Everything You Need for a New Bed: The Complete Checklist
A complete bed comes down to about ten things: a frame, a mattress, a protector, two fitted sheets, a duvet, two duvet covers, pillows, spare pillowcases, and if you want them, a topper and a throw.
And if you want to minimise delivery costs, petrol costs, and the quality difference that you can find across different brands, it's much easier to buy all these products together than to buy them one by one.
The Frame and Base
The frame comes first because it decides the room's layout and gives the mattress its foundation. Four choices matter here.
- Size: go as big as the room allows while keeping 60cm of walkway on each side you use.
- Base: sprung or solid slats and divan tops all suit modern mattresses, as long as the slat gaps stay modest.
- Storage: a bed frame with storage built in can add close to a wardrobe's worth of space inside the bed's own footprint.
- Headboard: it protects the wall and makes sitting up in bed far more comfortable.
Check the frame's stated compatibility with your intended mattress, especially maximum mattress weight on ottoman mechanisms, and remember that made-to-order frames take longer to arrive than the mattress, which matters for the timing below.
The Mattress
The mattress is the centre of the whole purchase, and a hybrid design pairing coils with foam suit the widest range of sleepers. Depth between 20 and 34cm tracks the comfort level. Zoned support helps side sleepers and couples especially, and breathable layers matter if you run warm. Match the size to the frame exactly, and check the trial and guarantee terms: at Simba, we offer a 200 night trial so you can truly test your new mattress through the seasons, plus a 10 year guarantee.
For couples, size is the big decision here. A king gives each sleeper the width of a single, and the more space you share, the less you disturb each other, which makes going up a size the most reliable comfort upgrade on this whole list for two people.
The Protection Layer
The protector goes on for the first night, without exception. It takes the moisture, oils and accidents that would otherwise age the mattress from the surface down, it keeps the mattress in the clean condition that guarantee claims require, and it's washable where the mattress isn't. Waterproof designs like our TripleShield protectors cover every scenario, and our quilted Performance protector adds a layer of cushioning if comfort is the bigger priority.
The Bedding Stack
- Fitted sheets: in the pocket depth your mattress plus protector actually measures. Deep hybrids need deep pockets, and this is the thing people miss most often. Buy two, so you’re always covered when you’re washing the other
- Duvet, sized up for couples. A king duvet on a double bed ends the overnight tug-of-war, and the extra overhang costs very little for the comfort it adds. Weight-wise, 10.5 tog serves most UK bedrooms year-round, with layered all-seasons designs covering the extremes
- Duvet covers matching the duvet's size, in machine-washable fabric you'll enjoy laundering weekly
- Pillows, one per sleeper: high and firm for side sleepers, medium for back, low for stomach. Extra pillows for sitting up and dressing the bed are fine, but the sleeping pillow is the one to get right
- Pillowcases, and some spares, since cases are washed more often
- A throw or blanket, for layering in cold snaps and for every purpose a bedroom finds for one.
Getting the Timing Right
A bit of sequencing saves a week of sleeping on the floor. Order the frame first or together with the mattress, since a mattress without a frame lives on the floor, and a frame without a mattress is furniture. Book the old bed's disposal before the new one arrives, either through a recycling collection service, which takes any brand for a small fee, or through the council. Wash the bedding ahead of delivery day, so the first night happens on clean sheets. And measure the room for both the assembled bed and the delivery route, doors and stairs included, before ordering anything.
Unbox a rolled mattress once the room is ready, give it six hours to reflate, and fit the protector before the first sheet. After that, the bed is done in the best possible sense: nothing about it needs thinking about again for years.
FAQs
Beyond the frame and mattress: a waterproof protector, two fitted sheets in the right pocket depth, a duvet with two covers, a properly chosen pillow per sleeper with spare cases, and optionally a topper and a throw. Two of every washable item covers the laundry rotation.
Frame first, since it sets the size everything else follows, then mattress, then protection, then bedding. Book old-bed disposal before the new delivery, and have the bedding washed and ready for the first night.
For couples, yes, one size up ends duvet competition and drapes generously. A king duvet suits a double bed, and a super king duvet suits a king. Solo sleepers do fine with the matching size.
From the first night. The protector absorbs the moisture and oils that age a mattress, keeps it in the clean condition guarantees require, and means an accident is a load of laundry and nothing worse. It's the least glamorous item on the list and the one that saves the most trouble over the years.
Two full sets minimum, enabling the one-on-one-washing rotation, plus extra pillowcases, which need laundering most often. A third set earns its place in households where laundry runs irregularly or guests appear often.
