A new comforter is the perfect addition to your bed for a better sleeping experience. The bedding adds warmth to your bed and makes cold nights bearable. If the comforter matches the rest of your bedding, it adds a touch of style and personality to your bedroom décor. To get the best comforter, make sure you choose the right fit. A common question when shopping for a comforter is whether you can use a king comforter on your queen bed.
You can put a king comforter on a queen bed – in fact, it might be a better decision than a queen comforter. It can make the bed cozier by creating more coverage, but make sure to measure the dimensions so that it doesn’t drag on the floor, which could make it dirty and less aesthetically pleasing.
Queen beds are popular because they fit better in tight spaces. A queen bed is sufficient for a single sleeper or a couple, and it helps maximize the bedroom space. When you shop for a comforter for your queen bed, you want the bedding to fit properly and cover every inch of the sleeping space. For this reason, an oversized king size comforter is a smart choice. While an exact-size queen comforter seems like the obvious choice for your queen bed, some factors make a king comforter a better choice. Let’s take a look at why a king comforter would make a great choice for your queen bed.
What is a Comforter?
But first thing first – what is a comforter? A comforter is a soft, thick, and fluffy type of top bedding that provides extra warmth for your bed. This bedding has a unique construction with an interior layer of insulating natural or synthetic filler quilted or stitched together to form one unit. The insulating filling has two layers of fabric to hold it together and protect the filling from dirt.
When shopping for a comforter, you have an array of filler choices including cotton filling, sheep’s wool filling, goose down, silk filling, and synthetic filling. The type of filling you choose determines the fluffiness of your comforter, durability, comfort levels, cost, and ease of maintenance.
Cotton and goose down fillings are easy to maintain through machine washing. Wool and silk fillings give your comforter unique qualities, including enhanced moisture wicking capacity, breathability, and antibacterial qualities.
Wool and silk comforters require more specialized care and are expensive. Synthetic fiber fillings are lightweight, hypoallergenic, cheaper, and easier to maintain. When buying your comforter, choose the filling that suits your needs, not necessarily the most popular.
The shell of your comforter is another main factor to consider. While the filling plays the main role in providing warmth, the top fabric has an important role in holding the filling together. The casing also protects your comforter from dirt, body fluids, and stains. Natural fabrics such as cotton, bamboo, silk, and wool are the most common comforter shells.
The best top fabric for your comforter should be warm, breathable, soft to touch, easy to wash, and with moisture-wicking qualities. Moreover, the shell should enhance the look of your bed through a nice touch of chic style.
What is a Queen Size Bed?
When shopping for a comforter, one thing you have to know is the bed size. You don’t want to buy a comforter that’s too small or too large.
A queen size bed is the most popular bed size and measures 60 inches in width by 80 inches in length. The bed gives you a surface area of about 4,800 square inches.
One of the main advantages of a queen size bed is the larger sleeping surface offered compared to a standard full-size bed. You get six inches more width and five inches more length with a queen size bed compared to a full size bed (double bed).
If you’re in the market for a bed that comfortably fits two without the cost of a king size bed, choose a queen size. A queen size bed fits well in smaller spaces in your home or in an apartment. Whenever you want to move the bed, it’s easier than the wider king size bed.
Because of the popularity of this bed, bedding is easily available and come in a variety of styles. Whatever décor look you want for your bed, you’ll find bedding for it. Better still, the fact that a queen size shares length size with the king size bed means the two can share bedding.
A king size bed might be 16 inches wider but you can still use its bedding, such as comforters for your queen size bed.
What Size Comforter Should You Get for a Queen Bed?
When shopping for a comforter, you need a product that perfectly fits your bed and also looks good. The last thing you want is bedding that doesn’t cover your bed completely or one that sweeps the floor.
A small comforter won’t serve this purpose because it’s too small and will allow a draft into the bed when sleeping. An oversized comforter, on the other hand, drags around the edges of your bed and looks messy or untidy.
If you have a queen bed, you need the dimensions of your bed so that you can choose the best comforter. While beds and mattresses are standard in the U.S, manufacturers use different dimensions for comforters. You might find products with the same dimensions for a king or queen size bed.
For your 60 inches by 80 inches queen bed, the most common comforter dimensions are 86 to 88 inches for the width and 96 to 100 inches for the length. The comforter sizes vary from brand to brand which makes the choice even more confusing. To help you out, here are some tips to choose the right comforter for your queen bed:
- Use the standard mattress size labels: Check the label attached to your mattress to get an idea of the size of your comforter.
