Bed & Mattress Sizes in Ireland: The Complete Size Guide

By the Beds.ie Team · Sleep advice from Ireland’s bed & mattress specialists

Buying a bed in Ireland gets a lot easier once you understand the sizes. Irish and UK beds use the same naming — small single, single, double, king, super king — but the labels can be confusing when you see “4ft6” on one site, “135cm” on another, and “queen” or “twin” creeping in from American brands. This guide lays out every standard bed and mattress size sold in Ireland, in feet and centimetres, shows you how to measure your room properly, and helps you order the right size first time — with no surprises on delivery day.

Irish bed sizes at a glance

Every bed, mattress, base and headboard on Beds.ie is sold in these standard sizes. Widths and lengths are the industry standard used across Ireland and the UK:

Two things are worth noticing. First, single sizes are 190 cm long, while king and bigger jump to 200 cm — that extra 10 cm matters a lot if anyone in the house is over six foot. Second, an Irish “double” (4ft6 / 135 cm) is narrower than a US “queen” (152 cm), and an American “twin” is simply our single. If you’ve been searching for a queen size bed in Ireland or a twin size bed, you’re really looking for a 4ft6 double and a 3ft single. There’s no separate “queen” standard sold here, so don’t worry that you’re missing a size — you’re not.

How to measure your room properly

The number-one cause of bed-buying regret is a room that feels cramped once the bed is in. Avoid it with five minutes and a tape measure:

1. Measure the room wall to wall, both width and length, and note the position of the door, window and radiator.
2. Mark the bed footprint on the floor with masking tape using the centimetre sizes above. Seeing the actual outline beats imagining it.
3. Leave 60–70 cm of clear floor on any side you need to walk past, and enough room to open wardrobe and chest-of-drawer doors fully.
4. Check the corners — a bed pushed into a corner saves space but makes the inside edge hard to reach and the bed harder to make.
5. Live with the tape outline for a day before you order. If you keep stubbing your toe on the imaginary bed, size down.

Which size suits your room?

• Box room (under 2.5m wide): a 2ft6 small single or 3ft single keeps the floor usable.
• Standard single/child’s room: a 3ft single is the default; a 3ft6 large single gives a taller child extra width without needing a double.
• Smaller double room: a 4ft small double gives a single adult generous space, or fits a couple where a full double won’t.
• Average double bedroom: the 4ft6 double — Ireland’s best-selling size — is the sweet spot for most couples.
• Master bedroom: step up to a 5ft king or 6ft super king if the floor allows. The extra width genuinely transforms sleep quality for couples who currently share a double.

If you’re torn between two sizes, the usual advice is: if the floor allows it without crowding, size up. People very rarely wish their bed were smaller, and the wider you go, the less you disturb each other turning over at night.

Don’t forget length, depth and headboard height

Width gets all the attention, but three other dimensions trip people up. Length matters as much as width — if you or your partner are tall, prioritise a king or super king for the extra 10 cm, and ask us about European-length options if you need more. Mattress depth ranges from around 18 cm on a budget mattress to 30 cm-plus on a deep pocket-sprung or pillow-top; deeper mattresses need deep-fitted sheets, so check before you buy bedding. Headboard height is the one people forget entirely — headboards are sold to match each bed width, so a 5ft king headboard pairs with a 5ft bed, but if there’s a window or sloped ceiling above the bed, measure the height too, not just the footprint.

Children’s and bunk bed sizes

For children, the small single (2ft6) and single (3ft) cover almost everything, and most bunk beds and mid-sleepers use a 3ft single mattress. A growing teen often appreciates a 3ft6 large single for the extra width without taking up double-bed floor space. Always use a mattress that matches the bunk or frame exactly — a too-thick mattress on a bunk can raise the sleeping surface above the safety rail.

Will it fit through the door? Plan your delivery access

A bed that fits the room is no use if it won’t fit up the stairs. Before ordering, measure your doorways, the turn at the top of the stairs, and any tight hallways. Bedframes and divans often come in parts, and divans can usually be ordered as two linked halves for awkward access — if you have a tricky staircase or a narrow Georgian hallway, just ask us before you order and we’ll advise on the easiest option for your home.

Bedding sizes follow the bed

Duvets, mattress toppers, protectors and fitted sheets are all sized by the bed they go on, not by centimetres. A king mattress needs a king duvet and a king fitted sheet — a common and frustrating mistake is buying a “double” duvet for a king bed and finding it sits short on each side. When in doubt, match the bedding size to the bed size name, and check the mattress depth against the fitted-sheet depth.

Still unsure? We’re here to help

Getting the size right is the single most important decision when buying a bed, and it’s the one customers most often ask us about. If you’re between two sizes, measuring an awkward room, or worried about delivery access, browse the full ranges below or get in touch — our team would genuinely rather spend two minutes on the phone than have you order the wrong size.

Shop by what you need: all beds, mattresses, bedframes and headboards — all with free delivery across Ireland and Northern Ireland. Once you’ve nailed the size, our mattress buying guide will help you choose the right feel.