The double bed that returns the most for what you spend is a 135cm frame with built in storage, a headboard tall enough to lean against and slats spaced no more than 7cm apart. Storage is what tips it. A double frame occupies around two and a half square metres of floor, and a base that puts that volume to work replaces a chest of drawers or a set of boxes you would otherwise have to buy and find room for. Everything else being equal, that is where the extra value sits.
Below we set out what to look for, feature by feature, and which compromises are safe to make when the budget is fixed.
A UK double mattress is 135cm by 190cm. Two adults get 67.5cm each, which is less than a single sleeper has in a 90cm single bed. That surprises people, and it explains why the quality of the mattress and the flatness of the base matter more on a double than on any other size.
The length is the other consideration. At 190cm, a double is 10cm shorter than a king. Anyone approaching six feet will find their feet close to the end, and a footboard makes that more noticeable. If height is a factor in your household, an open ended frame without a footboard buys back a few useful centimetres of perceived length.
There are three formats and they suit different rooms.
Drawer bases have two or four drawers built into the sides. They cost the least of the three, require no mechanism to fail and divide your storage into manageable sections. The limitation is access: each drawer needs around 50cm of clear floor to open fully, and a drawer on the wall side is unusable.
Ottoman bases lift the whole platform upwards on gas struts. They hold the most, take bulky items such as suitcases and spare duvets, and need no floor clearance beyond the space to stand at the side or foot. The mechanism is the part to check, since cheap struts weaken and the base becomes heavy to lift.
Open frames with legs offer no built in storage but leave clear space underneath for shallow boxes on castors. This is the cheapest route and the most flexible, and in a room with a low mattress it may be the only option that works.
For most households, an ottoman gives the best return in a double. You will find storage formats across sizes in the modern beds UK sale range, and it is worth filtering by opening style before finish.
Fabric frames give the most visual impact for the outlay. A padded headboard at a reasonable height transforms a plain room, and a woven finish hides everyday marks better than a smooth painted surface. In neutral tones it also suits whatever bedding you buy later, which extends the useful life of the piece. The double fabric beds UK sale range covers plain, buttoned and channelled headboards in that vein.
Wooden frames give the most structural longevity. They tolerate being dismantled and rebuilt, which matters over several house moves, and a timber frame in a neutral finish rarely looks dated. They are heavier to handle and usually offer less built in storage, which is the trade off.
High gloss frames give the most brightness for the money in dark rooms and coordinate neatly with matching furniture. They need more frequent wiping and show fingerprints, so they suit adult bedrooms better than family ones.
Metal frames are the lightest and thinnest in profile. They are the best answer when the room is very tight or access to it is awkward, though they offer little in the way of headboard comfort.
Slat spacing tells you how the mattress will be supported. Under 7cm is what you want. Wider gaps allow the mattress to sag between the slats, which shortens its life and may affect the warranty.
Centre support is not optional on a 135cm frame. Look for a centre rail with at least one leg reaching the floor. This is the difference between a bed that stays quiet and a bed that starts complaining after eighteen months.
Fixing type determines whether the frame survives a move. Metal to metal fittings can be undone and retightened repeatedly. Glued dowels cannot.
Frame width versus mattress width tells you what the bed will actually occupy. Some 135cm designs finish at 145cm overall, others at 160cm. In a small room that difference decides whether a bedside table fits.
Spend on the mattress. On a double, where each person has less width than in a single bed, the mattress is doing the hardest job in the room. Pocket sprung construction limits the transfer of movement between sides, and a hybrid adds pressure relief at the hip and shoulder for side sleepers. Compare depths and constructions across the modern mattresses UK sale range and treat it as the priority purchase.
Save on the headboard style. A plain panel and an elaborate buttoned design support your back identically. If the budget is tight, take the simpler headboard and put the difference into the mattress or the storage base.
Save on matching furniture at the point of purchase. Bedside units and chests can be added later, and buying them separately lets you spread the cost. If you would rather do it in one go, coordinated ranges are usually better value than individual pieces, and the bedroom furniture UK sale section is the sensible place to look. We list the full specification for every frame at Furniture in Fashion, so you can compare slats and supports rather than photographs.
Spend a little on assembly time. Building the frame carefully, square and in position, with fixings tightened in two passes, is free and prevents the most common complaint about any bed at any price.
Allow 60cm of clearance on both sides if two people sleep in the bed, and 60cm at the foot where you need to walk past. In a room of 3m by 3m these numbers work comfortably. In a 2.7m width you will need to accept a narrower route on one side or consider a small double at 120cm instead.
Position the bed against the longest uninterrupted wall wherever possible, and avoid placing it where the door swings into it. Bedside units should be close in height to the mattress top, and matched on both sides, which does more for how the room reads than the frame finish does.
If the room has a chimney breast, measure the alcove depth as well as the wall width. A double frame set into an alcove can look built in and save the awkward gap, but only if the alcove is deep enough to take the full frame length rather than the mattress length.
Value continues after delivery, and a few habits add years to a frame.
Rotate the mattress head to foot every few months, and turn it over as well if the construction allows it. Uneven wear is the main reason a mattress stops feeling supportive long before it should.
Check the fixings twice a year. Timber and board both settle, and a bolt that has loosened by a turn is what causes the noise people assume is a failing frame. Two minutes with an allen key resolves most of it.
Keep the slats seated in their brackets. Slats that have shifted sideways leave wider gaps in one area, and the mattress starts to dip there. It is worth lifting the mattress occasionally to look.
Vacuum the base if it has storage. Dust collects in drawers and ottoman cavities, and bedding stored in an unclean base picks it up. A quick pass with the hose every few months keeps the storage genuinely usable rather than a place things go to be forgotten.
A UK double mattress is 135cm by 190cm, which is 4ft 6in by 6ft 3in. Frames typically finish between 145cm and 160cm wide depending on how much padding or surround the design has.
An ottoman holds more and needs no floor clearance to open, which suits narrow rooms. Drawers cost less, have no mechanism to wear out and divide storage more usefully for clothing. The room layout usually decides it.
Yes. Any frame at 135cm wide should have a centre rail with a leg to the floor. Without one, the slats flex in the middle and the mattress wears unevenly.
The mattress, in almost every case. A simple frame with good slat support and a quality mattress will be more comfortable than an expensive frame with a thin mattress on top.
It will fit, but access on one side becomes tight once a frame of 150cm or more is in place. A small double at 120cm often works better and keeps a usable route on both sides.
Japandi brings together Japanese minimalism and Scandinavian warmth, and the bed is where the two…
A console table is the most useful piece you can add to a bedroom that…
A bed is kept for years, which makes it a poor impulse purchase and an…
Navy behaves like a neutral while carrying the presence of a dark shade, which is…
Contemporary bed design has settled around four clear ideas: wider and lower frames, upholstery that…
Panel beds define the hotel style bedroom, but the expensive made to measure versions are…
This website uses cookies.