UK Bed Sizes Explained

Bed sizes sound simple until you are standing in a bedroom with a tape measure, trying to work out whether a king will actually fit. This guide sets out every standard UK bed size in centimetres and feet and inches, explains how to match the size to your room, and covers what to do when none of the standard sizes quite work.

Standard UK bed sizes

These are the five sizes almost every UK bed maker builds to. The measurements refer to the mattress the frame takes, which is the number that matters when you are buying bedding or a replacement mattress.

Size	Centimetres	Feet and inches	Sleeps
Single	90 x 190cm	3ft x 6ft 3in	One
Small double	120 x 190cm	4ft x 6ft 3in	One comfortably, two at a squeeze
Double	135 x 190cm	4ft 6in x 6ft 3in	Two
King	150 x 200cm	5ft x 6ft 6in	Two, with room to spare
Super king	180 x 200cm	6ft x 6ft 6in	Two, luxuriously

A note on the length: single, small double and double beds are 190cm long, while kings and super kings are 200cm. If you are tall, that extra 10cm on the larger sizes is worth knowing about.

Which size suits your room?

The bed is the biggest thing in the room, so it sets the rules. Before you fall in love with a super king, do the practical checks.

Walk-around space. You should be able to walk around the bed without turning sideways, get in and out comfortably, and open wardrobe doors and drawers fully. If a larger bed means climbing over your partner or blocking the wardrobe, it is too big for the room, however tempting it looks in the showroom photograph.

The door swing. Check which way the bedroom door opens and whether a bigger bed would sit in its path. This catches more people out than any other measurement.

Getting it upstairs. Measure the route, not just the room. Doorways, hallways, staircases and tight landings all need to pass the frame. A super king that cannot turn the corner on your stairs is an expensive mistake, so measure the journey as carefully as the destination.

As a rough rule of thumb, a double suits most main bedrooms in typical UK homes, a king suits larger main bedrooms, and a super king needs a genuinely generous room. Small doubles are the sweet spot for box rooms and teenagers who have outgrown a single.

Matching your mattress to your bed

Your mattress should be the same size as your bed frame. A standard UK double mattress is 135 x 190cm, a standard king is 150 x 200cm, and so on through the table above. Mixing sizes, a king mattress on a double frame, for example, never works: it overhangs, wears unevenly and looks wrong.

If you are buying the bed and mattress together, order them as a pair in the same size and the problem disappears. Our mattresses are made to sit perfectly on our frames, and our guide to choosing mattress firmness will help you pick the right feel once the size is settled.

What if I need a non-standard size?

Awkward rooms exist: chimney breasts, sloping ceilings, narrow Victorian terraces. If no standard size fits, you are not out of options. Because we build every bed to order in our own workshop, we can make frames to measure rather than forcing your room to fit a catalogue.

Non-standard sizes do need a conversation first, because the mattress has to match and bedding gets trickier. Message us on WhatsApp with your measurements and we will tell you honestly what is possible and what it means for the mattress.

Bed size, bedding and the practical details

Bedding follows bed sizes, so once you know your size the rest is straightforward. A single takes single bedding, a double takes double bedding, and so on. Where people get caught out is assuming all doubles are equal: always check the centimetres on the label, especially with fitted sheets, because a 200cm long king needs deeper sheets than a 190cm double.

Headboards add height but not sleeping space, so they do not change the size you order. Storage options do not change it either: an ottoman double and a plain double take the same mattress. If storage is the reason you are sizing up, read our ottoman storage bed buying guide first, because a smaller bed with clever storage often beats a bigger bed that swamps the room.

Measuring your room: the tape-on-the-floor method

Numbers on a page are abstract. The method that actually works is low tech: mark the bed’s footprint on your bedroom floor with masking tape, using the centimetres from the table above, then live with it for an evening. Walk around it. Open the wardrobe. Imagine getting out of bed half asleep. If the tape makes the room feel cramped, the bed will feel worse, because the real thing also has height and presence.

Do the same exercise with the next size down before you decide. Most people are surprised how little difference a step down makes to comfort, and how much difference it makes to the room.

A quick way to decide

If you are still torn between two sizes, the smaller one is usually the right call. A bed that fits the room with space to breathe sleeps better than a bed that dominates it. And remember that storage options, like the ottomans in our ottoman storage bed buying guide, can make a smaller bed work harder.

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