To measure up for a velvet TV bed, start with the outside dimensions of the frame, not the mattress size. A TV bed is longer than a standard bed because the footboard holds the lift mechanism and the screen, so you need the full external length and width. Then add clear space around the bed for walking, opening doors and raising the television. Measure the room, measure the route into the room and check the headboard height against windows and sockets. Do those three things and you will know before ordering whether a bed will sit comfortably in the space.
Our collection of modern TV beds UK includes many velvet designs, and the same measuring process applies to every one of them. Velvet gives a soft, padded finish that can make a frame a few centimetres deeper than a plain wooden bed, which is another reason to work from the listed product dimensions rather than a rough guess.
UK mattress sizes are standardised, and they set the inner footprint of any bed. Knowing which size you want narrows the search straight away and gives you a starting figure to build on.
These are mattress measurements only. The frame wraps around the mattress, and the upholstered sides, headboard and footboard all add to the overall size. When you plan the rest of the room, it helps to think of the bed as the anchor piece and fit everything else around it. If you are furnishing the whole room at once, our modern bedroom furniture UK sale pieces are listed with full dimensions too, so you can plan the bed, wardrobes and drawers together on one sheet of paper.
The footboard on a TV bed is not just decorative. It is a hollow box that contains the lift, the cabling and the screen when it is lowered. That box needs depth, so the footboard is usually much thicker than on an ordinary upholstered bed. Add a padded velvet headboard at the other end and the overall length can be noticeably more than the mattress length.
For that reason, always look for the external length figure in the product details. Do not assume a king size TV bed will be the same length as a king size divan. The difference can decide whether you still have a comfortable walkway at the foot of the bed or whether the wardrobe doors catch on the footboard.
Width usually grows less dramatically, but velvet side rails are often padded and rounded. A few centimetres on each side matters in a narrow room where the bed sits between a wall and a chest of drawers. Upholstered designs vary widely here, and our modern fabric beds UK show how much difference a slim side rail can make compared with a deeply padded one.
A tape measure, a notepad and a roll of masking tape are all you need. Work through the room in this order.
The masking tape step is the one people skip, and it is often the most useful. Walking around a taped outline tells you far more than numbers on a page. You will notice quickly if you have to turn sideways to reach the window or if the door touches the corner of the frame.
As a general guide, aim for roughly 60 to 70cm of clear floor on the sides of the bed you use to get in and out. That allows you to walk, make the bed and open a bedside drawer without shuffling. In a smaller room you can reduce this on one side if the bed is pushed nearer a wall, but think about who sleeps on that side and how they will get out at night.
The foot of the bed needs similar thought. With a TV bed, the screen rises vertically out of the footboard, so the space in front of the footboard does not need to be large for the mechanism itself. You do still need room to walk past, and you need to be able to reach the footboard if you ever have to service the lift or adjust cables.
Headroom is easy to overlook. When the television is raised, it stands above the footboard. In most rooms this is no problem, but in a loft conversion or a room with a sloping ceiling, check that the raised screen will clear the slope. Measure the ceiling height at the exact point where the footboard will sit, not in the centre of the room.
Velvet beds often have tall, statement headboards with panels, piping or buttoning. They look generous in the showroom, but a tall headboard can cover part of a window, block a wall light or sit awkwardly beneath a shelf. Measure from the floor to the underside of the window sill, any wall light and any shelf on the bed wall, then compare with the listed headboard height.
Sockets matter here too. If the only sockets on the bed wall sit low, a solid headboard may cover them. That is not always a problem, since you can run cables behind, but it is better to know in advance.
The height of the mattress surface affects your choice of bedside storage. The top of a bedside cabinet works best when it sits close to the height of the mattress top, so a glass of water or a book is within easy reach. Once you know the bed height, you can choose from our bedside cabinets UK sale with confidence that the proportions will work.
Plenty of beds fit the bedroom but struggle to get there. Before you order, measure every point on the way from the front door to the bedroom: the door frames, the hallway width, the stairs, the turn on the landing and the bedroom door itself.
TV beds generally arrive in sections, with the headboard, side rails, footboard unit and slats packed separately. The footboard housing and the headboard are usually the largest pieces. Check their packed dimensions and compare them with the tightest point on your route, especially a narrow staircase with a turn. Terraced houses and flats in converted buildings are where this tends to catch people out.
If you are replacing an old bed, think about how that one will leave the room too. It is far easier to plan the swap in advance than to have two frames in the bedroom at once.
The lift motor needs mains power, and so does the television. Plan where the cable will run. A socket should sit within reach of the bed without a trailing extension lead crossing the floor. A neat route along the skirting and under the frame keeps things tidy and safe.
Check the maximum screen size and weight that the lift mechanism supports. This varies between models, and the figure is listed in the product details. Measure your current television across the diagonal and confirm its weight before you assume it will fit. A screen that is too large for the housing will not lower fully.
Viewing distance is worth a moment of thought as well. Sitting up against the headboard, you will be roughly the length of the mattress away from the screen. For most people this is comfortable for a modest screen size, which suits the limits of a footboard mechanism anyway. If you want some broader background on how the larger sizes fit into rooms, our guide to king size bed dimensions for UK bedrooms explains frame, mattress and room sizes in more detail.
Measurements tell you whether a bed fits physically. Colour and texture decide how big it feels. Velvet reflects light in a soft way, so pale shades such as dove grey, oyster or champagne tend to sit lightly in a room. Deep tones like navy, bottle green or charcoal feel richer and more enclosing, which can be lovely in a larger bedroom but heavier in a compact one.
Plush velvet has an even, smooth pile. Crushed velvet has a varied, shimmering surface that catches the light. Both are durable when looked after, but crushed velvet tends to hide light marks a little better in a busy household.
Think about sunlight too. A velvet bed placed directly under a south facing window will be exposed to strong light for long periods, and like most fabrics it may fade gradually over time. If the room allows, place the bed so the headboard is out of direct afternoon sun, or use a lined curtain or blind during the brightest part of the day.
A velvet TV bed can bring comfort and a sense of occasion to an everyday bedroom, but it rewards careful planning. Measure the room, the route and the details, then check every figure against the product listing. With a taped outline on the floor and a clear idea of the space you need, the choice becomes much simpler. When you are ready to compare designs side by side, you can browse the full range at Furniture in Fashion, with free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes.
It depends on the design, because the footboard has to house the lift and the screen. The difference is often noticeable, so always use the external length in the product details rather than the mattress length when planning your room.
Not significantly, but padded velvet headboards and side rails can add a few centimetres compared with slimmer designs. In a tight room, those centimetres can matter, so compare the listed external sizes.
Each lift mechanism has a maximum screen size and weight. Check the figure for the specific bed and measure your television diagonally, including its weight, before ordering.
Often you can, but measure the ceiling height directly above where the footboard will sit. The raised screen needs to clear the slope comfortably when it is fully lifted.
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