King Size Beds and King Bed Frames with Ottoman Storage
A king size is the point at which a bed stops being a piece of furniture in a room and starts being the thing the room is arranged around. It gives two people 6 inches (15cm) more width than a double and takes 6 inches of floor to do it, which is the whole trade and worth measuring before deciding.
This collection covers king size beds and king bed frames in oak, wood and upholstered fabric, including king size ottoman beds with storage underneath.
King size bed size and dimensions
A UK king size measures 5ft wide by 6ft 6in long, which is 150cm by 200cm. It is the first size that is longer as well as wider — a single, small double and double are all 6ft 3in, and the king adds 3 inches at the foot. For anyone over six foot, that length is the more useful half of the upgrade.
The size is also written kingsize as one word, and both spellings describe the same bed. A king size mattress will fit any king size frame.
King size versus double: what the extra width buys
A double gives each of two people 27 inches (68cm); a king gives 30 inches (76cm). Three inches each sounds slight and is not — it is roughly the difference between arms touching and not, and it is the reason people who move a lot in their sleep notice the change immediately.
The extra length matters as much and is more often overlooked. A double is 6ft 3in and a king is 6ft 6in, so a tall sleeper who reaches the end of a double gains real room here in a way they would not by moving from a small double to a double.
King size versus super king
A super king is 6ft wide by 6ft 6in long, so it is another foot across with no extra length. That takes each person to 36 inches — the same width one person gets in a single bed. It is a genuine difference in comfort, and it also demands a room that can lose a further 12 inches of floor without becoming awkward to walk through.
How much room a king size bed needs
Allow at least 24 inches (60cm) of clear floor down each side and at the foot. A 5ft bed in a room where that clearance does not exist is a bed you edge past sideways every night, and no amount of comfort in the bed makes up for it.
Wardrobe and chest doors need their swing measured separately, since at this width the gap beside the bed is usually the tightest space in the room. And the frame is always wider than 5ft — an inch or two on a slim wooden frame, four or five on an upholstered one with padded sides.
Width is the one thing that does not read from a photograph, and it is the whole decision at this size. Our Enniskillen showroom has doubles, kings and super kings made up alongside each other, and standing between them settles in a minute what a floor plan will not.
King size beds with storage
Storage matters more at this size than at any other, and for a reason that sounds backwards: a king size bed leaves less room for anything else. In a bedroom where the bed has taken the floor a chest of drawers would have used, the space under it stops being a bonus and becomes the storage the room depends on.
King size 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. At 5ft by 6ft 6in that is the largest single storage space in most houses — a full change of seasonal clothing, spare bedding and suitcases together, with room left over.
The lift comes from the end or from one long side. At king size the end lift is usually the more practical of the two, because a 5ft base lifting sideways needs a lot of clear floor along that side, and in a room tight enough to need the storage that floor is rarely there.
The struts carry the weight, so the base rises with one hand even made up. They wear over many years and lose some of their lift, and they can be replaced without replacing the bed.
Wooden and oak king size beds
At 5ft wide the frame is doing structural work that a smaller bed does not ask of it. The slats span further, the side rails carry more, and a frame that is merely adequate at double size will start to creak and shift at king size within a couple of years.
Oak and solid wood king size beds
Solid timber is the answer to that, and oak in particular. A heavy hardwood frame with a well-supported centre rail does not move when two people do, which is the difference most people notice a year in rather than on the first night. Oak also takes the knocks a king size bed collects along its sides, where the gap to the wall is narrow, and hides them in the grain.
Look for a centre support running down the length of the bed with its own legs to the floor. At 5ft it is not optional, and its absence is the most common reason a king size frame fails early.
Upholstered, velvet and fabric king size beds
An upholstered frame is padded across the sides and headboard, so it is soft where you sit up against it and it quietens a large room. The headboard comes as part of the bed, already finished and matched, which at this width saves finding a headboard wide enough to suit.
Velvet holds colour deeply and catches light along the padding; flat weaves are quieter and show marks less. Both need more thought about cleaning than timber, and both add a few inches to the external width — which at king size is often the measurement that decides whether the bed fits at all.
Grey, black and cream king size beds
Colour is asked about far less at this size than at double, and the reason is practical rather than aesthetic: by the time someone has decided on a king they are usually solving a space problem, and the finish comes second. Where it is chosen, grey and cream are the most common in upholstered fabric, black anchors a pale room, and oak and natural timber warm a large bedroom that can otherwise feel bare around such a big piece.
Where the frame is wooden and you want a padded head end, a separate headboard fixes to the frame and can be changed later. Our headboards collection covers the widths and fittings.
King size bed FAQs
What size is a king size bed?
5ft by 6ft 6in, or 150cm by 200cm. It is the first UK size that is longer as well as wider — a single, small double and double are all 6ft 3in. Any king size mattress fits any king size frame.
What is the difference between a double and a king size bed?
6 inches (15cm) of width and 3 inches (8cm) of length. Each person gets 30 inches across in a king against 27 in a double. The extra length is the part people forget, and it is what makes a king worthwhile for a tall sleeper.
What is the difference between a king and a super king?
12 inches (30cm) of width and nothing else — both are 6ft 6in long. A super king gives each person 36 inches, the same width one person has in a single bed. It also takes another foot of floor from the room.
How much space do you need around a king size bed?
At least 24 inches (60cm) of clear floor down each side and at the foot. Check wardrobe and drawer swings separately, because at 5ft wide the gap beside the bed is usually the tightest space in the room. Measure the external frame width rather than the 5ft on the label.
Do king size beds need extra support?
Yes. At 5ft the slats span far enough that a centre support rail with its own legs to the floor is necessary rather than optional, and its absence is the usual reason a king size frame starts to creak or sag early. It is the first thing worth checking on any frame at this size.
How much fits under a king size ottoman bed?
Close to the full 5ft by 6ft 6in footprint, because the base lifts as one piece with nothing divided up. It is the largest single storage space in most houses, and at this size it often does the job a chest of drawers would have done if the bed had left room for one.