We have had a king size bed ever since we combined households. Before that she had a queen bed in her apartment and I had a double in mine. Her double is in our daughter’s room to this day.
Reading this thread is more thought than I have put into bed sizes in my entire life. I can’t even remember how I decided to get a full when I graduated from university and IKEA RTA and set up my apartment without roommates for the first time.
Cat’s and dogs have shared our bed for most of our 28 years of cohabitation and marriage. I have even slept in the guest room so that I did not disturb the slumbering bitch comfortably sprawled across my side and the middle. She knows better than to go over to Mrs Mouse’s side without an invitation.
We have a king. I like the room a lot. At first he was a bigger guy, 5’9" 220 and we both use c-pap. I don’t cuddle to sleep and I don’t think he would either. I never have and he never has objected. He is down to 125, but uses lots of stuff to sleep and there is still c-pap, cats, used to be a Chihuahua she took up more room than you would expect for 4 1/2 lbs. My only issue is our frame is metal and folding. It causes a big bump down the middle.
Oh, and his neurologist is concerned about him starting to lash out and punch me in his sleep. A common occurrence with Parkinson’s patients. He has not done that though I’ve watched him do odd gestures and looking like he’s manipulating tools or something. He also talks a lot and sings. One time he did Time Has Slipped Away complete with the echo.
We have a king Tempur Pedic that we’ve had for quite a long time and is still holding up just fine. We’re not small people, and I roll from side to side a lot during the night. Also we have a cat overlord who claims the middle as her turf. Neither of us likes being crowded, so prefer it to a queen.
Aww…@kenobi_65, what a sweet post. You’re so nice.
King. I have long legs and monkey arms. I am a tosser, a turner, flipper, flopper…and I tend to get up and down for no apparent reason. I’ve waked and found myself sitting up criss cross legs slumped over face on the the bed. Many time.
I feel lucky when I don’t parade about the house.
Not a good sleeper.
The Alaskan bed. I saw one in a show room called a Family bed. Seriously big.
Linens would be impossible.
We have a California king, split into two sections with all the neat motorized features for the head and foot of the bed. I’m 6’2" and about 230 pounds. While my wife is much smaller, she uses a CPAP and likes some distance from me. The weird thing is that I sleep on my side very close to the edge of the bed. Theoretically, I could probably sleep on a mattress only 18" or so wide. Anyway, it has worked well for us for several years.
Darn big. For comparison, a conventional US King is 76" = 6’4" wide & 80" = 6’8" long. so 2+ feet bigger in each direction. Truly huge in fact.
As to me …
I’m a small guy. When I bought & furnished my first house, a King would have overcrowded the master bedroom so Queen it was. Then I married a small woman and she moved in with me & my furniture. When I say small, our combined weight was well south of 250#. Queen was plenty big enough for two small people who like being close to each other. And have no animals stuffed or live.
Fast forward through three decades, two bedroom sets, and wife getting sick & dying. Same queen still works for me alone.
Make a mistake and marry an old friend. Good news is she’s small too. Bad news is she has only two ways to do things domestically: a) The way she wants to, and b) The way she changes her mind to later. There is no c) the way that involves compromise with her husband. So we get a King. Which barely fits width-wise in the room. But she’s happy. Then we move into an apartment where the bedroom was no narrower, but it was shorter. Now you have to inhale to slither between the bed and the dresser opposite the foot of the bed. Did I mention we’re still small? It was stupid-cozy in there, but keeping the King bed was not negotiable.
A year later I moved out, got my own place with a large bedroom, and decided on a King. Works great for me solo and works great when GF is around to cuddle or . We’ve done queens when on a ship and it works fine too. She’s average height & still svelte despite her years.
IME: in a queen, the other person is always influencing your space, if not invading it. Which requires compatible cooperative habits. In a king you can each do your own thing without interfering w the other, or you can get as much togetherness as you both can stand.
The Washington Post ran an article (gift link) about oversize beds like the Alaskan king. It mentions that the Alaskan king weighs something like 350 pounds, so you need help just to rotate it, you need a big room (with perhaps four feet open on each side) and you need oversize nightstands. And of course you may need to special order bedsheets.
another one here who kind of enjoys the novelty of king size beds on vacation, but has no need of them in day to day life. Wife and I are on the slim side and while we have a dog, it doesn’t sleep with us (gross!)
We’ve had a king for most of our marriage. We have never shared it with any of our pets. We like the space - being able to shift about without bumping and waking the other most of the time. It was fine in our cuddling days, and now that I’m a back sleeper and he needs extra pillows due to spinal issues, it still works for us.
Yep. No pets on my bed.
The cats are on the shelf above my headboard
Designed(by me) for their cocoon type pod beds.
Woe be the dummy that touches or adjusts the beds. Especially if they’re in residence at the time. You might lose an appendage.
Dogs have cozy dog beds. Bayliss drags his around the room for unanswerable reasons. The Chihuahuas cuddle up together in one round cushioned bucket bed. Way too big. But they have blankies for the empty spaces.
A king is a lot better for amorous activities when three are involved. Even for just two, a little more space make each other’s reading / listening / flailing around during sleep less intrusive for the other person.
On checking: my (British) king size bed is actually equivalent to a US queen sized…
I probably wouldn’t upgrade to a US king size, because it basically just adds width, no additional length.
Since anything that’s different to what I do is wrong and strange, I’m now going to join the group that find it weird that some of you have such wide beds
When I got married my favorite aunt advised us to get a king. So we did and have never regretted it. I want to cuddle, I just roll over. But I can do what I want in bed without disturbing my wife and so can she. Well it has worked for 62 years.
We can sleep well enough on a queen (60") although an Olympic queen (66" is better. I find an ordinary double (54") just too cramped. The extra 6" to a queen is really good, though it doesn’t sound like much.
I also think that this may be more convenient for people who are traveling with young children, who want to climb into bed with Mommy and Daddy, and the parents allow it because the children are in unfamiliar territory.
. We’ve done queens when on a ship and it works fine too. She’s average height & still svelte despite her years.