaving about 6 inches near the top to reach inside the cage and open at the bottom. Building the cage is not difficult, except for the corners - where the 3 cornered adapter is needed on each corner to secure the slide-in pieces together. (one side of the 3-cornered piece comes threaded - that's why). A quick glance will explain it. I didn't glue my cages - but plastic pipe cement can be used for that. Another piece of chicken wire can be cut for the top - I don't secure it - but I can drape fabric on top and around the cages - when planting young seedlings for extra protection and for weather protection. This is secured with either clips (ordered with the cloth) or with clothes pins. These cages work well for me. If all of the boxes are not in use at once, it is possible to move these cages from one place to another where needed - very light weight or removed entirely if plants aren't in need of protection. I also have used old rabbit cages - for smaller areas. These have bottoms taken out and are easy to move around. They were originally made with hardware cloth (Home Depot), simply by attaching end pieces together with wire clips onto the main body of the cage. The cages are simple to make, rolling out hardware cloth to size, bend to form edges and clip together. The sides need cutting to fit the main frame, and clipped. But I do like the PVC cages, and they hold up well year after year. But I would advise having the planters all the same size, to facilitate their use from one box to another. Just my 2 c's. Bejay

Hi Kathy, I use a frame, similar, to this. (IE.HOLLYWOOD FRAME) As far as the frame showing....perhaps a bedspread, which is wider than a quilt or comforter. Here is a link that might be useful: bedframe

There are pluses and minuses. I have slept in '80s brass beds, 1880s brass beds, and a more modern wrought iron bed. Here are some things to think about. - Metal beds originally became popular as a precaution against bedbugs. Bedbugs hide in wood furniture, so if you get an infestation simply replacing the mattress won't suffice. For most of my life, bedbugs were a quaint old affliction remembered only in good-night sayings. However, they are now back in a big way. If you travel at all, your luggage can carry bedbugs from a hotel (even a very nice hotel) right back to your own bed. If so, you may have to treat or replace the mattress but at least your bed will be easy to sanitize. - You need to plan out where your head goes. Banging your skull on metal is unpleasant. That means you need good-sized pillows for sleeping and extra fluffage for reading. And yes, pillows do have a tendency to slip behind the bed. - I found it pleasant to touch the cool metal with my hands when I was warm in bed. It sounds like nothing, but it actually made a difference in comfort . - By all means get a well-made bed if you go metal. Cheap metal beds flex and move and bend even more than cheap wooden ones. A poorly made bed will make you feel like you are sleeping in a lifeboat on open seas.

If you are "stuck with the bookcase headboard" as you say, then I would not go streamlined with the bottom of the bed. It just won't look right IMHO. Keep the dust 'ruffle' and use a plain flat, box pleated one to avoid fussiness. It sounds like you just hate the dust ruffle and adequate storage in the room also seems to be a problem too, if there is no room for a nightstand and the only bookshelf is in the headboard..........maybe consider a captains bed for your son. It will look sturdy and streamlined and won't be fussy. It will provide more storage. Check CL. If you absolutely want no dust ruffle, and the captains bed is not right for you, try hiding the wheels with coffee cans. You can paint them to match the color of the frame. Use a quilt that is long enough to cover the frame even though it will match the cans. Personally I would not spend a dime, or waste the time, to try to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Those metal bed frames on wheels are ugly and noisy. Get a new bed that fits your needs and decorating desires. If your are on a strict budget consider the following options......... If you do not need wheels on the bed to move it around for cleaning why not just build a platform bed. You can just get four sturdy pillars or use glass block or just about anything and put a sturdy board over it. Make sure you also provide center supports. Since bookshelves are needed can you just put some on the wall. Get lumber and cut to size and make or buy brackets. Consider checking CraigsList for a new bed. Goodwill in my area has wonderfull items and always has beds, usually the full size ones and twin size. Freecycle may offer a bed frame that you can get just for hauling it away. If you live in a city keep your eyes peeled for great curbside finds. I've seen perfectly good bed frames and headboards set out curbside all the time. I've curbside shopped myself, and often I grab things that I can't use, but hate to see go to a landfill, and I bring them in to Goodwill. You wouldn't believe the nice things that people toss out.