Bedding glossary

A

Adjustable bed base: A powered bed base that lets you raise or lower different sections of the bed, usually around the head and legs. Your mattress needs to be compatible with adjustable use.

Australian bed sizes: The standard mattress sizes commonly sold in Australia: Single 92 x 188cm, Long Single 92 x 203cm, King Single 107 x 203cm, Double 138 x 188cm, Queen 153 x 203cm, King 183 x 203cm, and Super King 203 x 203cm.

B

Bed base: The foundation that sits directly beneath your mattress. Bases come in different constructions, including upholstered, storage, floating, and adjustable designs. The important bit is making sure the base and mattress are compatible.

Bed frame: The structural furniture that supports or surrounds your bed setup. Some bed frames support a mattress directly, while others are designed to work with a separate bed base.

Bedhead: The part behind your bed. Bedheads can be upholstered, timber, metal, freestanding, or built into the bed frame. Sometimes they're there for comfort. Sometimes the wall just needed something.

Bunk bed: A bed with one sleeping position raised above another, making better use of floor space. Always follow the product's age, mattress-thickness, and safety requirements.

C

Comfort feel: How a mattress feels when you first lie on it, commonly described with terms such as Soft, Plush, Medium, Firm, or Ultra Firm. Comfort feel and support aren't the same thing.

Cooling bedding: Bedding made with materials or constructions designed to help manage warmth, improve breathability, or create a cooler-to-touch feel. Exactly how it works depends on the product.

D

Double mattress: An Australian Double mattress measures 138 x 188cm. It gives you more width than a Single or King Single without taking up as much bedroom space as a Queen.

Drawer base: A bed base with drawers built-in underneath the mattress. Handy for spare linen, clothes, and all those things that somehow don't have a proper home.

E

Edge support: The support around the perimeter of a mattress. Construction varies between mattresses, but reinforced edges can help the sleeping surface feel more stable near the sides.

Ensemble: A mattress and matching bed base designed to be used together. Depending on the range, the base may also offer options such as drawers, upholstery choices, or different heights.

F

Firm mattress: A mattress with a firmer, less cushioned surface feel than softer options. Firm describes comfort feel. It doesn't automatically mean more supportive, or more suitable for you.

Floating bed base: A bed base with recessed support underneath, creating the appearance that the bed is floating above the floor. Gravity is still involved. We checked.

Forty Winks bedMATCH^®: Forty Winks bedMATCH^® is an in-store mattress fitting system that takes 18 body measurements and runs more than 1,000 calculations to recommend suitable support levels. A trusted Forty Winks Sleep Advisor can then help you compare matched mattresses in-store.

G

Gas lift bed: A bed frame or base with a lifting platform that opens to reveal storage beneath the mattress. Gas-assisted mechanisms help with lifting, but always follow the product's operating instructions and weight limits.

H

Hybrid mattress: A mattress combining different technologies, commonly foam comfort layers with an innerspring or pocket spring support system. The exact combination varies from mattress to mattress.

I

Innerspring mattress: A mattress that uses a system of metal springs as part of its support structure. Spring design, comfort layers, and construction can vary considerably between mattresses.

K

King mattress: An Australian King mattress measures 183 x 203cm. It's the same length as a Queen, but gives you an extra 30cm of width.

King Single mattress: An Australian King Single mattress measures 107 x 203cm. That's 15cm wider and 15cm longer than a standard Single.

L

Latex mattress: A mattress that uses latex in its comfort or support layers. Latex has a resilient, responsive feel, but the exact construction, composition, and firmness can vary quite a bit between mattresses.

Latex pillows: A pillow made with latex, usually chosen for its resilient feel and ability to spring back into shape. Profile, firmness, shape, and latex construction vary by product, so it’s worth checking the individual pillow rather than assuming they all feel the same.

Loft: The height or thickness of a pillow when it's resting naturally. You may also see this called pillow profile, with options commonly described as Low, Medium, or High.

Long Single mattress: An Australian Long Single mattress measures 92 x 203cm. It keeps the width of a standard Single while adding the extra length of a Queen or King.

M

Mattress: The main sleep surface of your bed, built using combinations of springs, foams, fibres, and other materials. Size, construction, comfort feel, and support can all vary significantly.

Mattress depth: The overall thickness of a mattress from top to bottom. It's worth checking when choosing fitted sheets, mattress protectors, bed frames, and some bed bases.

