How does any couple ever sleep in a standard sized double???

[Battisborough]

We are in a rental tonight and I feel like im in a small box trap with my husband way too close!

How does anyone sleep with another person so close and so little space to move about and stretch???

Double implies it’s a bed for two people but a double bed is definitely not designed for two people who have reached adulthood.

It's absolutely bonkers when holiday lets and hotels have doubles instead of king (or even superking) when they have plenty of room for a bigger one. I can't begin to fathom why they would make that choice: to deliberately make their offering less popular and less appealing. I can only assume that they either only have doubles themselves and just don't think of getting anything different for the holiday place; or they don't care about their guests and just provide the bare minimum that they have to - and then probably wonder why they don't get many repeat bookings. Same with places that have just enough crockery and cutlery for one meal, so you always have to do the washing up after breakfast before going out for the day - for the sake of a few pounds, they could so easily make their offering much more appealing to paying customers.

As a one-off/infrequent purchase to buy the bed and bedding, the cost difference isn't even that much. If they had a king (or bigger) and clearly advertised this, they would steal such an easy march over their competitors.

People who are used to a king will be massively put off by a double, and won't return next time; whereas folk who have a double at home will probably enjoy the extra room of a king (or at least won't notice/care).

Nobody wants a holiday to be less comfortable than their 'standard' at home. Also, if it's not a place where people live day to day, with all of their accumulated personal stuff, you don't even need to worry about losing extra storage space in the bedroom.

Ah, I suppose I maybe read it with innocent eyes! Oh well, consenting adults, eh!!

They do indeed, they are also a couple.

For a little extra mind blowing he also has another gf (no idea what her bed is like 😂) and my gf has a fwb. I don't know what his bed is like either now I think on it. Maybe I should do a little poll

I can't stand being touched when trying to sleep - the heat that used to radiate off my (late) DH! I'm now constantly pushing the dog over (who always wants to be smack in the middle of the bed).
However, I do recall in my youth happily sharing a single with my first BF on the odd occasion!

We sleep in a double no problem. Actually downsized from a king to fit more furniture in the room. We are normal sized people. Plenty of space and rarely touch in the night. I can't sleep with anyone touching me.

Back in uni halls we used to sleep together in an extra narrow single, now that was cosy.

Never really understood bed sizing a normal single bed is 3ft, so a 4'6'' is the equivalent of sleeping in a 2'3" bed. Even a king at 5' is still pushing it! Super king or two singles all the way!

We do, with my three year old too most of the time! 🤷‍♀️

I guess maybe you just get used to more space if you’ve got it? Our bed feels pretty spacious if it’s just the two of us in it! We’re not clashing knees or anything.

Me too. I love being able to sleep at an angle, in the middle of the bed or wherever I choose without upsetting anyone 😂

Wow! In our household, we feel like we're being exotic when we have a Thai green curry

I agree with you, but I suppose the thinking is that it's about economy of scale. You still need the same amount of 'buffer zone' each side as with a single, to avoid falling out.

Also, if you look at the difference in dimensions between, say, a small car, a huge car and a van, it's often only an extra few inches/maybe a foot in one direction or another and the resulting extra capacity is enormous.

I guess it’s what you’re used to.

We sleep in a double and it doesn’t feel cramped. But when we first got together many years ago, we spent about half the week in a single bed. We do like a king size or super king when we’re away but ultimately enjoy being back in our own double as we prefer being closer.

This thread would do well on the thread about ridiculous things on MN.

People have slept in double beds for centuries.

Many houses don't fit king size.

Get over yourselves.

Only on Mumsnet tbf.

People have slept in double beds for centuries

But people are much taller and bigger than they were centuries ago!!!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23896855

We do the same.

Only on MN would sleeping in a double bed be compared to Victorian life

MN rule 86b.
When a double bed becomes too small.
It’s time to begin getting your ducks in a row.
😉😁😁.

I hope this is sarcasm?

We shared a double in a hotel recently, felt like sardines in a can!

Had a king size up until recently which was ok, it now we have a super king and I would never go back.

I don't know how people tolerate sharing a bed at all. 😆 I am used to a king size on my own now. I don't mind when my children want to come to sleep next to me but another adult? No thank you!

Only on Mumsnet.

Did you not realise the entire country sleep in super kings and you are the ONLY LIVING PERSON who is rendered sleepless by the fact it is IMPOSSIBLE for 2 adults to sleep in a double bed?!

When in actual fact it's the most commonly sized bed sold in the UK. 😊

I'll tell all my 6ft+ sons and their wives that they're doing it wrong cos MN says so. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I have never in my life checked bed size when booking accommodation, this thread is an eye-opener. We are both fairly short but by no means petite and are fine in a normal double.

Dh and I would be fine. He is a big'un but I am petite who can sleep on a plank.

When travelling solo on business especially in the US, the beds are absolutely enormous. I just sleep on a narrow strip near the edge.

I remember being young and dumb in love and could sleep in a single bed with a boyfriend. Bloody stupid.
Don't think I've ever had smaller than a king size with my husband, but we have shared a double on various holidays. Ick, get off me, will you. It's just limbs all over the place, isn't it?! And shite mattresses where you desperately try to keep away from each other but always end up in the dip in the middle 🙄no thanks.
We had an extension done in our most recent house, the extension is our bedroom, and I purposely had it designed to accommodate a super king size bed.
I'll never go back. Never.

When DP first moved in, he'd only ever slept in a double with anybody whilst I had a Kingsize - I'd go to sleep in his arms every night and wake up with him curled around me.

He got over it.

These days, there's enough room for the cat to stretch out between us without either of us noticing, other than the occasional little set of claws gently reminding whoever is turning over 'I'm here, you know'.

Young love is great, but not noticing the other's existence all night is even better.