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A UK king bed is 150cm wide and 200cm long. Converted, that is 5ft by 6ft 6in, or 60 inches by 78 inches. Those are mattress dimensions, and every UK retailer works from the same standard, so a king mattress from one supplier will fit a king frame from another.
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Set against the other standard sizes, the king occupies the space where most couples end up:
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Notice the length change. Single, small double and double all stop at 190cm. King and super king both run to 200cm. Moving up to a king therefore adds ten centimetres of legroom as well as fifteen centimetres of width, which is why taller sleepers often feel the difference immediately.
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Split between two people, a king offers 75cm each. A double offers 67.5cm each. The gap is modest on paper and significant in practice, because sleep is not static. Turning over, stretching an arm out, or moving away from a partner who runs warm all need width that a double does not really have.
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It is also the size at which a bed stops being a compromise for people who share with a pet or find a child in the bed by 5am. If either of those describes your household, the king width is doing real work rather than simply looking generous.
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A king size bed needs a bedroom of around 3m by 3.6m, or 10ft by 12ft, to sit comfortably with walking space on both sides. You can install one in a smaller room, but you will need to accept one side against a wall or narrower gaps than are ideal.
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Practical clearances to plan around:
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In a UK main bedroom of average size, the honest position is that a king fits, but the room will belong to the bed. Whether that is the right choice depends on whether you use the bedroom for anything other than sleeping.
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Every king frame is larger than 150cm wide. How much larger varies a great deal:
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Length grows too, particularly with a tall headboard, and some designs add a footboard on top of that. If your bed is going into an alcove or between two fixed walls, take the overall external measurement from the listing and subtract at least a centimetre of tolerance at each end so you are not forcing the frame into place.
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Our modern king size wooden beds UK sale collection lists overall frame sizes on each product page, which makes alcove planning far more reliable than working from the mattress size alone.
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Two king beds with identical footprints can look quite different depending on mattress depth. A 20cm mattress inside a 25cm side rail creates a low, contained profile. A 30cm mattress in the same frame sits above the rail, which raises the sleeping height and shortens the visible headboard.
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Neither is a fault, but it is worth deciding which you want before ordering. If you like a taller bed that is easy to get out of, a deeper mattress helps. If you prefer the neat contemporary look where the mattress sits within the frame, check the internal rail depth first.
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Bed names are not international, and this causes more confusion than any other aspect of bed buying.
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An American king measures roughly 193cm by 203cm, considerably wider than a UK king and closer in width to our super king. An American queen is around 152cm by 203cm, which is almost exactly the width of a UK king with a little extra length. European sizing works in centimetres and commonly uses 160cm by 200cm for a couples’ bed, a size that sits between our king and super king and has no direct UK equivalent.
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The consequence is bedding, not the bed itself. Buy UK king bedding for a UK king mattress and check the centimetre figure on the packaging rather than trusting the word on the label.
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Before ordering, walk the delivery route and note the narrowest point. The usual obstacles are the turn at the top of the stairs, a newel post, and doorways in older properties that were built to narrower standards.
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Flat packed beds are far more forgiving here, since the largest single component is usually the headboard or a side rail rather than a full base. A rigid divan base cannot be angled around a tight turn, so if your stairs are awkward a slatted frame assembled in the room is the safer route. Check whether the headboard bolts on separately, as a one piece headboard is often the widest item in the delivery.
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Once a king is in place, the surrounding furniture has to be chosen for the space that is left rather than the space you wish you had. Narrow bedside cabinets with drawers give more usable storage per centimetre than open tables, and matching pairs keep a large bed looking balanced.
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Wardrobe planning is where most rooms come unstuck. Sliding doors need no clearance in front of them, which can be decisive when the bed sits close by, and our modern sliding wardrobes UK sale range is worth comparing against hinged designs on that basis alone.
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If you would rather not assemble the room piece by piece, our modern bedroom collections UK pages group coordinating pieces in matching finishes and consistent proportions.
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The step from king to super king adds 30cm of width and no extra length. It is a large jump in floor area, and it needs a bedroom of roughly 3.4m by 3.6m to remain workable with clearance on both sides.
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A super king suits genuinely large main bedrooms, sleepers who need the extra width for medical or comfort reasons, and households where the bed is shared with children or pets most nights. In a standard UK bedroom it usually crowds the room. If in doubt, tape out both footprints on the floor and compare them in the actual space.
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We stock king size beds in fabric, leather, wood, metal and high gloss finishes, with storage and non storage options across the range. You can shop modern furniture for every room at Furniture in Fashion, with free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes.
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A UK king takes king sized bedding, and the numbers are worth knowing. Duvet covers are typically around 225cm by 220cm. Flat sheets run to roughly 275cm by 275cm. Fitted sheets are cut for a 150cm by 200cm mattress with a depth allowance usually between 25cm and 30cm.
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That depth allowance is where problems arise. If you have chosen a thick hybrid or pocket sprung mattress, standard fitted sheets will lift off the corners. Deep fill versions cover mattresses up to around 40cm and solve it entirely. Buying the right depth first time saves the daily irritation of remaking the bed.
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At 150cm wide, the base carries a considerable load across an unsupported span. Look for sprung slats spaced no more than around 7cm apart, and check that the frame includes a central support rail with at least one leg to the floor.
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Divan bases handle the span differently, distributing load through the whole platform, and king divans are usually supplied as two linked halves. That construction is also easier to carry upstairs than a single rigid base, which matters in older properties with tight turns.
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Few British bedrooms are simple rectangles. Chimney breasts, bay windows and sloping ceilings all reduce the usable floor, and a king size bed leaves little room for negotiation.
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Options that tend to work:
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A single generous walkway is more useful in daily life than two cramped ones, even if the layout looks less balanced on a floor plan.
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150cm wide by 200cm long, which is 5ft by 6ft 6in, or 60 inches by 78 inches.
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No. An American king is around 193cm by 203cm, much wider than a UK king and closer to our super king width.
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Around 3m by 3.6m allows walking space on both sides. Smaller rooms can take one, but usually with one side against a wall.
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Fifteen centimetres wider and ten centimetres longer: 150cm x 200cm compared with 135cm x 190cm.
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It needs a UK king mattress at 150cm by 200cm. Any mattress type works, though check the frame’s internal rail depth if you want the mattress to sit flush.
Most UK beds are either 190cm or 200cm long. Singles, small doubles and doubles measure…
A king bed in the UK has mattress dimensions of 150cm by 200cm, which is…
A standard size single bed in the UK has a mattress of 90cm by 190cm,…
A queen size bed is approximately 150cm by 200cm, which is 5ft by 6ft 7in…
Double beds are 190cm long in the UK, which is 6ft 3in, and that length…
An American queen size bed measures 152cm by 203cm, or 60in by 80in, while Australia…
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