- Determine the right fit: An ideal-sized comforter extends down the sides of your queen bed without dragging onto the floor. On either side of the bed, the comforter covers equal height and extends beyond your box or spring mattress. Choosing the correct-sized comforter for a queen bed adds to your bedroom’s aesthetic.
- Choose more width for your comforter: Choose a comforter that offers extra width between 86 and 88 inches. A comforter with a “full/queen” label might not be wide enough to cover the size of your large bed.
- Mattress thickness: The thickness of your mattress also determines how well the comforter fits into your bed. The standard mattress thickness is between nine and 12 inches. If the mattress is below 12 inches, a queen comforter works well. For a mattress that’s thicker than 12 inches, you’ll need a wider comforter. In this case, you can use a king comforter on your queen bed.
- Comforter application: Are you using your queen bed alone, or do you have someone else also using the bed? One of the reasons to choose a larger comforter would be for enhanced comfort in case of two people sharing the bed.
- Additional beddings: If you have pillow tops or other beddings on your queen bed, an oversized comforter comes in handy. The additional comfort layers increase the height of your bed by several inches. If you buy a perfectly sized comforter, the bedding might not cover as much bed space as you wish. A king comforter is a good idea if your queen bed has extra layers of beddings.
How Big Is a King Comforter on a Queen Bed?
The popularity of comforters has seen more brands launching products into the market. While the mattress industry has standard sizing for sleeping products, you’ll find variations in beddings for beds within the same category.
For comforters, the sizes vary a lot because different brands use unique materials and designs for their products. A king bed measures 76 inches x 80 inches, while a queen bed measures 60 inches by 80 inches. This means a king size is about 16 inches wider.
If you choose a king comforter for your queen bed, you get a width of 102 inches and a length ranging from 86 to 88 inches. This means you cover the entire queen bed and leave a lot of material hanging on the sides. When you shop for a king comforter for your queen bed, make sure you have the right dimensions. Some king comforters fit your queen bed comfortably while other products pool onto the floor.
To avoid being disappointed, measure your queen bed’s mattress and find a king-size comforter with dimensions that cover your bed neatly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Should a Comforter Fit on a Bed?
When you shop for a comforter for your queen bed, find a product that hangs equally on both sides of your bed without pooling to the floor. If you use a box or spring mattress, your comforter should extend below the mattress and bed skirt over the top of the skirting.
If you don’t have a box spring, your queen bed comforter should cover the sides of your bed without touching the floor. If the comforter touches the floor, you might have to wash it more often. Your oversized bedding also could negatively affect the aesthetics of your bedroom.
Do You Need an Oversized Comforter?
When you compare different comforters on the market, you’ll notice some products have the “oversized” label. This adds to the confusion when buying the fluffy bedding. While a queen comforter measures about 86 to 88 inches in width, the overused beddings can go up to 115 inches in width.
An oversized bedding is a great choice if you have a thicker-than-usual mattress. The extra material of your comforter covers the added height of your bed. Another reason to buy an oversized comforter is to have extra layers of bed linen.
If your mattress has a topper or you have bed linen that adds to the height of your bed, consider an oversized comforter. An oversized comforter is a compromise that saves you the cost of going a size up for a comforter.
How to Wash Your Comforter
A comforter creates the best sleeping experience for your bed, but cleaning the bedding can be a daunting task. The fluffy and bulky bedding requires two to three washes every year to stay clean and well-kept.
The size of the comforter and delicate fillings make it difficult to wash the bedding.
By following the manufacturer’s care instructions, you can wash your comforter with no risk of damaging it. Some comforters require hand washing while others can be hand-washed. If your comforter requires dry cleaning, you can use a home dry cleaning kit or take the bedding to a laundry service.
If you have a bulky comforter, use the local laundromat for an easy wash. The commercial washers and dryers are larger and can handle bulky garments like your comforter.
The care tag on your comforter also includes other instructions on the water temperatures, type of detergent, cycles to use, and number of rinses. After washing your comforter, make sure you dry it thoroughly to avoid lumping, which can affect your sleep experience.
A comforter gives your bed that soft touch and makes your bed better to sleep in. Choosing the right comforter for your bed can be difficult, but with these insights, you’ll find it easier to choose the perfect comforter for your queen bed.