Bed Size Calculator
This bed size calculator checks whether a mattress will actually fit your bedroom with enough space to walk around and make the bed, so you can settle the single versus queen versus king question before anything is delivered. Enter the room width and length in centimetres and choose a New Zealand standard bed size, and the calculator subtracts the mattress footprint from the room to show the walking clearance you would have on each side, the clearance left at the head and foot, and the floor space remaining. It uses the common NZ sizes, from a Single at 92 by 188 centimetres up through King Single, Double, Queen and King to a Super King at 183 by 203 centimetres, so the footprint matches what retailers here actually sell. As a rule of thumb you want at least 60 centimetres to move past a bed comfortably and closer to 75 centimetres on the sides you get in and out, with a similar gap at the foot for a chest or a walkway. Less than about 45 centimetres feels cramped and makes changing the sheets a chore. Measure your room at floor level, allow for wardrobes, doors that swing in and bedside tables, and use the result to choose the largest bed that still leaves the room easy to move around in.
A Queen bed (153 × 203 cm) in a 320 × 360 cm room leaves 83.5 cm of walking space each side and 157 cm at the ends, comfortable for getting in and making the bed.
Standard NZ mattress sizes. Clearance each side assumes the bed is centred; against a wall you gain that space on one side. Allow for wardrobes, doors and bedside tables.
How it works
The calculator takes the mattress footprint for the size you choose and subtracts it from the room. The walking clearance each side is the room width minus the bed width, split evenly because a centred bed leaves the same gap on both sides. The end clearance is the room length minus the bed length, the space shared between the head and the foot. The floor space left is the room area minus the bed area, in square metres. A comfortable layout keeps at least about 75 centimetres each side and 70 centimetres at the ends; below 45 centimetres a side is tight.
Worked example
Your room is 320 cm wide and 360 cm long, and you are considering a Queen mattress at 153 by 203 cm. The width left over is 320 minus 153, which is 167 cm, so a centred bed leaves 83.5 cm on each side. The length left over is 360 minus 203, which is 157 cm shared between the head and foot. The floor space remaining is the room area of 11.52 square metres minus the bed's 3.11, about 8.4 square metres. At 83.5 cm a side this is a comfortable fit; a King at 167 cm wide would drop each side to 76.5 cm, still workable.
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