A UK super king size bed is 180cm wide, which is approximately 5 feet 11 inches or 71 inches. The standard length is 200cm. That width divides into 90cm for each of two sleepers, exactly the same width as a single mattress provides for one person.
The figure to plan around, though, is not 180cm. Bed frames add width through side rails and upholstery, so the external measurement is usually between 185cm and 195cm. When you are deciding whether a super king fits a room, use the frame width rather than the mattress width.
British bed widths run 90cm for a single, 120cm for a small double, 135cm for a standard double, 150cm for a king and 180cm for a super king. Super king is the widest size sold as standard in the UK.
The jump from king to super king is 30cm, which is a meaningful increase. Put differently, a super king is twice the width of a single bed, and 45cm wider than the double that sits in most British bedrooms.
Length is worth noting alongside width. Doubles and smaller are 190cm long, while king and super king are 200cm. Anyone approaching 6 feet or taller will feel the benefit of that extra 10cm as much as the additional width.
Width on its own does not tell you whether the bed will work. You need circulation space around it. Allow around 70cm on each side you walk down and roughly 60cm at the foot if a door or wardrobe needs reaching.
With a frame at, say, 190cm external width plus 70cm each side, the room needs to be about 3.3 metres wide for comfortable access on both sides. Add the 200cm length plus foot clearance and around 2.6 metres of depth is the working minimum. Once a wardrobe and chest of drawers are included, a room of about 3.5 metres square is a realistic target.
Where a room is narrower, one side of the bed can sit against a wall. That saves considerable width and is perfectly workable in a guest room, though in a shared main bedroom it means one person climbing over the other, which quickly becomes tiresome.
Marking the bed out on the floor with masking tape is the most reliable check there is. Use the external frame width, not the mattress width, and include the headboard depth at the head end.
Then use the room as you normally would. Open the wardrobe doors fully. Pull out the bottom drawer of the chest. Walk from the door to the window. Problems that are invisible on a floor plan become obvious in thirty seconds of walking around tape.
Check obstructions at different heights too. Radiators, skirting boards, window sills, sloping eaves and chimney breasts all reduce usable width at the exact height where a bed sits. Measure at mattress height as well as at floor level.
Width creates a delivery problem that narrower beds do not have. A 180cm sprung mattress is large and only semi flexible, and Victorian and terraced staircases in Britain are often too tight to take it.
Measure the narrowest point of the whole route before ordering: the front door frame, any hallway turn, the stair width and the turn on the landing, plus the bedroom door. Compare each against the mattress depth and width, remembering that a mattress can be angled but not folded.
Two solutions cover almost every case. A rolled foam or hybrid mattress arrives compressed in a box and expands in the bedroom, which removes the problem entirely. A zip and link mattress arrives as two 90cm sections that fasten together, easy to carry upstairs and with the useful side benefit of allowing each sleeper a different firmness. Frames are less of an issue since they arrive flat packed, though check the longest component length.
Super king bedding is a separate size and king bedding will not stretch to cover it. A super king duvet is typically 260cm by 220cm, and fitted sheets are made to 180cm by 200cm with a stated pocket depth.
Pay attention to that pocket depth. Deep pocket sprung mattresses can be 30cm or more, and a topper adds further. A sheet rated for 25cm will pull off the corners of a deeper mattress during the night.
Pillows change too. Two standard 50cm by 75cm pillows leave a gap across a 180cm bed, so three standard pillows or a pair of 65cm continental squares sit better. Availability of super king protectors, valances and electric blankets is narrower than for king, so confirm you can get the items you rely on.
A 180cm span needs proper structural support. Look for a centre rail running head to foot with at least two central legs, and preferably three on wider or heavier designs. Without it, slats will bow and eventually break under load.
Slat spacing matters as much as centre support. Gaps of 75mm or less are appropriate for foam and hybrid mattresses, while sprung mattresses tolerate a little more. Solid platform tops give the most even support and suit firm mattresses well.
Frame material affects both look and strength. Wooden frames are structurally robust at this width, while upholstered frames soften the visual bulk of a large bed, particularly in pale fabrics. Our modern super king size fabric beds UK sale and modern super king size wooden beds UK ranges list support specifications and external dimensions for each model.
A bed this size becomes the dominant element in a room, and the furniture around it needs scaling to match. Narrow bedside cabinets look lost beside 180cm of bed, while wider cabinets of 50cm to 60cm hold their own.
Height matters as much as width. Keep the cabinet top within roughly 50mm of the mattress top so lamps, books and glasses are within easy reach. Our modern bedside cabinets UK sale range covers a spread of heights for that reason.
Storage needs rethinking because the bed occupies floor area a wardrobe might otherwise use. Sliding door wardrobes work well since they need no swing clearance, and an ottoman base converts the space under the mattress into storage. At Furniture in Fashion we publish full dimensions across bedroom ranges so you can plan the whole room rather than the bed in isolation.
180cm is approximately 5 feet 11 inches, or 71 inches. The length of 200cm works out at roughly 6 feet 6 inches.
30cm wider, taking each sleeper in a shared bed from 75cm to 90cm of width. Both sizes share the same 200cm length.
Around 3.3 metres allows access on both sides once the external frame width and 70cm walkways are accounted for. A narrower room can work if one side sits against a wall.
Yes. Side rails and upholstery typically take the external width to between 185cm and 195cm, so always plan using the frame dimension rather than the mattress size.
Two 90cm singles together measure 180cm, which matches a super king. Zip and link mattresses use exactly this principle and fasten together to avoid a gap down the middle.
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