What is a Split King Mattress
If the thought of a “split” king mattress has you considering 60s sitcoms with partners sleeping in different beds, we've got a few things to clean up for you.
Split king mattresses aren't the most frequent type of bed arrangement, but they are an excellent choice, mainly for couples with very distinct sleeping inclinations. Fear not. However, you can go the route of a split king mattress and snuggle up with your honey.
Our objective is to help you understand all the jargon that exists out there in the mattress business and help you determine what sort of bed will work best for you and your nearest and dearest. Hopefully, we can help you to get to sleep soundly soon!
What is the Size of a Split King Bed?
A split king is truly two twin XL mattresses put collectively on a king-size bed framework. Twin XL mattresses and king beds are equally 80″ long and double beds are half as broad as king mattresses.
Take two 38″ wide twin XL mattresses, join them together, do a little bit of math magic, and voila, you have got a 76″ king size mattress. Whoever opts on the standard mattress sizes was fairly smart with this one, would not you say?
Advantages and Disadvantages of Split King Beds
Advantages:
- You can still sleep next to your spouse, but without having to compromise comfort
- Ideal for those who have different mattress tastes than their spouse
- less inclined to be bothered than using a regular king
- Easier to move compared to a regular king bed since you can split them apart
Disadvantages:
- It can be more expensive than a standard king size mattress
- It may be hard to find sheets/bedding for your split king
- It could appear unusual in your area
Is a Split King Right for Everybody?
No, probably not. First of all, this is truly only something that we would recommend for couples. If you're single, you probably don't require a mattress as big as a king, but if you would like a large mattress, getting your bed split down the middle for no reason will most likely be pretty annoying.
Also, couples with a similar body type, sleeping fashion, and/or mattress preference may not find obtaining a split king necessary.
If you're both likely to want the same mattress, you may as well get one large king-size mattress. This will also typically be somewhat more of an inexpensive bed, as purchasing two twin XL mattresses can often be a bit more expensive than purchasing one king-size mattress.
Benefits of Split King Beds
Why bother with two mattresses when you're able to buy one king-size one? There are several reasons why this setup might work well for specific couples.
First of all, going the route of a split king can help you reside in a smaller area, walk-up flat, or think about moving soon or frequently.
Why? Since two twin XL size mattresses are a lot easier to move and get upstairs or around tight corners than the cumbersome king mattress could be.
Split kings are also a fantastic option for couples that sleep vastly differently. By way of instance, if you're a 6'6″ bodybuilder who sweats in your sheets in the wintertime, you will likely lean more towards a firm and supportive mattress that serves to actively cool you down at night, just like Brooklyn Bedding Aurora.
Suppose this bodybuilder is cuddling up next to a petite person who loves to sleep on their side beneath a mountain of blankets.
In that case, however, some issues might arise when seeking to compromise on a mattress because smaller sleepers often sleep better on fluffy and soft beds, such as the Tuft & Needle Mint mattress. Having a split king, the two people can find the mattress which will work best for them.
Another reason that couples may want their mattress is motion transfer. We find that most mattresses will quite pretty well in this class unless they're an older version with innersprings, which have largely been changed with pocketed coils in the past few years.
Sometimes though, you may have a spouse that rolls throughout a lot in their sleep or gets up often for late-night snacking or toilet breaks. The movement from their side of the mattress can move to your side and wake you up if you're sleeping on a connected mattress that has inferior motion isolation.
This issue is solved for partners who decide on different mattresses: no longer getting out of bed in slow motion to attempt and prevent waking your spouse up.
Split king mattresses are also perfect for folks who wish to obtain an adjustable bed frame. Most king-size adjustable bed frames include the choice of a split version, which means either side of the mattress can move freely.
It stands to reason, then, that if you receive a frame that could move like this, you will likely need your mattresses to have the ability to move independently also.
If you place king-size bedding on a split king-size flexible frame, you may only have the ability to move the frame with two sides in sync, or your mattress will become a slide.
Why Opt for an Adjustable Bed Frame?
This sort of bed frame has grown in popularity a whole lot in the last few years since adjustable bed frames frequently arrive with a lot of special features and may even be useful in treating specific health conditions.
