A super king bed in the UK measures 180cm wide by 200cm long, which is 6ft by 6ft 6in. It is the largest standard size sold in Britain, offering 30cm more width and the same length as a king size, and 45cm more width plus 10cm more length than a double.
Split between two people, 180cm gives each sleeper 90cm, exactly the width of a standard single mattress. That is the real appeal: two adults get the space of a single bed each without a gap down the middle.
Against the rest of the UK range, the scale becomes clear. A single is 90cm by 190cm, a small double 120cm by 190cm, a double 135cm by 190cm, a king 150cm by 200cm, and a super king 180cm by 200cm.
The step from king to super king is 30cm of pure width, the largest single jump in the range. It is also the point at which the bed stops being a piece of furniture in the room and becomes the organising element the whole room works around.
Note that emperor and caesar sizes exist above super king, at 200cm and beyond, but these are specialist and bedding availability drops sharply. Super king remains the largest size with reliable high street support.
With 60cm walkways on both sides and at the foot, a super king wants a room of at least 3.4m by 3.8m. That is a genuinely large main bedroom by UK standards.
You can work with less. A room of 3m by 3.6m fits a super king with tighter walkways of around 45cm, which is passable but does make bed making harder and reduces the space for bedside furniture. Below 3m in width, the bed will dominate to the point where the room stops working.
Add the frame to your calculation. Upholstered super kings with padded side rails can reach 195cm externally, and a wing headboard adds further at the head end. Every super king listing in our modern super king size beds UK sale range states external frame dimensions alongside the mattress size.
This is where super kings most often go wrong, and it is worth resolving before you order anything.
Measure the narrowest point on the delivery route: front door width, any turn or half landing on the staircase, ceiling height at the turn, and the bedroom doorway. A 180cm headboard is usually the limiting component, not the base.
Most super king divan bases split into two halves, each 90cm wide, which negotiates a turning staircase reasonably well. Flat packed frames with detachable headboards are the most flexible. Solid one piece wooden frames are the hardest, and in older properties with tight stairwells they sometimes simply cannot be delivered upstairs.
Mattresses are the other consideration. Traditional sprung super king mattresses are large, heavy and inflexible. Rolled and vacuum packed designs solve the access problem entirely, though they need 24 to 72 hours to reach full shape.
Some manufacturers offer split super king mattresses in two 90cm halves, zipped or simply placed side by side. This handles difficult access and lets two people choose different firmness levels, which is a genuine advantage for couples with different preferences.
Super king bedding is widely stocked but sits in fewer designs than double and king. Fitted sheets should state super king or 180cm, and check the skirt depth against your mattress, since deep super king mattresses need a 35cm to 40cm skirt to stay put.
Duvets follow their own sizing. A super king duvet is 260cm by 220cm, which is considerably larger than a king at 225cm by 220cm. Using a king duvet on a super king mattress leaves insufficient overhang and creates the cold shoulder problem down each side.
Pillows are worth planning too. Four standard pillows across a 180cm headboard leaves gaps, so either use larger continental pillows at the back with standards in front, or add a fifth. It sounds fussy but a 180cm bed with two pillows looks unfinished.
The main gain is reduced partner disturbance. At 90cm each, one person turning over rarely registers with the other, particularly on a pocket sprung or hybrid mattress where the springs work independently.
It also accommodates the realities of household life. Children who come in during the night, a dog at the foot, or one person reading late while the other sleeps all work far better at super king width. In practice this is why many families size up rather than for personal space alone.
Mattress choice matters at this width. Larger mattresses need adequate support underneath, so check the base has a centre rail and additional legs. Insufficient central support is the most common cause of premature sagging in large mattresses. Our modern mattresses UK sale range includes super king options built with edge to edge support.
Once the bed is in, the rest of the room has to adjust. Standard 45cm bedside cabinets can look undersized against a 180cm headboard, and taller or wider units usually sit better proportionally. Two matching cabinets are worth the effort at this scale, because asymmetry is far more visible on a wide bed.
Wardrobe placement becomes the main planning challenge, since the bed consumes the floor a hinged door needs. Sliding designs are frequently the answer, and our modern sliding wardrobes UK range includes wide units that suit larger bedrooms.
A bench or ottoman at the foot helps visually as well as practically. It breaks up the expanse of mattress, gives you somewhere to sit to put shoes on, and holds the throw overnight. In a large room it also stops the floor between bed and opposite wall reading as empty.
Rugs need to scale up too. A rug that only reaches the bed’s edges looks mean under a super king. Either run it under the bed with 60cm to 80cm showing on three sides, or use two runners along each side. Our modern rugs UK sale selection includes the larger sizes that work at this scale.
Choose one if your bedroom exceeds roughly 3.4m by 3.8m, if two adults regularly disturb each other, or if children and pets share the bed. Choose one also if either sleeper is tall, since the 200cm length is a genuine improvement over the 190cm of smaller sizes.
Stay with a king if the room is under 3m wide, if the staircase cannot take a 180cm headboard, or if you want floor space for a wardrobe wall and seating. A king with a properly furnished room usually feels better than a super king with nowhere to put anything.
You can compare king and super king frames side by side, with full dimensions listed, at Furniture in Fashion.
The mattress measures 180cm wide by 200cm long, or 6ft by 6ft 6in. Frames add between 5cm and 20cm to each dimension depending on the construction.
At least 3.4m by 3.8m to keep 60cm walkways on both sides and at the foot. A room of 3m by 3.6m works with tighter 45cm walkways, but below 3m wide the bed dominates the space.
No. A king duvet at 225cm by 220cm leaves too little overhang on a 180cm mattress, and a king fitted sheet will not stretch to fit. Buy super king bedding, with a duvet at 260cm by 220cm.
Thirty centimetres wider, with the same 200cm length. That works out at an extra 15cm per person, taking each sleeper from 75cm to 90cm of width.
Check the narrowest point on the route before ordering. Split divan bases and flat packed frames with detachable headboards handle turning staircases well, while solid one piece frames often cannot.
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