Guide
How High Should a Bed Be? Real Bed Heights from 18 Frames
Quick answer: a bed is the right height when you can sit on the edge with both feet flat on the floor and your knees about level with your hips. Bed height is the base plus the mattress. On 18 frames we sell with a published base height, the base sits 15 to 41 cm off the floor, so a 25 cm mattress puts the top between about 40 and 66 cm. Makers do not build to one height, but 16 of those 18 frames sit between 31 and 41 cm before the mattress.
All figures are the makers' own, from our product pages, checked on 17 October 2026.
The two-minute test: measure the bed you already have
Your current bed is the best measuring tool you own. Shoes off, sit on the edge.
- Your heels lift off the floor: the bed is too high for you.
- Your knees end up well above your hips and getting up takes a push with both hands: it is too low.
- Feet flat, knees level with your hips or a little lower, and you stand up without effort: keep that height.
If it passes, measure from the floor to the top of the mattress and write the number down. That is your target when you compare frames.
Why the heels matter: NHS advice from University Hospitals Plymouth on standing up safely starts at the edge of the bed, feet tucked under, "with your heels flat on the floor". If your heels cannot reach the floor, you cannot do that.
Want a body measurement too? Sit on a chair, feet flat, and measure from the floor to the crease behind your knee. The occupational therapy team at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust asks patients for this same measurement before a planned operation, to go with its furniture height sheet. A mattress sinks when you sit on it, so the test on a real bed beats any formula.
Bed height is the base plus the mattress
The sum: the height of the base where the mattress sits, plus the depth of the mattress. Makers publish the first number in different ways: base height, floor to the top of the side rail, or height of the frame. If your mattress sits inside the side rails, its top ends up a little lower than the sum.
The mattress is the part people forget. On three of our frames the maker recommends a 25 cm mattress. Some makers set a limit: the Grosvenor super king ottoman takes a mattress up to 20 cm. Measure yours before you order.
- A 36 cm divan base with a 25 cm mattress: 61 cm.
- A low wooden bed about 20 cm high with the same mattress: about 45 cm.
- A 40 cm ottoman with a 20 cm mattress: up to 60 cm.
A mattress 10 cm deeper raises the bed about as much as going from the lowest ottoman in our table (31 cm) to the highest (40 cm).
How high are bed frames? Figures from 18 frames we sell
These 18 frames are in stock and their makers give a clear height for the base. The fourth column adds a 25 cm mattress. Where the figure is to the top of the side rail, we write "up to": the mattress may sit a little inside it.
| Frame | Type | Base, maker's figure | With a 25 cm mattress | Storage or space underneath | Headboard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbican | Japanese style low bed | 15 to 20 cm (height of the frame) | 40 to 45 cm | Not published | None |
| Teddington | Low wooden bed | About 20 cm, slats level with the frame | About 45 cm | Not for under-bed drawers, says the maker | 75 cm |
| Wimbledon | Velvet ottoman | 31 cm at the foot end | 56 cm | Depth not published | 113 cm |
| Dalston | Velvet ottoman | 35 cm at the foot end | 60 cm | Depth not published | 112 to 113 cm |
| Highbury | Fabric ottoman | 35 cm at the foot end | 60 cm | Depth not published | 89 cm |
| Hammersmith | Fabric ottoman | 36.5 cm at the foot end | 61.5 cm | Depth not published | 100 cm |
| Sydenham | Fabric ottoman | 38.5 cm at the foot end | 63.5 cm | Depth not published | 115 cm |
| Barnet | White wooden ottoman | 36 cm, top of side rail | Up to 61 cm | 27 cm deep | 111 cm |
| Ruislip | Wooden ottoman | 36 cm, top of side rail | Up to 61 cm | 27 cm deep | 106 cm |
| Acton | White wooden ottoman | 40 cm, top of side rail | Up to 65 cm | 27 cm deep | 106 cm |
| Wembley | Fabric ottoman | 40 cm, top of side rail | Up to 65 cm | About 30 cm inside | 139 cm |
| Tooting | Fabric ottoman | 40 cm, foot end and side rail | Up to 65 cm | About 17 cm inside, on a 10 cm gap | 134 cm |
| Holloway | Velvet ottoman | 39.5 cm, foot end and side rail | Up to 64.5 cm | About 17 cm inside, on a 10 cm gap | 141.5 cm |
| Plush velvet, crushed velvet and chenille divans | Divan base | 36 cm before the mattress, every size | 61 cm | No drawers, 2 or 4 drawers | Not included |
| Hendon | Velvet bed with 4 drawers | 36 cm, top of side rail | Up to 61 cm | 4 drawers, 5 cm gap under the bed | 123.5 cm |
| Harrow | White wooden bed | 41 cm, top of side rail | Up to 66 cm | 24 cm clear, drawers as an option | 105.6 cm |
Swipe sideways to see the whole table
Three things stand out. Before any mattress, the Harrow sits more than 20 cm higher than the two low beds. A taller base does not always mean deeper storage. The Tooting and the Wembley both stand 40 cm high, but the Tooting sits on a 10 cm gap and stores about 17 cm. The Wembley stores about 30 cm. And the ottomans in our table are not higher than our divans: 31 to 40 cm against 36 cm.
Low beds: who they suit and what to check
A low bed leaves more headroom in a loft room or under a low ceiling. It also suits people who like to sit low, or whose feet dangle off a taller bed.
Check two things. Getting up: with a 25 cm mattress the Teddington comes to about 45 cm, so run the sit test against your own number. Storage: the Teddington's maker says the frame is not suitable for under-bed drawers. Both are made to order in a Yorkshire workshop, so allow 15 to 20 working days.
Our view: if getting up is already a struggle for anyone at home, skip the low beds.
Higher beds and storage: ottomans, divans and drawers
An ottoman puts the storage inside the base, about 17 to 30 cm deep where the makers in our table publish it. The full range is in king size ottoman beds, 46 frames from £259. For the pros and cons beyond height, read are ottoman beds good?
Would you rather slide boxes under the bed? Then look at the clearance, not the base height. The Bermondsey and the Southwark leave 30 cm, the Mortlake 25 cm and the Harrow 24 cm, with two matching under-bed drawers as an option. Measure your boxes first.
A divan gives you drawers in a base the size of the mattress. Our king size divan beds come in 8 fabrics, from £299 for the king base.
Headboard height is a separate number
Under a window or a sloping ceiling, the headboard matters more than the base. In our table, headboards run from 75 cm (Teddington) to 141.5 cm (Holloway). Measure from the floor to the sill and compare.
Our low headboard beds are 17 frames with a headboard 95 cm or lower, from £189. To fill the wall instead, the high headboard beds start at 120 cm.
If getting in and out of bed is hard
After a hip or knee operation, or before one, use the height your occupational therapist gives you. It is worked out for you, not for the bed.
Otherwise you have three levers: the mattress depth, the base height, or an adjustable base. On nine of our iron frames, such as the Peckham, you choose the height of the slat base when you assemble the bed. The heights are not published, so check against your target before you finish.
Which height we would choose
If your current bed passes the sit test, buy the frame whose base plus your mattress lands within a couple of centimetres of it.
Two people of very different heights? Go by the shorter one. A bed a little low for the taller partner is easier to live with than one where the other's heels do not reach the floor. For the floor space each size needs, see our king size bed dimensions guide.