A king size bed for a Paris apartment -- am I crazy?

[Sands321]

My wife and I absolutely love our king size bed here in the US. Sleeping in a (US) queen-sized bed is even too small for us. We are not big people, but we do value our sleep, and the king size bed is what we really treasure.

That being said, as we begin to look online at various 2BR and 3BR apartments in Paris, I am trying to judge for myself from the pictures if a king sized mattress will fit: (a) into the building; (b) into the apartment; and (c) into the bedroom. I am only concerned about the top (slightly flexible one-piece) mattress, because we intend to buy a special bed frame (with drawers underneath and a headboard that functions as a nightstand, thus saving space in the perimeter of the room). This bed frame allows one to get rid of the box springs that typically sit underneath the mattress.

Does anyone from the US who has moved to France (or even better, a Paris apt) with a king size bed have any advice or experience to share on this subject?

[Bevdeforges]

Getting a larger than usual mattress into a French apartment or house can be a challenge. There is the size of the room to consider, the size of the doors, the size of the hallways and of any stairs you need to negotiate to get the mattress into the bedroom. I've had issues getting a queen sized bed into a second floor bedroom.

Our current queen sized bed (purchased in Germany) made it into the bedroom only because the bed frame is demountable into two halves and the mattress itself is actually two 80 cm wide mattresses rather than a single 160 cm mattress.

In Germany, they often haul oversized furniture in through the windows, but windows in France are usually too small to serve in this manner.

Think, too, about sheets, blankets and comforters. I think you can get king sized bedding from the UK, but you will have quite a challenge getting king size bedding in France.
Cheers,
Bev

[Charlot]

I agree with everything Bev said. It all depends on the apartment and building. Older buildings often have nicely proportioned rooms where a king will fit comfortably. But then there could be a teeny tiny elevator and a narrow staircase/hallway preventing you from getting the bed into the apt/room. If you really want to take the king, then evaluate apartments in person and also talk to your moving company. Hope it works out, the king is king!

BEV, May I ask how you like your bed and who the manufacturer is? I haven't been impressed with the quality of the French beds I've seen and I remember some wonderful B&B beds from trips to Germany. I am very interested in a demountable frame as you described. Or would anyone else like to chime in on a good French or European brand. Thanks.

Lastly, "How Not to Move a Mattress". Yesterday a student living in a beautiful, historic home across the street from me moved out. He tossed his queen-size mattress out the window to his buddy below. The mattress hit the decorative roof tiles which came crashing down and broke.

Charlot

[Bevdeforges]

I'm not sure the bed I bought in Germany has a brand name. But it is one of those German style beds with slats as the under-section - not a box spring. Actually, the slats rest on a frame above the storage section so you can pull the slats - and the mattresses up to store sheets, pillows, etc underneath.

I got two IKEA mattresses (those ones that are squashed down to nothing and you have to let them sit for 48 hours to plump back up) to fill up the space. The original bed had two 80 cm mattresses - like many double beds in Germany. I've seen that IKEA carries those slat under-frames and you can pretty much compose your own bed from their component bits.
Cheers,
Bev

[Charlot]

Thanks Bev!

[Lillyfer]

Originally Posted by Charlot

Thanks Bev!

I haven't read the above replies but I'd say BRING IT!! I desperately miss my US beds and would much rather have brought my old bed over and ordered US sized sheets on the internet and shipped to France, as needed.

Maybe I still haven't adjusted to the exchange rate, but I could find much better deals on mattresses in the US than I have ever found here... even during the "soldes". I miss that.

[mobius]

What about, like Bev was mentioning, two twins, easier to move, and don't they about equal a king size mattress? You can buy a special flat "joiner" to eliminate the middle seam....I must say that it would have to be a pretty large bedroom, for this to fit, in a Paris apartment!! Good Luck! I like my king size too, but will probably go with a queen when I move over...

It depends what sort of Apartment / Building / Area you are looking in Paris. For example if you look for an older building in the inner zones of Paris (1,2,3,4,5,6) then buildings are small, apartments are small and it's difficult to move stuff into. However many areas of the 8th around Parc Monceau, 17th and 16th as well have newer buildings with very high ceilings, large doors and huge bedrooms. You can get a luxury 2 bedroom for around 3000 euros a month which is still a lot cheaper than London or NYC...and you can fit your King Sized bed in there very easily....so don't worry too much. Paris apartments are small in the older buildings and inner areas of Paris which are too touristy anyway - look for something in the 8th or 17th...both very beautiful areas and better value for money as well as large spacious apartments.

[uojomo]

We live in the 8th arrondissement in a 4th floor apartment. We had our Tempurpedic, California (super sized) King shipped to us in France. The two piece mattress support came up from the courtyard, through the window. Four men managed to "caress" the very heavy 24.5 cm thick foam mattress up the four flights of steps. Provide coffee and pastry in the morning, lunch and beverages in the afternoon for your movers. They will be more agreeable to haul the unanticipated extra weight. Our bed fits nicely in the bedroom. I have found that extra bed coverings can be easily purchased online from the USA for an extra nominal customs fee and duties (from many vendors), but I have also found that it perhaps depends on the vendor (or, the phase of the moon!) whether or not one gets charged the customs fees and duties. Of course, as noted already, measure your furniture and the rooms carefully before deciding what to ship.

[AnnaEmmet]

We just moved into a new house in La Tronche (near Grenoble). We didn't have a bed and so bought one locally. We ended up getting the equivalent of a King sized bed. Like others have said, this is actually two twin sized mattresses measuring 90 x 200. At the local supermarket, I found a mattress cover that looks like two twin bed mattress covers sewn together. I found it difficult to find sheets that were at 200 long but that is another matter.

Our house was built in the 1940s and the rooms are decently proportioned such that fitting such a large bed wasn't a problem. Since our store didn't offer delvery, we had to being them in ourselves. Because it was essentially two twin beds, it was quite easy to move. In fact, we out both mattresses with their associated platforms in my car. I drive a Renault Scenic which isn't too big. It wasn't the most fun driving since the platforms were hitting my head but oh so worth it!

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