Beyond personal preference, there are various factors to take into account before picking a mattress size. For example: How big is your bedroom? Do you share the bed with a partner or pets? Is living space or sleeping space more important to you? We’ve illustrated all six standard mattress sizes to give you a better idea about which mattress is appropriate for you. Sizing up Your Situation Beyond personal preference, there are various factors to take into account before picking a mattress size. At 39 inches wide by 75 inches long, a twin mattress is the smallest bed on the market. Its compact footprint means it's ideal for children and single adults. A twin is also great for individuals with small living spaces, such as studio apartments. The twin’s slightly longer cousin, the twin XL mattress is the most popular size for college dorm rooms. It’s five inches longer than a twin, making it 39 inches wide and 80 inches long. In addition to students, a twin XL mattress is a good solution for taller teenagers and individual adults with limited space.
The Long and the Short of It The difference between a twin and a twin XL? The twin XL is five inches longer. A good starter mattress for young adults or recent grads living on their own for the first time, the full mattress is 54 inches wide and 75 inches long. Sometimes called a double, the full is 16 inches wider than a twin, but is not recommended for couples who like to share the bed with pets or their children. The full is also a smart choice for guest rooms. The most popular mattress size around, the queen mattress fits best in a master bedroom that’s at least 10 x 10 square feet. At 60 inches wide and 80 inches long, the queen offers plenty of space for couples or individuals who like having extra room to move around in bed. At 76 inches wide and 80 inches long, the king mattress is large enough to accommodate couples who share the bed with their children or a sizable pet (think: a great dane). Owning a king requires a spacious master bedroom, preferably at least 12 x 10 square feet.
If you have an adjustable or split king bed, you can order two twin XL mattresses for your frame. The longest mattress on the market, the California king mattress is a whopping 72 inches wide and 84 inches long. Its generous length makes it ideal for taller individuals, especially people more than six feet tall. Of course, people of average height might also benefit from a California king depending on how many people and pets are sharing the bed. If you’re deciding between a king or California king, it all comes down to four inches. A king mattress is actually four inches wider than a California king, while a California king is four inches longer than a king.Queen beds are ideal for the master bedroom suite. Queen beds are designed to fit two people comfortably, giving each person 30 inches of space to themselves. Because of the size, queen beds should only be placed in bedrooms of adequate size to allow for freedom of movement in the room as well as space for other bedroom furniture.
Queen Bed Measurements A standard queen-size bed is 60 inches wide and 80 inches long. The height of the bed depends on what size mattress is chosen — from a standard mattress, ranging from 7 to 14 inches, all the way to a pillow-top mattress, which can be up to 22 inches in height. Recommended Bedroom Size To adequately fit a queen-size bed — which is roughly 5 feet by almost 7 feet — as well as have room to walk around or fit other furniture, a bedroom should be at least 10 by 10 square feet in size. Most queen beds are placed in master bedrooms, which traditionally measure several square feet larger than the other bedrooms in the home. If you want to place a queen bed in a smaller bedroom, opt for a simple headboard, non-bulky bedspreads and minimal other furniture in the room. References Overstock: Guides: Bed Size Fact SheetOverstock: Guides: How to Buy Sheets to Fit a Pillow-Top Mattress Photo Credits Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images Suggest a CorrectionRebecca and Greg Binns moved to New York City from Lake Tahoe, California, in 2006 with a plan: to land an apartment in Chelsea, with a garden, without breaking the bank every month.
To friends they seemed naive ("Dream on," one told the couple), but after several false starts, the industrious couple found exactly what they were looking for: a Chelsea apartment with a spacious garden that could be theirs for less than $2,000 a month. The apartment is a studio—and a small one at that. "I took one look at it and thought there was no way on earth we’d be able to fit in there," Greg says. That was more than ten years ago. Since then, the couple has completely transformed the space, maximizing its minuscule square footage with a few clever tiny home hacks. Despite the studio’s pinched square footage—Rebecca insists it’s less than 400—the couple chose not to part with their king-sized mattress when moving in. Using carpentry skills learned from Rebecca’s father, a general contractor, and a little know-how, they built their own loft bed, accessed via a ladder. "It took a little getting used to at first," Greg says, "We definitely bumped our heads a few times in the beginning."
They found bottles from the 1800s, an old-fashioned outdoor toilet, the bones of a dog, and make-up dating to the 1950s. There’s just enough space underneath the bed for a desk that doubles as a dining table. In the winter, Rebecca’s snowboard becomes an unofficial headboard, two feet from the ceiling. Its adjoining outdoor space, which trumps the apartment in square footage, is also an essential part of the home for Rebecca and Greg. They think of it as their living room in the warmer months, but it’s taken a lot of work to get it there. The yard was far from the bucolic respite they had hoped for when moving in. In the process of clearing it out—it took 60 Hefty bags in all—they found bottles from the 1800s, an old-fashioned outdoor toilet, the bones of a dog, and make-up dating to the 1950s. What was originally intended as a weekend project to build a pergola turned into a three-month project. "We almost broke up three times over it," Rebecca recalls.