The Ultimate Guide to King-Size Beds

Given that we spend a third of our lives in bed, the importance of a good night’s sleep can never be underestimated. As well as certain sleep habits which can improve the quality of your slumber, your bed itself has a large part to play in helping you to achieve that much-needed REM.

As well as the mattress and the frame, the size of your bed can make a difference – ergonomic studies have shown that couples sleep better in a bigger bed. From a single bed right the way through to a king-size bed, it’s worth spending some time evaluating the right size bed for you before making any new purchases.

If you are considering a bigger bed and looking at doubles, queen-sized and king-sized beds, here’s the ultimate guide to king-size beds to help give you some food for thought.

What styles and materials are available?

If you are interested in buying a king-size bed, there are a real range of styles and materials to choose from. Given a king-size bed does take up a considerable amount of room, you may need to choose one with storage.

Storage under your bed is ideal for bedding or towels and really helps you to maximise the space you have available. Darlings of Chelsea also offer a bespoke service which enables you to tweak the design to suit your requirements, ensuring it fits into your décor perfectly.

Is there anything more impressive than a sleigh bed? How about a king-size sleigh bed? Making a real design statement, a sleigh bed is bound to turn heads, with its curved foot and headboards and Chesterfield style design. If a sleigh bed is the bed of your dreams, make sure to also choose the material to complement your room, with a choice of cotton, linen, or velvet available.

A more traditional choice is a wooden King size bed – providing a more natural, slimline look, there is a range of high-quality hardwood frames to choose from, with a selection of luxury fabrics also available.

What bed frame is best?

If you have decided a king-size bed is for you, the next decision is choosing your bed frame. This decision will shape the style of your bed, and it also determines whether you can have storage underneath.

In terms of dimensions, the width of a king-size bed starts with the mattress, at 150cm wide and 200cm long. Your frame, however, can be a lot bigger than that – particularly if you choose the likes of a Sleigh Bed.

If you want to go bigger still, then there is a super king-size bed, the biggest of them all! At 180cm wide by 200cm long, a super king-size bed provides the ultimate space. But it does require a lot of space, so before you start looking at a super king-size bed frame, it’s worth taking out your tape measure and making sure you have the room to comfortably fit both your bed and your furniture in!

In terms of choice of bed frames, there are plenty to choose from and ultimately it is down to personal preference. A wooden king-size bed provides a more traditional look and feel, while metal bed frames can provide a more contemporary feel and often tend to be lighter in weight and more slimline in appearance.

Picking the right mattress

If you have your heart set on a king-size bed and have decided on a style and frame, the good news is, you’re halfway there. All you need now is to work out which is the right mattress for you, and you’re done!

When looking at king-size beds and mattresses, there is plenty of choices out there, it’s simply a case of working out which mattress will suit you and your partner’s sleep habits.

Memory Foam Mattress

If you like the idea of sinking into your mattress, then a memory foam mattress might be right for you. They work by moulding to your body in response to pressure and heat, evenly distributing body weight. They then return to their original shape once you get up.

As well as being hypoallergenic, additional benefits include being less aware of other people’s movements because there are no coils. And in several sleep studies, participants have reported it can relieve painful pressure points, particularly in the back.

Pocket Sprung Mattress

If the thought of a memory foam mattress doesn’t appeal, then a pocket sprung mattress could be just the ticket. A pocket sprung mattress is the antithesis of a memory foam mattress. While you will sink into memory foam, with a pocket sprung mattress, you will be lying on top of it.

These mattresses are a modern type of traditional spring mattress, which have evolved to see each pocket spring encased individually, allowing them to move independently of each other. Given the sheer level of choice when it comes to pocket sprung mattresses, it’s worth trying each one to see which mattress offers the right level of firmness for you.

What About a Pillow Topper Mattress?

Other mattress choices include pillow topper mattresses and natural mattresses. A pillow topper mattress provides an extra layer stitched on top of the mattress, creating a soft, luxurious, pillow style top. The beauty of a pillow mattress is that it gives you that softer feeling but still provides you with the level of firmness your body needs.

Our range of Pillow Topper Mattresses are traditionally handmade in the UK, using hand-tufted wool with luxury mini springs throughout the pillow topper, to provide the ultimate in comfort.

So, what’s the difference between a king-size and queen-size bed?

Once you’ve decided that you have room for a bigger bed, you need to choose between the various larger sizes. After a single bed, the next size up is a queen-size bed, which is slightly smaller than a double bed, with the dimensions 120cm wide x 190cm long.

A standard double comes next, followed by a king size. A king-size bed in cm is 200cm long, and the width of a King size bed is 150cm. Last but not least is a super king-size, which is 200cm long and 180cm wide.

Are there any disadvantages to a king-size bed?

Studies have shown that the average person moves and wriggles between 60 and 70 times a night – if you happen to be a light sleeper, you may wake up if your partner happens to move a lot. The more distance you can put between you when you go to sleep, the less likely you are to feel the impact of any movement.

While there are many advantages to a king-size bed, which ultimately centre around comfort, the main disadvantage to consider is the amount of room it can take up – if your bedroom isn’t that large, you need to look at whether you can afford to sacrifice the extra room. If you lose some storage to fit the bed in but go for a king-size bed with drawers, you may be able to balance out the amount of storage space you need and enjoy the extra space and comfort.

Once you’ve decided to go for a king-size bed, you’ll find it difficult to ever go back to sleeping in a smaller bed, which suggests a king-size has more pros than it does cons!