Bed/Mattress Question: King vs. Cal King?

[fattytuna]

I'm wondering for those of you who own king size beds, if neither length (DH and I are not tall) nor room size was a deal-breaker, what made you decide on a regular king vs. a cal king? TIA!

I should add that we have two kids crawling into our queen-size bed with us in the morning, and two large cats that sleep in our bed through the night.

[JTsMom]

We have a reg. King. DH had a Cal King before that, and insisted we had to have another, but I talked him into the regular size b/c there was a better selection of bedding.

[brittone2]

We upgraded to a regular King when I got pg with DD. DS was still cosleeping and we weren't sure if we'd cosleep with both and or for how long. We coslept with all 4 of us in the bed for a few months and then DS moved into his own bed. He still joins us on weekend mornings for an hour or so, and during the week as well (but it is only DD and I in bed by the time he shows up during the week).

eta: DH is 6'0" and I'm a whopping 5'2" or so, so length with a regular king is definitely not a big concern for us.

[luvmypeanut]

We have Cal Kings because DH is 6'6" and the Cal Kings are a touch longer. I've never really had problems buying bedding, but they are common where we live. Online is a little bit harder.

[Zansu]

We have a Cal King b/c I'm tall, but we've never had a problem with fitting both kids in between us.

The Cal King is also nice if you have pets b/c there's room for them at the end of the bed (footwarmers!).

Costco only sells Cal Kings in CA, NV and AZ, afaik

I can't buy CK bedding at some stores, but I can get it from the same stores online.

BedBathBeyond always has nice CK bedding options, as does JC Penny.

[justlearning]

It sounds like a regular king would work better for you because it's wider and thus you'll have more space for your cats and kiddos. We have been very happy with our cal king because DH is 6'8" and needs that extra length. But in addition to the extra width, you will also have more bedding and furniture options if you get a regular king-sized bed (although we haven't had too many problems finding those for our cal king, I have come across quite a few stores that don't stock cal king bedding).

[JTsMom]

Yes! I forgot to mention that it's an east coast vs. west coast thing, from what we found. I see you're in CA, so I'm sure the bedding wouldn't be much of an issue there. DH is 6' 0", so the extra length wasn't a big deal for us either.

[AnnieW625]

In CA everything is Cal King bedding so unless you really love a particular brand of bedding that is only made for King beds then I'd go with a Cal King.

[Tondi G]

We bought a King rather than a Cal King cause DH is only 5' 11'' and we didn't need the extra length at the foot of the bed... we wanted the extra width instead cause we frequently have 2 little boys climbing in bed with us!

[amandabea]

We have a Cal King -- the Eastern Kings look so small to me. I have no problems finding bedding or furniture, but as a PP noted it's a regional thing and I'm in CA. We do have friends in San Diego who bought the Eastern King bc neither is particularly tall and they mentioned that they can't always find bedding stocked in stores they've been able to order what they need.

[marit]

I live in CA too.

Our first bed here was Cal King (we bought it about a week after moving to the US for the first time and didn't know s#*t). I hated it because I couldn't find bedding I liked and since I'm 5'5" and DH is 5'"8, the extra length wasn't useful to me. About 2 years ago we got a regular king and love it! We can snuggle comfortably with our 2 kids. (disclaimer: I am pretty fond of the ikea bedding, I know weird, and they don't make Cal King).

[kransden]

Like pp said check your area for bedding. The midwest rarely carries Cal Kings and now here in Phoenix, I don't see it much either. I would see what your favorite stores carry for bedding.

[ThreeofUs]

We have a Cal King and love the extra length. I haven't had trouble finding sheets to fit - LE carries them, and that's pretty much where I shop, lol.

The extra width would also be good, though, especially now that we have two guys in bed with us.

[fattytuna]

Thank you so much for all your replies! I like IKEA bedding too (although I swear they used to make them better) so I'll probably go for a king-size.

I really really WANT my cats to sleep or stay asleep at the foot of our bed, but we've had them before the kids ever came and they have the idea in their little heads that they are the first-born's so they actually sleep all over our bed.

I also didn't realize Costco only has Cal-King in their CA stores - that's a bummer - we'll just have to order our mattress online. DH is looking at one of NovaFoam mattress that's deeply discounted. I heard people either love or hate Novafoam. And I'm a little concerned that Sleep Innovations is in Chapter 11. Anyway, selecting a mattress is a whole another story and I hate having to go through that again.

Thank you again!

[almostamom]

Like pp said check your area for bedding. The midwest rarely carries Cal Kings and now here in Phoenix, I don't see it much either. I would see what your favorite stores carry for bedding.

I'm also in Phoenix. We have a Cal King. I didn't care which one we got. DH is 6'4" and he wanted to CK - plus it was a great deal. I can find sheets at bedding stores (Bed, Bath, & Beyond, etc.) but not at places like Kohl's. As far as the quilt and the dust ruffle, I just bought a regular King and made them work.

Linda