Furniture Spotlight - What are Extra Long Beds?

Many years ago I remember going furniture shopping with my parents. We were shopping for a new bed for me as the twin size bed I had as a youth had out stayed its welcome in my room. I was growing and had officially grown out of the bed several years ago. I remember thinking that a queen or king size bed in my room would be great. Unfortunately however my parents weren’t able to get me that queen or king size bed due to limited space and I had to settle for a smaller full size bed. The problem was my new full size bed was the exact same length as my old twin size bed. Yes, it was a little wider than the old twin bed but length was the issue. Had I known then what I know now, I think I would have pulled my parents to the side and whispered the words "extra long beds".

Extra long beds have been around for some time. They started out as a strange anomaly of a furniture manufacturer making a special size for a customer. I don’t think anyone can pinpoint exactly when this happened or who could be considered the parent of the modern day extra long bed but suffice to say they were created and have changed the face of the bedding industry over the last 25 years as we have known it.

I first remember coming in contact with extra long bed sizes on a factory tour in a Serta manufacturing plant some 15 years ago. Being somewhat green at the time I was under the usual impression that most of us have in that mattresses came in twin, full, queen and king sizes. When a question and answer session opened up one of the plant managers asked if anyone could tell them what sizes they made in the plant. Someone spoke up with the comments I mentioned above. He motioned to them that they were correct. He also pointed out that they were also leaving out some sizes. To which many of us shared a confusing look.

Apparently this plant and many others had adopted Extra long beds as an industry standard and in fact each label that was sewn into a showroom model indicated that it was available many different ways including twin extra long as well as full extra long sizes. Curious I asked about the importance of this size and why they bothered making it in a queen size dominated industry. He looked at me and said that was exactly it. Twin and full size beds measured 75" in length. A queen bed measures 80". Most people enjoy the extra length of a queen size mattress and that’s what makes them so popular. The mattress industry had figured this out long ago and as such created extra long mattresses to help people get that queen size bed length into a twin or full size mattress. You keep the smaller width of the mattress but extend the length into a 6’ 8" span. More than enough to be able to sleep most young adults and adults alike who want a longer bed for smaller spaces.

Had I known this when shopping with my parents those many years back I could have enjoyed the length of that queen bed I wanted so badly but kept the width of the mattress down small enough that it would fit into my room. Unfortunately I was committed to my new full size mattress until years later when as a young adult I discovered extra long beds from this plant tour and was finally able to move myself into one.

If you’re the parent of a teen or young adult and you’re looking to replace a current twin or full size bed, please consider moving them into an extra long size bed. Twin and full size beds offer the same length but making them extra long will provide the additional length that will help make them more comfortable. If you can’t fit a queen size mattress into the room then this is the way to go. I hope this article has given you a better understanding of what extra long bed sizes are and the benefits of choosing these over the more popular but smaller standard sizes.

About the Author:
Jon Rancia is a furniture professional with over 20 years experience in the furniture industry. He continues to work with other furniture professionals in promoting new trends in furniture and Platform Beds.