Hadleigh upholstered bed: diagonal channels, a mitred line and five sizes

Most upholstered headboards are built on a grid. The Hadleigh is not: its board runs parallel diagonal channels corner to corner, and where the two directions meet they form a crisp mitred line straight up the middle. It is the detail that makes this one worth a second look in our upholstered beds range, and it is also the detail that makes the fabric choice matter more than usual.

A frame, not a divan

The Hadleigh is a bed frame rather than a divan. The mattress sits down inside an upholstered surround, with the side rails and foot end finished in the same cloth as the headboard. There is no storage in the base.

Two consequences follow from that, and they are the honest pros and cons. The good one: the mattress is held inside the frame, so the lines stay low, the whole thing reads as a single upholstered object, and there is no divan box edge showing beneath the mattress. The less good one: the floor under the bed is just floor. If you need the space beneath the mattress to work for you, the lifting-base version in our upholstered ottoman beds range is the same headboard with storage under it.

The sizes are wider than the mattress, and that is the point

Because the mattress sits inside the surround, the finished bed is noticeably bigger than the mattress it takes. The figures below are across the finished bed at its widest point:

• Single 3FT is 99cm wide and 212cm long
• Small Double 4FT is 127cm wide and 212cm long
• Double 4FT6 is 143cm wide and 212cm long
• King 5FT is 159cm wide and 222cm long
• Super King 6FT is 189cm wide and 222cm long

A double Hadleigh is 143cm across and 212cm long, both of which are larger than the mattress that goes in it. Those are the numbers that catch people out, especially in a room where the bed has to sit between a wall and a wardrobe, or where a door opens into the corner at the foot. Measure the alcove, not the mattress. The king and super king step up again to 222cm long, so the difference between a double and a king here is 16cm across and another 10cm along the room.

There is a full size guide on the product page, with the bed drawn from the side and from above and every size shown to the same scale.

Choosing a cloth for a channelled board

The Hadleigh is upholstered to order in any of twenty-six colourways, and every part finished in cloth, the headboard, the base and the sides, is done in the fabric you pick, so the bed arrives as one piece rather than a frame and a board that nearly match.

Channels live or die by shadow. On a diagonal board that shadow changes along the length of every channel as the light moves across the room, which is why the Hadleigh looks different at breakfast and at bedtime. A plush velvet such as Mink or Charcoal exaggerates that; a flatter cloth such as Silver Linoso or Cream Naples calms it right down and leaves you with the mitred line as the only strong feature. If the room has a window on the headboard wall, take the flatter option seriously, because side light down a velvet channel is dramatic in a way you may not want at seven in the morning.

The listing shows a tall headboard as the headboard option for this frame.

What comes with it, and what does not

Mattresses are sold separately. On a frame like this that is more than a technicality: the mattress sits inside the surround, so its depth decides how much of the headboard you see above it and how the bed looks from the door. A deeper mattress raises the sleeping height and shortens the visible board. Worth a word with us before you order if you already know which mattress you are pairing it with.

Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond that. We send beds in Scotland well past that radius and the charge is flat rather than a surprise, so put your postcode in at checkout and it will tell you where you stand. If you are closer to hand and shopping for beds in Glasgow, come and look at the mitred line in daylight; it photographs flatter than it is.

Sizes, fabrics and the size guide are all on the Hadleigh listing.