Mattress firmness: Another way of describing mattress comfort feel, from softer through to firmer. There isn't one universal firmness scale, so a Medium or Firm can feel different between brands and models.

Mattress protector: A removable layer that sits over your mattress to help protect it from spills, moisture, perspiration, and everyday mess. Waterproofing, breathability, and materials vary by product.

Mattress topper: An extra comfort layer placed on top of a mattress to change its surface feel. Useful for adding cushioning. Less useful for convincing a worn-out mattress that everything is fine.

Memory foam mattress: A viscoelastic foam that responds to pressure and body shape. Different formulations, densities, thicknesses, and mattress constructions can make memory foam feel quite different from one product to another.

Memory foam pillows: A pillow made with memory foam that responds to the shape and pressure of your head and neck. Memory foam pillows come in different profiles, shapes, and firmness levels, so the right one comes down to how you sleep and what feels comfortable.

Motion transfer: Movement that travels across a mattress when someone rolls over, changes position, or gets out of bed. Some mattress constructions are designed to reduce how much of that movement reaches the other side.

P

Pillow profile: The height of a pillow, commonly described as Low, Medium, or High. The profile that feels right can depend on sleep position, body shape, mattress feel, and personal preference.

Pillow top mattress: A mattress with an additional cushioned section attached to the top. The materials, thickness, and feel of that pillow top vary between models.

Pocket spring: A spring system where individual springs are enclosed in separate fabric pockets, allowing them to respond more independently across the mattress surface.

Q

Queen mattress: An Australian Queen mattress measures 153 x 203cm. It's 30cm narrower than a King, with the same length.

S

Single mattress: An Australian Single mattress measures 92 x 188cm. Its compact footprint makes it a common choice for kids' rooms, guest rooms, and smaller bedrooms.

Slats: Horizontal supports that sit across a bed frame beneath the mattress. Slat width, spacing, strength, and centre-support requirements can matter for mattress compatibility and warranty conditions.

Trusted Sleep Advisor: A Forty Winks team member who helps customers compare mattresses, bed bases, bedding, and bedroom products in-store. Trusted Sleep Advisors can also guide customers through Forty Winks bedMATCH^® for mattress fitting.

Soft mattress: A mattress with more cushioning or surface give than firmer comfort options. Soft describes how the mattress feels, not how supportive it is underneath.

Split King: A King-sized sleep setup made from two separate sections, often used for easier handling or selected adjustable configurations. Exact mattress and base combinations vary, so compatibility matters.

Storage bed: A bed frame or base with built-in storage, usually drawers, a gas lift compartment, or both. Particularly useful when the wardrobe has officially given up.

Super King mattress: An Australian Super King mattress measures 203 x 203cm. That's 20cm wider than a King, with the same 203cm length.

Support: How a mattress responds to your body beneath the comfort layers. Support isn't the same as firmness, which describes how the mattress feels at the surface.

T

Tallboy: A tall, relatively narrow chest of drawers that makes good use of vertical space. Handy when the bedroom has more clothes than spare wall.

Trundle bed: A bed with a second sleeping platform stored underneath the main bed and pulled out when needed. Mattress size, maximum thickness, and the mechanism vary by design.

U

Upholstered bed frame: A bed frame covered in fabric, usually with padded sections around the frame, bedhead, or both. Fabric, cushioning, colours, and custom options vary by range.

W

Warranty: The manufacturer's written cover for specified faults or defects under stated conditions and for a defined period. Terms differ by product, so keep your receipt and warranty information. Future you will be pleased.

Waterproof mattress protector: A mattress protector with a barrier designed to help stop liquid reaching the mattress. Construction and care instructions vary, so check the individual product details.

Z

Zero-G position: A preset available on selected adjustable bed bases that raises the head and legs into a particular reclined position. The exact position, name, and function vary by model and manufacturer.

Terms worth knowing

Firmness vs support: They sound interchangeable, but they're not. Firmness describes how a mattress feels at the surface. Support describes how the mattress responds to your body underneath. A firmer mattress isn't automatically more supportive, and the right combination comes down to the individual.

Bed base vs bed frame: A bed base sits directly beneath and supports the mattress. A bed frame is the furniture structure that supports or surrounds the sleep setup. Some products combine the two, which is why the terms can get muddled.

Australian mattress sizes: Australian mattress sizing has its own standard dimensions. A Queen is 153 x 203cm, a King is 183 x 203cm, and a Super King is 203 x 203cm. Measure the room as well as the mattress. Doors, drawers, and walking space have opinions too.