Considered the ultimate in bed sizes, the king sized bed is indeed large (76 by 80 inches). Four people, good friends, can sleep in this bed; three comfortably. So if you expect hard times and want a bed for everyone, this size bed may be your best bet. For one or two people, the king sized bed is underutilized unless one or two people are very, very tall or large. When I and my other share one, one of us has to swim over to the other for a goodnight kiss. And we are by no means small or slim. Far from inducing wild, passionate nights, the size of the bed is a hindrance and even a casual pat or touch requires considerable effort. And the volume of the linens makes washing, folding and storing them a lot of work as well.
The California king trades a little width for more length, being 72 by 84 inches. This allows someone over 6 feet 6 inches a chance to lie flat and not hang off the end of the bed. Linens are harder to find for this size bed, especially luxury bedding, and you still have the same problems with washing, folding and storing the linens not on the bed. Imaging trying to take care of the linens for a canopy california king bed.
Both beds also dictate a larger room if there is to be anything in it besides the bed. The arrangement of furniture in a room to contain a bed this size may difficult, and there may be very little choice on furniture placement. The king size bed frame usually has central legs as well as the necessary legs at the four corners. In this case, the more legs the better, as there is a lot of weight on the legs, and considerable span to be propped up. The box spring comes in two pieces in order to be able to even get it into the house and to the right room. The mattress is large and ungainly, and even with handles hard to maneuver. You really need to have a bed this size due to physical requirements, more than just bragging rights. Without true need, a bed this size is a nuisance.
If you decide you need a king-sized bed, be sure to get a heavy duty bed frame. Having the whole thing collapse under you cannot be a good feeling. You should still NOT let you kids jump on the bed, as the frames are not made for this, and the chance they will fall off and hurt themselves is still present.
The head and foot boards of a king size bed are going to be big and probably heavy. Even if they are not that heavy, they will still be unwieldy, causing friends and family helping you move wish they weren’t. A metal bed of this size will definitely tax your friends stamina and their interest in moving you again. If you can keep the bed on the ground floor of the building, you can save a lot of wear and tear on the bed and hernias in the movers.
* * * Add a trundle bed for under bed storage. * * *
Click * personal management * to return to the home page.