Double Beds and Double Bed Frames with Ottoman Storage

The double is the default bed size, which makes it the one people think least about and get wrong most often. It is not the biggest bed, and in a room that would take a king it is worth knowing what you are giving up. In a room that would not, it is the largest bed that still leaves a floor.

This collection covers double beds and double bed frames in oak, wood and upholstered fabric, including double ottoman beds with storage underneath.

Double bed size and dimensions

A UK double measures 4ft 6in wide by 6ft 3in long, which is 135cm by 190cm. That length is the same as a single, a small double and a king size — only a super king and the longer European sizes differ. Any double mattress fits any double frame.

It is worth knowing that UK and European doubles are not the same. A continental double is usually 140cm wide and 200cm long, so a mattress bought abroad will not sit correctly in a UK frame, and UK fitted sheets will not fit a continental mattress.

Double versus king size: what the extra width buys

A king size is 5ft wide, so it gives each of two people 30 inches (76cm) against the 27 inches (68cm) a double allows. That is the whole difference — the length is identical, so a king does nothing for a tall sleeper.

Three inches each does more than it sounds when two adults share every night, particularly if either moves a lot. The cost is 6 inches of floor across the room, and in most bedrooms that is the difference between walking comfortably past the end of the bed and turning sideways. Measure the room before deciding: a king in a room that cannot take it is worse than a double in a room that can.

How much room a double bed needs

Allow at least 24 inches (60cm) of clear floor down each side, since two people are getting in and out, and the same at the foot if there is anything to walk past. Wardrobe and chest doors need their swing measured separately — a door that opens into the gap beside the bed is the most common planning mistake in a double bedroom.

The frame is always wider than 4ft 6in. A slim wooden frame adds an inch or two each side; an upholstered one with padded sides can add four or five. In a room where the fit is tight, that external measurement is the one that matters.

4ft 6in and other names for a double bed

4ft 6in is the trade measurement for the same bed, and you will see it written 4ft6, 4'6 or 135cm depending on where you are looking. All describe a standard UK double. Unlike small double, where 4ft is in common use among shoppers, the double is almost always called simply a double.

Double beds with storage

A double bed occupies the largest single area of floor in most bedrooms, which makes the space underneath it the biggest unused volume in the house. In a room with one wardrobe and no loft hatch, that space is often the difference between the room working and not.

Double ottoman beds

An ottoman bed lifts the whole base on gas struts, so the entire footprint underneath becomes one open compartment with nothing divided up and nothing lost to runners. Under a double that is close to 4ft 6in by 6ft 3in of usable floor — enough for a full change of seasonal clothing, spare bedding and suitcases together.

The lift comes from the end or from one long side, and the room decides which you want. An end-lifting bed needs clear floor at the foot; a side-lifting one needs it along one side. In a double bedroom the side lift is usually more practical, since there is normally floor down both sides but often furniture at the foot.

The gas struts do the work, so the base rises with one hand even made up with bedding. They wear over many years and lose some of their lift, and they can be replaced without replacing the bed.

Wooden and upholstered double beds

The frame material decides how the bed sounds, how much floor it takes and how it ages, which matters more on a bed shared by two people than on any other size.

Wooden and oak double beds

Timber is the quiet option, and with two people in a bed that is not a small consideration. A solid wooden frame on a sound slatted base does not creak or shift when one person turns over, which is the single most common complaint about a shared bed as it ages.

Oak in particular takes the knocks a double bed collects along its sides — a hoover, a bedside drawer, feet in the dark — and hides them in the grain rather than showing them as scuffs. A wooden frame is also slimmer in external width than an upholstered one, which is worth having in a room where the double only just fits.

Upholstered, velvet and fabric double beds

An upholstered frame is padded across the sides and the headboard, so it is soft where you sit up against it to read, and it absorbs sound in a room that is otherwise hard. The headboard comes as part of the bed, finished and matched, with nothing to fit afterwards.

Velvet is the most asked-for fabric, crushed velvet included, because it holds colour deeply and catches the light along the padded sections. Flat weaves are quieter and show marks less. Either way, fabric needs more thought about cleaning than timber does, and a padded surround adds a few inches to the external width.

White, grey, black and oak double beds

Finish is the most searched-for thing after size, and the four that dominate do different jobs. White keeps a small double bedroom open and works with any bedding, which matters on a bed that will outlast several changes of it. Grey is the most forgiving in upholstered fabric, hiding the marks a bed picks up along its sides. Black anchors a pale room and is the least likely to date. Oak and natural timber warm a plain room and hide knocks better than any painted finish.

Where the frame is wooden and you want a padded head end, a separate headboard fixes to the frame and can be changed later without replacing the bed. Our headboards collection covers the fittings and heights.

Double bed FAQs

What size is a double bed?

4ft 6in by 6ft 3in, or 135cm by 190cm. The length is the same as a single, a small double and a king size, so only the width changes between those sizes. Any double mattress fits any double frame.

Is a double bed big enough for two adults?

For most couples, yes — it is the standard shared bed size in the UK for good reason. Each person gets 27 inches (68cm). Where both sleep restlessly, or either is broad-shouldered, a king size gives another 3 inches each and is noticeably more comfortable if the room takes it.

What is the difference between a double and a king size bed?

6 inches (15cm) of width, and nothing else. A double is 4ft 6in wide and a king is 5ft. Both are 6ft 3in long, so a king does nothing for a tall sleeper.

Is a 4ft 6in bed the same as a double?

Yes. 4ft 6in, 4ft6, 4'6 and 135cm all describe a standard UK double.

How much space do you need around a double bed?

At least 24 inches (60cm) of clear floor down each side and at the foot if you walk past it. Check wardrobe and drawer swings separately, since a door opening into the gap beside the bed is the usual planning mistake. And measure the external frame width rather than the 4ft 6in on the label.

How much fits under a double ottoman bed?

Close to the full footprint of the bed, because the base lifts as one piece with nothing divided up. Under a double that takes a season's clothing, spare bedding and suitcases together — considerably more than any arrangement that leaves the base fixed.