apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Our mattress is currently on the floor and I'm really enjoying having the extra inches that we otherwise loose with a headboard and wood at the foot of the bed. It is also fun that the carpeted floor is right there.

Getting a larger bed is a HUGE investment!

It's not just getting a new mattress and boxspring but a new bedframe and/or headboard plus all-new bedding including mattress covers, bed skirts if there's a box-spring, sheets, blankets, duvets, longer pillows...

...and for anyone who moves frequently, getting a king bed is really going to limit the places that you'd be able to rent.

I have a cal king and I love it. The only thing that really, really sucks is how limited sheets and bedding are, as well as nice modern looking headboards. I run into lots of plain bedding in boring colors (pastels) and weird, chunky, super old looking headboards.

But nothing beats being able to lay in bed with my boyfriend and our 3 cats and still have tons of room.

My husband and I have lived in four different apartments together so far and we've never been unable to fit our king size bed in (somehow). We see it as a bit of a necessity since my husband is 6'5" and those long arms and legs need space so they're not banging into me in the middle of the night.

You forgot to consider the snuggle factor.
My husband and I like to sleep close, spooning pretty much the whole night. We've slept in King size beds before and it's just too easy to move apart. We'll stick with the Queen where we'll stay close.

An investment, not a purchase? I expect (not that it happens) my investments to increase in value which a bed certainly will not, especially after it's been slept on even just once.

Nothing against king beds, mind you...

Hey ashy! I happen to really like this Cal King! http://tinyurl.com/calkingframe

My wife and I must be the only people who still sleep in a full-size bed.

Some standard mattress measurements. Amazing how few people know these.

Cal King 72"w x 84"l
Eastern King 76"w x 80"l
Queen 60"w x 80"l
Full or Double 54"w x 75"l
Twin 39"w x 75"l

You can get a Twin XL or Full XL which is the same width but is 80" long.

Unless you are well over 6' tall please stay away from a Cal King. They are not as wide and bedding and frames are so much more limited than with a standard king size bed.

A disturbing fact that helped me pick my king over my queen is that a standard crib mattress is 27" wide. By the time you put two people in a queen sized mattress you have divided 60" by two leaving you equal 30" of sleep space. (That assumes your partner doesn't take more than their share) So you are giving basically giving yourself 3" more to sleep than you are an infant.

I'm with you on the snuggle factor, floppysherman. When my honey and I have shared a king while on vacation, most of it winds up unused because we sleep squished together. We prefer a queen to a full for the extra few inches in length, but a king is a waste of floor space for us.

My bed is 32'' x 80'' (80 x 200 cm). I'm about a foot (12'') wide and the length fits. Why do I need a much bigger bed?

In a lot of apartment renting, it's hard to get anything bigger than a queen in. I'm wanting to update to it instead of the full the fiance and I share - but a king, no way until I have a house.

Well Anna Europe, probably because you have arms and legs that won't always want to be parallel to your body. I've slept in a twin when I had a studio and I have to say my queen bed is soooo much more comfortable for sprawling. I consider a queen bed pretty much the minimum size for comfortable sleeping IMO.

Early in our marriage my 6'2" husband successfully lobbied for an eastern king. Great for hanging out or sleeping with the kids. Believe me, I bemoan its size, since our bedroom now has room for little else, but it's the most functional piece of furniture we own.

Am I the only one who chose her bed size based on finding the perfect bed frame?

Up until a few months ago I was still sleeping on the old twin bed my parents bought me when I was four years old. When I could finally afford to upgrade, I decided I'd pick the frame first (I wanted an antique and knew I'd encounter more full-size frames than anything else) and would buy the mattress, box spring, and bedding accordingly. (Antique bed frames can be sized up or down, but I hate taking apart valuable furniture.)

I found a perfect queen-size frame, bought it, and ordered everything else the same day...and I only take up about a third of it. Guess I'm still used to making do with no space.

I just don't get king size beds - especially those with them who want to whine about how small it makes their space now. It's an oversized bed that you don't really HAVE to have.

I have slept in one at my father-in-law's (got to have it to my self since the fiance had to drive back to work) and I felt completely lost in it. The fiance and I shared one on vacation last year and we just wound up both sleeping on different sides of it (with probably room for an extra couple to sleep between us). Now most couldn't deal with our full - but a queen generally is the perfect size.

I sleep alone but I would LOVE to have a king size bed! When I've slept in one in hotels, it has been amazing. Not only can you can roll over without adjusting yourself and still not fall off the bed, you can sleep in just about any orientation or angle and not have your legs hang off the side of the bed. I move around alot while I sleep, and have actually rolled off twin beds before during my sleep. However, in spite of the above, I can't manage to justify having a huge bed just for myself, so I have a full size bed now.