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Mattress Sizing
We spend a very large portion of our lives sleeping. The bedroom is one of the most important rooms of any home. Getting everything exactly perfect for you, your sense of style, managing to fit all the décor together and give you the night’s rest you need to tackle each day can be a bit of a juggling act.
You want an organized, well-considered space that you can walk into and instantly have your mood improved.
Science can agree with just how vital a good night’s sleep is to the human body, so when we are investing in a custom bed frame one must give exceptionally careful thought to the mattress that goes into it. We often spend hours researching companies and brands, finding honest as well as thorough reviews, comparing comfort needs, materials used and more to find a mattress that will be tailored to ourselves.
But does the height of your mattress affect sleep? How does the height of your mattress fit within the décor of your bed? How tall should a mattress be, and does it matter to your health? Planning your dream bedroom or even an update on the overall mood of your bedroom starts with the bed and the mattress.
Mattress Sizes
Before determining height and planning anything else, it's important to know the size of your current mattress—or what size you would like if purchasing a new bed. Below is a chart of the most common sizes of mattresses found in the U.S., U.K, and Asia.
International Mattress Sizes | |||
Size | US / Canada | Europe (UK) | Asia |
California King | 84" x 72" | ||
Eastern King / King | 80" x 76" | 78" x 60" | 78" x 72" x 22" |
Queen | 80" x 60" | ||
Twin / Single | 75" x 39" | 75" x 36" | 78" x 42" x 22" |
Double / Full / Regular | 75" x 54" | 75" x 54" | 78" x 48" x 22" |
Average Heights
As with most choices, personal style, preference and needs make these objects difficult to create an average or base of measurement standards. However, there are a few agreed-upon general heights for a mattress. Those are:
- Platform beds – 18 inches
- Standard bed with box spring mattress – 24-25 inches
- Antique beds – 36 inches and upward
Does Mattress Height Matter to Your Health?
Information can be conflicting, but the height of your bed is crucial to your physical health. You use your bed every evening and arise from it in the morning. If you are unable to comfortably do either, you may be placing additional and unneeded strain on your body.
When considering the right mattress and bed height, keep in mind your own health status as well as height. Average knee level is 16” to 24” off the ground. Most people can easily put feet on the ground and push off from a bed at this height.
Comfort
Possibly the most important justification to how high a mattress should be is for your own personal sleeping as well as visual comfort. Choosing a mattress that you can sleep on without issue as well as add the needed height or remain thin enough to fit the bed frame of your dreams will be the ultimate deciding factor for you.
For instance, a dreamy California King four-poster canopy bed is a bit higher than a gorgeous French Country Queen sized bed. So, when you consider the right mattress height, with the French Country Queen bed you could get away with a thicker mattress than the California King four-poster.
Depth of Frame
Your chosen bed frame will have a fixed build for holding a mattress of certain depths. Shorter, thinner bed frames tend to have a better visual appeal with a thicker mattress while a grand, masterful and thick wooden frame would benefit from a thinner mattress silhouette.
How Mattress Height Affects the Design of Your Bedroom
Balancing the space of your bedroom can create an enjoyable, peaceful atmosphere. Location of the bed, the position, as well as sleeping direction can all create a positive and comforting experience. Bed height is important in creating what interior decorators call a collected room, not just decorated.
Bedrooms with High Ceilings:
Nothing adds drama to a room quite like double-height ceilings. Also known as cathedral or vaulted if your bedroom has a double-height ceiling, interior decorators recommend a tall bed measuring well over 25 inches from floor to mattress top. This ensures your bed is completely in tune with your space. A tall and splendid headboard will help if a tall bed and mattress isn’t viable to you. An antique four-poster bed would fit in a bedroom like this impeccably.
Bedrooms with Low Ceilings:
For bedrooms with low or lower than average ceilings you will no doubt like the look of a lower bed here to keep everything in harmony. A California King Size French Low Sleigh bed is a perfect example of a lower bed.
What is the Official Correct Height?
The correct height will come down to your specific needs and the design of your custom-made or heirloom bed. There is no official industry standard designers or manufacturers must adhere to when it comes to average mattress height but there are some ideals and advice to always consider when creating the blueprint or the outline of your bed in your new bedroom.
The key points to remember to make sure your new mattress is perfect for you and the flow of your bedroom:
- Comfort needs
- Compare pillow-top heights to lower profile mattresses
- Your bedrooms aesthetic and décor
- Height of ceiling
- Age and mobility
- Your height
- Your bedroom’s aesthetic
Antique beds create an instantaneous regal, elegant impression. They tend to sit tall and proud being the focal point in any room. A box spring mattress may be a bit too much to fit into the theme of your new bedroom and low-profile mattresses may be the solution to meeting comfort and style together without risking making the incorrect decision for your bed. Materials that may look wonderful with a tall, antique bed:
- Memory foam
- Latex
- Inner spring
- Hybrids
If the bed with the mattress is the proper height for you as well as the room, it won’t affect the natural flow or energy your decorating has brought to your new or re-designed bedroom. Remembering our key points above will guarantee you will sail off soon in a bed made for dreams without sacrificing your outstanding decorating taste.