How to choose a bed: sizes, storage and headboards in India

Buying guide

How to choose a bed

The bed sets the scale of the room and then never moves again. Get the size and the clearance right first; the headboard, the storage and the finish are the enjoyable decisions that follow.

1. Indian mattress sizes

Indian sizes are not the same as American or European ones, which matters the moment you buy linen or a mattress separately. The common standards:

Size	Mattress	Suits
Single	36 × 78 in	A child's room, a compact guest room
Queen	60 × 78 in	A couple in a standard bedroom
King	72 × 78 in	A couple who want room, or who have children arriving at 6am

An Indian king is wider than a US king is long-standing confusion; always give your supplier the mattress dimensions in inches rather than the word.

2. Leave the clearance before you fall in love

Aim for at least 24 inches of walking space on the sides you use and at the foot. Below about 18 inches a room stops working, you catch your shins, and making the bed becomes a daily annoyance.

Check the swing of the wardrobe doors against the bed, and whether the bedside tables still leave the drawers usable. In a smaller room a bed pushed to one wall with a single bedside table is a better answer than a symmetrical arrangement you cannot walk around.

3. Storage, and whether you actually want it

Hydraulic storage beds lift the whole platform and swallow an enormous amount — bedding, luggage, off-season clothes. They are genuinely useful in a city flat. The trade-offs are honest ones: the bed is heavier, the mechanism is a part that can eventually need attention, and anything at the bottom is effectively archived.

Drawer storage in the base is easier to live with day to day, holds less, and needs floor clearance to open. If your room is already tight on clearance, drawers may not open fully — which is the sort of thing worth checking on a drawing rather than after delivery.

4. The headboard is the room's main event

It is the largest vertical surface you will look at, so it is where the character goes. A few things worth knowing:

• Height. A tall headboard anchors a room with high ceilings and overwhelms a low one. Under a 10 ft ceiling, 48–54 inches from the floor usually reads right.
• Upholstered is softer to sit against and can carry any fabric you like; it is the easiest way to bring a bold colour into a bedroom.
• Carved or cane brings craft and keeps the wall breathing visually, which helps in a smaller room.
• Mounted against the wall behind rather than fixed to the frame gives you a taller, wider headboard without a heavier bed.

5. Frame and finish, for Indian conditions

Seasoned hardwood, Burma teak where the piece calls for it. A bed takes years of load in one place, and the joints are what tell on a cheap frame first. In humid coastal cities, unseasoned wood moves and the frame develops a creak that never quite goes away.

If the bed is made to order, the size, the headboard height, the finish and the cloth are all yours to set — which is how you get a bed that fits an awkward alcove instead of a bed the alcove has to tolerate. Ours take about six weeks.

Questions

What are the standard bed sizes in India?

Single is 36 × 78 inches, queen is 60 × 78 inches and king is 72 × 78 inches. These differ from American and European standards, so give dimensions in inches rather than relying on the name when ordering a mattress or linen.

How much space should I leave around a bed?

At least 24 inches of walking space on the sides you use and at the foot of the bed. Below about 18 inches the room becomes awkward to move through and difficult to make the bed in.

Are hydraulic storage beds worth it?

In a city apartment, usually yes. A hydraulic lift-up platform stores bedding, luggage and off-season clothes in space that would otherwise be wasted. The trade-offs are a heavier bed, a mechanism that may eventually need servicing, and the fact that anything at the bottom is hard to reach day to day. Drawer storage holds less but is easier to use, provided there is floor clearance for the drawers to open.

How tall should a headboard be?

Under a standard 10 ft ceiling, 48 to 54 inches from the floor generally reads well. Taller headboards suit high or double-height rooms; in a low room a tall headboard makes the ceiling feel lower still.

Upholstered or carved headboard?

Upholstered is softer to sit against, can be made in any fabric, and is the simplest way to bring a strong colour into a bedroom. A carved or cane headboard brings craft and visual lightness, which helps in a smaller room. Both can be made to order in your size and finish.