The King bed frame hasn’t been with us for very long. It dates back to the 1950s, when parents everywhere realized they needed more space for their kids to sleep in the bed with them. Just kidding: it was a marketing move! Mattress companies realized that if they made it, people would buy, and boy were they right. Far superior to the twin, double, and even the queen (we have issues with the gendered nomenclature but will let it rest for the sake of clarity here), the king bed frame stretches an impressive 78” x 74” — that’s a lot of space to roll around on.

Of course, king size beds come with their own set of challenges: most townhomes and other prefabricated constructions don’t build bedrooms with a king bed frame in mind. You move in with a smaller bed, and by the time you realize that your body deserves better, you’ve got your organization system more or less worked out. That’s why we’ve put together a few sneaky little space-save hacks just for you.

Under the bed
It seems obvious until you start trying to find storage solutions that can actually *fit* under the bed. Most options are either slap-dash baskets or doomed attempts to fold things neatly and keep them that way. Save yourself the inevitable pain. Invest in a set of rolling drawers that fit right under your bed. Not only will these save you a lot of folding time, they are uniform with the rest of your bedroom set, giving the entire space a more cohesive, grown-up feel.

Strategic side tables
Too often the bedside table is relegated to the junk-drawer universe. Spare change, lost library books, homeless chargers, single socks — all of these odds and ends seem to congregate in the unassuming and undeserving drawer of your bedside table. Stop to consider what else you could stash in those drawers if they weren’t occupied with nonsense. Gym clothes, underpants, your kneesock collection. The possibilities are… many.

Dresser in the closet
A king bed frame is going to take up a lot of space. While you might have been able to fit your dresser along the wall when you had a queen bed, the extra inches make it kind of tricky to have your bed and your extra storage too. To combat this, try moving your dresser inside your closet. You get to use up the lower portion of your closet space and keep all your hanging items nicely organized (and crease-free). You also get to hang on to your dresser until you either move to a larger space or reorganize what you’re working with.

Upgrading to a king bed frame is the luxury that takes your home from “house” to “castle.” Make sure your space is ready to accommodate the extra inches of Zzz space by getting ahead of your storage needs. Donating older items, shuffling your existing storage, and getting tricky with your existing space are the best ways to enjoy your king bed frame without feeling overwhelmed by extra stuff.