Double Mattresses in Memory Foam and Pocket Sprung
The double is the standard adult bed in the UK, and the size most bedrooms are built around. Every mattress here is 4ft 6in x 6ft 3in (135 x 190cm) and fits any UK double frame, so the choice is what it is made of and how firm you want it.
One thing to check before ordering: a double bought abroad is a different bed. A continental double is 140 x 200cm and the American full is roughly 137 x 191cm, so if the frame came from outside the UK, measure it first.
Memory foam double mattresses
Foam forms to the sleeper and spreads their weight instead of resisting it at the hips and shoulders.
On a double, its real advantage is movement. Foam transmits very little across the surface, so one person turning over or coming to bed late disturbs the other far less than a sprung mattress does. Where two adults share 135cm, that is the biggest single difference available.
Foam holds warmth, and two people generate more of it than one. The versions made with gel through the layer sleep noticeably cooler and are the ones to look at for a warm bedroom.
Pocket sprung double mattresses
Each spring sits in its own fabric pocket and compresses independently of the ones around it.
That does a specific job on a double: two people of different weights each get the support they need from the same mattress, rather than the heavier one setting the shape of the bed for both. It is also the reason a pocket sprung mattress does not roll two sleepers towards the middle the way an older open-coil one does.
Air moves between the pockets, so these run cooler than foam, and the feel is springier rather than sinking. Where a mattress has a pillow top, that is a padded layer stitched over the springs, softening the surface without changing the support beneath.
Firm double mattresses
Firm holds the body higher and lets it sink in less. Softer lets the shoulders and hips settle further before taking the weight. Back and front sleepers, and heavier sleepers, generally want firmer; side sleepers generally want less, because the shoulder needs somewhere to go.
Where two people disagree, a medium-firm mattress usually suits both better than either extreme, since the surface can be softened later with a topper while the support underneath stays the same.
Firmness is also the one thing a screen cannot tell you, because the words are not standardised and one maker's firm is another's medium. Our Enniskillen showroom has mattresses out on the floor to lie on, which takes ten minutes and settles a question that no amount of reading will.
Double mattress FAQs
What size is a double mattress?
4ft 6in x 6ft 3in, or 135 x 190cm, in the UK and Ireland.
What is the difference between a double and a king mattress?
A king is 6in (15cm) wider and 3in (7.5cm) longer. The extra length matters for anyone over about 6ft 2in.
Is a double big enough for two adults?
It is the UK standard for two, giving each person 67.5cm. Couples with room for a king usually prefer it, but where the bedroom cannot take a king with space to walk past, a double is the right size.
Is a UK double the same as an American double?
No. The American equivalent is called a full and measures roughly 137 x 191cm. Neither it nor a continental double fits a UK frame correctly.
Do I need deep fitted sheets?
That depends on the depth of the mattress rather than its size. Check the depth against the sheets you already have.