Bedroom
Bedroom dimensions
A bedroom is one large object and the space you need to walk around it, make it and open things next to it.
Short answer
Allow 30 in (76 cm) beside every side of the bed you actually use, 36 in (91 cm) at the foot if it is a walking route, and 24 in (61 cm) as the absolute minimum anywhere. A queen bed with two usable sides therefore needs a room about 10 x 11 ft (3.0 x 3.4 m).
The numbers, at a glance
- Queen mattress
- 60 x 80 in (152 x 203 cm)
- King mattress
- 76 x 80 in (193 x 203 cm)
- Clearance beside the bed
- 30 in (76 cm)24 in absolute minimum
- Clearance at the foot
- 36 in (91 cm)
- Nightstand height
- 24 to 28 in (61 to 71 cm)within 2 in of the mattress top
- Closet hanging depth
- 24 in (61 cm)
Bedrooms fail in a predictable way. Someone upgrades from a queen to a king because the mattress is the same price, and discovers that 16 in (41 cm) of extra width has come out of both walkways at once: 8 in from each side. A room that gave 30 in on both sides of a queen now gives 22 in, which is below the width of a walking body.
That is the entire discipline of bedroom planning. The bed is a fixed rectangle. Everything else is subtraction.
The subtraction#
Start with the mattress, add the frame, then take clearances off the room.
- Mattress: use the true dimension, not the marketing name. A UK king is 150 x 200 cm; a US king is 193 x 203 cm. They are not the same bed.
- Frame and headboard: add 2 to 6 in (5 to 15 cm) per side and 3 to 12 in (8 to 30 cm) of length for the headboard.
- Sides: 30 in (76 cm) each on the sides you use. 24 in (61 cm) is the point at which making the bed becomes a shuffle.
- Foot: 36 in (91 cm) if it is a route, 24 in if you only pass occasionally.
- Storage: a chest of drawers needs its drawer depth plus a person, so 36 to 40 in (91 to 102 cm) in front of it.
| Bed | Mattress | Minimum room (two usable sides) | Comfortable room |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twin / single | 38 x 75 in (97 x 191 cm) | 8 x 10 ft (2.4 x 3.0 m) | 9 x 10 ft |
| Full / double | 54 x 75 in (137 x 191 cm) | 9 ft 6 in x 10 ft (2.9 x 3.0 m) | 10 x 11 ft |
| Queen | 60 x 80 in (152 x 203 cm) | 10 x 11 ft (3.0 x 3.4 m) | 11 x 12 ft |
| King | 76 x 80 in (193 x 203 cm) | 11 ft 4 in x 11 ft (3.5 x 3.4 m) | 13 x 12 ft |
In this section#
- Bed sizes and the room each one needsEvery mattress size in inches and centimetres, plus the honest minimum room for each: a queen needs about 10 x 11 ft (3.0 x 3.35 m).
- Bedroom clearances: the space around the bed30 in (76 cm) beside the bed, 36 in (91 cm) at the foot, 36 to 40 in in front of a drawer. Every bedroom clearance, with the reasoning.
- Bedroom rug size and placementAim for 18 to 24 in (45 to 60 cm) of rug showing beside the bed. An 8 x 10 ft suits a queen, 9 x 12 ft a king.
- Closet and wardrobe dimensions24 in (61 cm) interior depth, rods at 66 to 72 in single or 42 and 84 in double, and 5 x 7 ft as the smallest useful walk-in.
- Nightstand dimensions and heightNightstand tops belong within 2 in (5 cm) of the mattress top, which now means 24 to 28 in (61 to 71 cm) tall, not the old 22 to 24 in.
- Queen vs king: the dimensional caseA king is 16 in (41 cm) wider than a queen and exactly the same length. That one fact, plus 8 in off each side clearance, decides the choice.