How Wide Is a UK King Size Bed?

A UK king size bed is 150cm wide, which is 5ft or roughly 59 inches. The mattress is 150cm by 200cm. The frame is wider than the mattress, usually by 5cm to 15cm in total depending on the design, so plan for a real footprint of around 155cm to 165cm across.

That width gives each of two sleepers 75cm, which is 7.5cm more each than a standard double provides. It sounds modest on paper and is noticeable in practice, particularly for anyone who sleeps on their side or shares with a partner who moves.

Width in Different Units

150cm, 1.5m, 5ft, or 59.06 inches. Retailers in the UK quote centimetres or the imperial 5ft, and both refer to the same mattress. If a listing quotes a width in inches that is materially different, you are probably looking at a US or European size.

For reference, a US king is 76in wide, about 193cm. A European king varies by country, often 160cm or 180cm. None of these share bedding with a UK king, so always check the centimetre figure before buying sheets or a duvet.

How the Width Compares Across UK Sizes

Single: 90cm. Small double: 120cm. Double: 135cm. King: 150cm. Super king: 180cm.

Per sleeper, that works out at 67.5cm each on a double, 75cm each on a king and 90cm each on a super king. Airline seat width is around 45cm, which is a useful reference for how much space 67.5cm actually is once you factor in shoulders and a pillow.

The practical read is this: a double works well for two sleepers where at least one is slim or sleeps still. A king suits most couples. A super king is for those who want genuinely independent space, and it needs the room to match. Every size is available across our modern beds UK sale range so you can compare directly.

Why Frame Width Is What Actually Matters

People plan bedrooms around the 150cm mattress figure and then find the bed does not fit. The frame is the number to use.

Metal frames are the slimmest, often adding just 2cm to 3cm per side. Wooden frames with visible side rails typically add 4cm to 8cm per side. Upholstered frames with padded rails add the most, sometimes 10cm or more per side because the padding sits outside the mattress line. Add a headboard depth of 10cm to 15cm and an upholstered king can occupy 170cm by 215cm.

Divan bases are close to mattress width, usually within 2cm, which is why divans remain the space efficient choice in tighter rooms. Our king size fabric beds UK sale listings state external dimensions alongside the mattress size, and it is worth reading both.

Planning the Room Around 150cm

Start with the wall you intend to put the headboard against. Measure it wall to wall at skirting height, not at picture rail height, since skirting boards eat 15mm to 25mm at each end. Deduct the frame width from the wall length to see what is left.

For access, aim for 60cm of walking space on each long side. Where two people share, both sides need it. In a room 3.2m wide, a 160cm frame leaves 80cm each side, which is comfortable. In a room 2.9m wide, you have 65cm each side, which works but feels tight once bedside furniture is added.

Bedside units typically need 40cm to 50cm of width each. If your wall is 3.4m and the frame is 160cm, you have 90cm each side, enough for a bedside cabinet and a walkway. Narrower walls may need wall mounted lighting instead of table lamps, or slimmer cabinets from the modern wooden bedside cabinets UK range.

Do not forget the foot of the bed. If a wardrobe or chest of drawers sits opposite, allow 90cm clearance so a drawer or door can open with someone standing in front of it.

Getting a 150cm Bed Into the Room

This is where UK housing stock causes problems. A 150cm mattress is unwieldy and only semi flexible. Older terraces with a quarter turn staircase and a narrow landing frequently defeat it.

Solutions are straightforward if you plan ahead. King size divan bases come in two 75cm halves as standard. Bed frames arrive flat packed and assemble in the room. For the mattress, choose a rolled or vacuum packed model that arrives compressed in a box, passes easily through doorways and expands over a day or two once unwrapped. Sprung mattresses that cannot be rolled are the ones to check carefully against your access route.

Measure the narrowest point in the whole route: front door, hallway width, stair width, the diagonal at the turn, landing depth and bedroom doorway. The stair turn is almost always the tightest.

Bedding for 150cm

Fitted sheets are made to 150cm by 200cm with varying pocket depths. Check your mattress depth, since a 30cm mattress needs a deep fitted sheet and a standard one will pull off the corners.

Duvets for a UK king are 225cm by 220cm. A double duvet at 200cm by 200cm will leave both sleepers short at the sides. Pillowcases are standard UK size, so no change is needed there.

Mattress protectors and toppers follow the same 150cm by 200cm dimension. When buying a topper for a king, check whether the elastic straps or the fitted skirt suit your mattress depth.

Choosing Between King and Double in a Tight Room

Where the room is borderline, the question is what you give up. A king in a 2.8m wide room means roughly 60cm each side with no room for bedside cabinets on both sides. A double in the same room leaves 72cm each side and space for slim bedside units.

Consider height as well. In a small room, a lower frame and a lighter finish keep the space feeling open. High gloss and mirrored surfaces bounce light, which is why our modern king size high gloss beds UK work well in compact master bedrooms where a king is still the priority.

Storage is the other lever. An ottoman or drawer base at king size holds a great deal, which can remove the need for a chest of drawers entirely and free up wall length. That trade sometimes makes a king viable in a room where it otherwise would not be. The full range of sizes and storage options is at Furniture in Fashion, with free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes.

Measuring Your Room Properly Before You Order

Most fitting problems come from a measurement taken once, in one place, with a mental note rather than a written one. Bedrooms in British housing stock are rarely true rectangles, and a wall that measures 3.2m at skirting level can measure 3.15m at mattress height where the plaster bows.

Measure each wall in three places: at the floor, at roughly bed height and near the ceiling. Use the smallest figure. Then note anything that intrudes into the space, including skirting depth, window boards that overhang, radiator projection, light switches, and the arc of the door as it opens. A 150cm mattress needs its frame width plus your access clearance to clear all of those, not just the bare wall length.

Mark the footprint out on the floor

Once you have the frame dimensions from the product listing, put masking tape on the carpet at that exact size and live with it for a day or two. Walk the route you take to the wardrobe, open the door, pull out a drawer, and see where you catch your shin. This costs nothing and reveals more than any amount of arithmetic, particularly in a room where the bed can only go in one of two places.

Check the delivery route as carefully as the room

Measure the narrowest point of the journey rather than the widest. That is usually the turn at the top of a staircase, a doorway on a landing, or the diagonal available in a stairwell. Write down the width and the height of that pinch point, because a mattress can often be turned on its side through a space that will not take it flat.

Where the route is genuinely restrictive, a two part divan base or a rolled and vacuum packed mattress will get a 150cm bed into a room that a one piece frame could never reach. Flat packed frames assembled in the bedroom solve the same problem, and almost every design across our modern beds UK sale range arrives that way.

Frequently Asked Questions