Mattress sizes in Ireland still go by feet, even though the measurements on a product page are in centimetres. That's where most of the confusion comes from. Here are the standard sizes, what they mean in centimetres, and the few things worth checking before you order.
The standard Irish sizes
Ireland and the UK use the same mattress sizes, so a frame bought here or across the water takes the same mattress.
| Size | Feet | Centimetres |
|---|---|---|
| Small single | 2ft6 | 75 x 190cm |
| Single | 3ft | 90 x 190cm |
| Small double | 4ft | 120 x 190cm |
| Double | 4ft6 | 135 x 190cm |
| King | 5ft | 150 x 200cm |
| Super king | 6ft | 180 x 200cm |
Singles and doubles are 190cm long, while kings and super kings are 200cm. If you're tall and your feet hang off the end of a double, the extra 10cm of length on a king may matter more to you than the extra width.
Double or king for two people
A double gives each person 67.5cm of width. That's less than a single bed each (90cm), which surprises a lot of people. It works for plenty of couples, but if one of you sprawls, or a small child tends to arrive in the bed at 3am, a king's 75cm each makes a real difference.
The room decides the rest. As a rough guide, leave at least 60cm of floor on each side of the bed so you can get in and out and open a bedside drawer. That means a king in a room under about 2.7 metres wide starts to feel tight.
If you've settled on a double, our double mattresses (4ft6) are the standard 135 x 190cm unless the listing says otherwise. For more room, see our king size mattresses.
European and American sizes
Some mattresses sold online are made to European or American measurements. The ones you're most likely to meet:
- 90 x 200cm: a European single, 10cm longer than ours
- 140 x 200cm: a European double, 5cm wider and 10cm longer than a 4ft6
- 160 x 200cm: a European king, 10cm wider than an Irish king
- 152 x 203cm: the American queen, sometimes sold as a king
A few centimetres sounds like nothing. But a mattress that's 5cm too wide won't sit flat inside a frame with a raised edge, and one that's too short leaves a gap at the headboard for pillows to fall into. Almost everything we sell uses the Irish sizes above. Where a listing uses a different size, the measurements are shown in the size option, so compare them with your frame.
How to measure your bed frame
Measure the inside of the frame, where the mattress will sit, not the outside. Do it across the middle and again at the head end, as older frames aren't always square. Frames are made with a small allowance, so expect the inside to measure a centimetre or two more than the mattress size.
Depth matters too. Most of our mattresses are 20cm to 30cm deep. A deep mattress on a high divan base can leave the bed higher than you're used to, and fitted sheets need pockets deep enough to go over it. Check the sheet's pocket depth before the first night.
A few to look at
The cooling gel memory foam mattress comes in single, small double, double and king, between 16cm and 20cm deep depending on the size. One side is medium firm gel foam and the other is firmer, and you turn it over to choose.
For springs, the 7-zone pocket spring hybrid is medium firm and comes in single, double and king. The 22cm pocket sprung mattress comes in single, small double, double and king.
If you want something deeper, the 30cm memory foam hybrid comes in small double, double and king.
Getting it home
Nearly all our mattresses arrive rolled and vacuum packed in a box, which makes them much easier to get up the stairs. Once you open it, give it 24 to 72 hours to reach full size before you judge how it feels. Delivery is free to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and most orders arrive in 3 to 7 days.