Every bed retailer has the same story. The bed arrives, the delivery team gets it to the bottom of the stairs, and it stops. Everyone stands in the hallway working out what happens next.
It happens more than you would think, and it is almost always avoidable. Ten minutes with a tape measure before you order prevents the whole thing.
This guide covers what to measure, which part of the bed causes the trouble, and what your options are if the numbers do not work.
Start with the standard door
Most UK homes use the same internal door, so it helps to know the baseline.
In England and Wales, the standard internal door measures 1981mm tall by 762mm wide. Once you account for the frame, your actual clear opening comes to roughly 720mm.
In Scotland the convention differs slightly: doors run a little taller at 2040mm and a little narrower at 726mm.
Plenty of homes use smaller doors than the standard, particularly in older properties and anywhere space was tight when the house was built. Widths of 610mm and 686mm turn up regularly on bathrooms, box rooms and loft conversions.
That last point matters. Do not assume your bedroom door matches your living room door. Measure the one the bed has to go through.
Measure your route, not just the room
People measure the bedroom and stop there. The bedroom is rarely the problem.
The five points to check
- The front door or main entrance. External doors usually run wider, around 838mm, so this rarely blocks you. Check anyway if you live in a flat with a communal entrance.
- Hallway width. Narrow halls make turning awkward even when the doorway itself is fine.
- The stairs. Measure the width between the wall and the banister, not the width of the treads.
- Ceiling height above the stairs. This one catches people out constantly. A stairwell with a low ceiling or a bulkhead limits how far you can tilt something.
- The bedroom door. Measure the clear opening inside the frame, not the door leaf.
Write all five numbers down. If any of them comes in under 700mm, tell us before you order and we will check the specific bed against it.
What each part of a bed actually measures
A bed does not arrive as one object. Knowing which piece causes trouble changes how you plan.
Divan bases split in two
This is the best news in the whole guide, and most people do not know it.
Divan bases from small double upwards arrive as two separate halves that clip together in the bedroom. A king divan never travels up your stairs as a 150cm object. It goes up as two sections of roughly 75cm each.
Single and small single bases usually come as one piece, but they are narrow enough that it rarely matters.
Each half measures roughly 75cm wide by 190cm or 200cm long, with a base depth around 35cm to 40cm. Carried on edge and angled through a doorway, that clears a standard opening in most homes. Our divan beds all use this split construction.
The mattress is usually the problem
Here is what surprises people. The base splits. The mattress does not.
A king mattress measures 150cm by 200cm and stands 25cm to 30cm deep. Pocket sprung mattresses hold their shape and resist bending, so you cannot fold one round a tight landing.
Rolled and vacuum-packed mattresses solve this completely. They arrive compressed in a box, go up any staircase, and expand in the room. If your access worries you, a rolled mattress removes the single hardest item from the equation. Have a look at what we offer in our mattress range.
Headboards do not bend
The other rigid item, and the one that most often fails to fit.
A headboard spans the full width of the bed. A king headboard measures 150cm across, and a tall or wingback design can stand 130cm to 150cm high. Wingback styles add depth at the sides too.
Two checks before you choose one:
- Measure your stairwell ceiling height, because a tall headboard needs room to tilt
- Measure the landing at the top of the stairs, because that is where you have to turn it
If your access is tight, a standard height headboard solves the problem without changing the look of the bed much. On some designs the wings bolt on separately and come off for delivery. Ask us about your specific model.
The turn at the top of the stairs
Straight stairs are straightforward. Turns are where beds get stuck.
The problem is not the width of the landing. It is the diagonal you need to swing something long through as you change direction.
Rough guide: on a landing with a 90 degree turn, you want at least 90cm of clear space measured across the corner. Winder stairs, the kind that turn using wedge-shaped treads rather than a flat landing, cut that down considerably.
Stand at the top of your stairs and picture carrying a 2m long, 75cm wide panel round the turn. If you cannot see how it goes, measure it and send us the numbers.
Tricks that buy you extra space
Before you conclude a bed will not fit, these are worth trying.
- Take the door off its hinges. This gains you 3cm to 5cm of effective width and delivery teams do it routinely. On a tight fit, it is often all you need.
- Move the banister rail. Some are bolted rather than fixed, and a joiner can lift one temporarily.
- Clear the route completely. Hall tables, pictures, coat hooks and radiator covers all steal working space.
- Check whether the headboard detaches. Most bolt to the base and travel separately.
- Consider a window entry. Uncommon, but for ground floor rooms with a wide opening it works.
What to do if it will not fit
You still have options, and none of them mean giving up on a decent bed.
- Drop a size. A double base half measures 67.5cm against a king's 75cm. That difference resolves a lot of tight fits.
- Choose a rolled mattress. Removes the hardest item.
- Choose a standard headboard instead of a tall or wingback design.
- Look at a bed frame instead. Our upholstered bed frames arrive as separate side rails, slats, headboard and footboard, so every component is smaller than a divan half. For genuinely difficult access, a frame usually beats a divan.
- Ask about a custom size. We build to order in our own workshop, so we can make a base to fit your access rather than to a standard size. Customers do this more often than you would expect.
One thing to avoid: do not assume the delivery team will improvise on the day. Give them the measurements in advance and they will plan for it.
Before you order
Take these five numbers and keep them with you while you shop.
- Front door clear opening
- Narrowest hallway point
- Stairs width, wall to banister
- Ceiling height above the stairs
- Bedroom door clear opening
Then compare against the bed you want:
- Base half width, so bed width divided by two
- Base depth
- Mattress dimensions, or check whether a rolled option exists
- Headboard width and height
If anything looks marginal, send us your measurements before you order. We would rather spend five minutes checking than have a bed come back.
Our delivery runs with two people to the room of your choice, so once it is in the building we handle the rest.
FAQs
What is the standard door width in the UK?
In England and Wales, an internal door measures 762mm wide, which gives a clear opening of about 720mm once you allow for the frame. Scottish doors are slightly narrower at 726mm.
Will a divan bed fit up narrow stairs?
Usually yes. Divan bases from small double upwards split into two halves, so a king divan travels as two sections of roughly 75cm rather than one 150cm object.
Do divan beds come in two pieces?
Bases from 4ft upwards normally arrive in two halves that clip together in the bedroom. Single and small single bases are typically one piece.
Which part of a bed is hardest to get upstairs?
The mattress and the headboard, because neither one bends. Bases split, mattresses and headboards do not.
Can delivery teams remove doors?
Yes, taking a door off its hinges is standard practice and gains 3cm to 5cm of width. Mention tight access when you order so they arrive prepared.
What if my bed will not fit through the door?
Drop a size, choose a rolled mattress, pick a standard headboard instead of a tall one, or switch to a bed frame that arrives as separate components. We can also build a base to a custom size.
How do I measure my stairs for a bed delivery?
Measure the width between the wall and the banister, the ceiling height above the staircase, and the clear space across any landing turn. The turn is where most beds get stuck.
Are bed frames easier to get upstairs than divans?
Generally yes. A frame arrives as side rails, slats, headboard and footboard, so each piece is smaller than a divan half.
Not sure it will fit?
Send us the measurements from your route and we will tell you straight whether the bed you want will make it. We build every bed to order in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, so we can adjust sizes where access demands it.
Working out which bed suits your room first? Compare our divan beds, bed frames and ottoman beds.