By way of instance, if you snore or suffer from sleep apnea, you can plan your mattress frame to increase 10°, which should enhance your breathing. Some bed frames also include massage attributes, a zero-gravity setting, and USB ports for simple phone charging while you sleep, among other things.
These bed frames can also be often designed to match the inside of your current bed frame and will take the place of a traditional base, platform, box spring, or wooden slats. There's no need to compromise on your room style for the comfort of a flexible frame.
If you decide on an adjustable bed frame with broken king mattresses, you will probably discover that you and your spouse are both able to locate the perfect sleep setting for you.
One individual can sleep peacefully on their soft foam bedding while the bed frame lightly swings to massage their toes, while another person can feel encouraged and cool in their firm latex mattress that's lifted to the ideal angle to prevent waking themselves (or their spouse) up in the middle of the night with their loud snoring.
What Sort of Bedding Should I Use for the Split King Bed?
There are a few techniques you can go through concerning bedding for a split king, and you can essentially deal with the setup like a standard king mattress or just like two XL twin beds, or a combination of both.
Sheets
Specifically, for split king beds on flexible bases, there are sheet sets created to cater to this exceptional sleep setup. Split-top king sheets are matched sheets that are the size of a typical king sheet and attached at the tail end of this sheet-like every other king sheet.
On the head side of this sheet, these sheets split into two twin-size sheets, so the adjustable bed frame can go smoothly on both sides without yanking the fitted sheet off the additional mattress.
If you're having difficulty imagining what this resembles, these sheets are shaped like the letter U, attached at the base but dividing off into two sides on top.
However, it might be somewhat difficult to discover sheets like this, so that you can also decide on two twin XL fitted sheets, which will accomplish that same goal for your adjustable bed.
If your split king isn't on an adjustable bed frame, you can either become twin XL sheets for every mattress or cover them both in a standard king-size sheet set, which will make the mattresses feel somewhat more cohesive.
Comforters
In terms of top sheets and comforters, a few people will opt for different blankets for each bed or a king-size blanket set to, again, make the mattresses a little more cohesive. This will truly be up to your judgment.
If you realize that one spouse is a permanent blanket stealer, going for different blankets may be a great bet. Some folks, however, might find that having different blankets makes it more difficult to snuggle or feel near their sleeping partner.
Ultimately, much like all bed-related choices, we invite you to have a conversation about the most important things to you. Fantastic sleep can do wonders for your well-being and (if you ask us) your connection too.
Purchasing Split King Beds
If you've determined that a split king bed is a fantastic idea for you and your spouse, the next step is to choose the mattress or mattresses you're going to buy.
There are many choices with a split king, so a couple of things to keep in mind are cost, size, and taste.
First of all, the price can play a massive part in your mattress purchasing decision. As stated before, purchasing two twin XL mattresses can be a little bit more expensive than purchasing one king mattress, but if you're smart about it, it may also be a less costly option.
If you and your partner both choose a reasonably luxurious mattress, choose Helix Luxe, for example – this line of beds is terrific for a split king setup since you can both find the Helix mattress which caters to you – that the pricing may blow your budget somewhat.
The MSRP of a king-size Helix Luxe mattress is approximately $2,200, and the MSRP of a double XL is approximately $1,250. If you purchase two twins XLs, the purchase price will be around $2,500 – a fair bit more than for just the king.
If, however, you choose very different mattresses, say one person has back problems and goes for the about $1,600 Casper Wave mattress while another person could sleep on anything so determines that Amazon's $350 Lucid mattress will probably be just fine for them, you will save yourself far more money than if you had purchased the king-size Casper Wave at about $2,800.
If you opt to purchase completely different mattresses, one thing to bear in mind is the bed's height. In general, most mattresses that we see are about 10″ or 11″ Tall, but we also have seen some that are a fair bit shorter and a few taller.
For example, pairing the 9.25″ tall Purple original using a 15″ tall DreamCloud mattress will seemingly end up making Your mattress look and feel pretty amusing. Ensure both mattresses are around the same height to prevent any peaks or valleys from forming the two beds' junctions.
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