UK mattress sizes in cm

How much each person actually gets

The number that matters on a shared bed, and the one no listing states.

Two consequences. Motion isolation matters most at the small end, where you are closest together, which makes pocket springs the floor rather than an upgrade on a double. And dual firmness works properly from king upward, because every dual firmness mattress has a transition zone down the middle that you need to be clear of.

Length changes at king

The one step people miss. Small single, single, small double and double are all 190 centimetres long. King and super king are 200.

The usual guidance is a mattress at least 10 to 15 centimetres longer than the tallest person, which puts the 190 sizes at a ceiling of roughly 5'11" and the 200 sizes at roughly 6'3".

So for a tall person, moving to a king is a length decision rather than a width one, and it is available without going to super king.

On a frame with a footboard, such as a sleigh bed, there is no overhang available at all, so the length limit is absolute.

European and US sizes with the same names are different

This is where most sizing mistakes come from, and it catches people buying from IKEA and from imported ranges.

Every row differs, and the length differs as well as the width on singles and doubles. A European double is ten centimetres longer than a UK one, which is the part people miss.

A US queen is roughly 152 by 203cm, closest to a UK king. There is no UK queen size, so a listing offering one is using an imported name.

Zip and link, and why singles are 200cm

Zip and link singles are made at 90 by 200 centimetres rather than the standard 190, so two of them make a full super king at 180 by 200.

This is why pushing two ordinary UK singles together does not work properly: they make 180 by 190, which is super king width and ten centimetres short in length, so super king bedding will not fit.

Zip and link also solves the two practical problems of very large beds: access up stairs, because each half comes up separately, and handling, because one person can turn a single where a super king is a two-person job.

Depth is the measurement nobody checks

Bed sizes describe length and width. Depth is not standardised at all, and it is what decides whether your sheets fit.

Standard UK fitted sheets are cut for about 25 centimetres. Modern hybrids run 28 to 35, and a topper adds 5 to 10 on top of that.

Add the mattress depth to the topper depth and buy a few centimetres over, because the fabric has to fold under rather than merely reach the edge.

Measure the base, not the old mattress

An old mattress has compressed and may have distorted, so measuring it gives you the wrong number.

Measure the internal dimensions of the bed frame, at the longest and widest points, and check the depth the frame will take.

Manufacturers vary by a centimetre or two even within standard sizes, which matters most on frames with a headboard and footboard where the mattress has to drop between them rather than sit proud.

Related reading

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