How Beds Grew Along With Us
Beds weren’t always the sprawling sleep sanctuaries we know today. In earlier centuries, people often slept in much smaller spaces...sometimes even upright or partially seated.
Shorter bed frames were common in medieval
times, partly because people believed lying completely flat resembled death and wasn’t ideal for health. Add in smaller homes, shared sleeping arrangements, and the simple fact that the average person was shorter...beds didn’t need to be very big.
As time went on, living spaces expanded and so did comfort expectations. By the 19th century, rope beds and early spring mattresses allowed for more
horizontal sleeping and a bit more room to stretch out. Still, the idea of each person having generous personal sleep space was far from standard. Couples, children, and even guests often shared beds out of necessity.
It wasn’t until the 20th century, particularly post-World War II, that bed sizes began to grow in a big
way. Rising prosperity, larger homes, and evolving lifestyle expectations shifted sleep from a basic need to a comfort experience. Manufacturers introduced standardized sizes like twin, full, queen, and eventually king...offering options for growing families and taller individuals.
Then came the California King.
Introduced in the 1960s, the California King was designed with one group in mind: tall sleepers who were tired of dangling feet. While a standard king is wider, the California King is actually longer and slightly narrower, giving those extra inches of legroom that suddenly made a big difference for basketball players and anyone over six feet tall!
Today, bed size is as much about lifestyle as it is about sleep. From compact twins in guest rooms to luxurious California Kings in primary suites, our beds reflect how far we’ve come...from simply resting to truly relaxing.
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