You Could...
You try using a OverlayLayout
, but I'm not sure it will meet your requirements.
You Could
Set use a GridBagLayout
on the JLayeredPane
, placing each component at the same gridx
/gridy
and then filling with GridBagConstraints.BOTH
and a weightx
/weighty
of 1
You Could
Use the frame's "glass pane" as the top layer. Which will allow you to place controls over the top the frame's "content pane"
See How to use root panes for more details.