TV beds9 min read
Are TV beds worth it? Who they suit, and who should skip one
A TV bed solves one problem well: where to put a screen in a bedroom without drilling the wall or giving up floor space. If that is your problem, it earns its price. If not, a standard bed and a wall bracket costs less.
In this guide
Key takeaways
- A TV bed is worth it if you watch TV in bed most nights and cannot, or would rather not, mount a screen on the bedroom wall.
- An electric lift raises the screen out of the footboard to watch and lowers it out of sight afterwards, so the room still looks like a bedroom.
- It costs more than a standard bed plus a wall bracket. At Bedline a king TV bed starts at £1,129, against £399 for our cheapest king upholstered bedstead.
- Check your TV first. Bedline TV beds take a screen of up to 60 inches; most TV beds sold in the UK are made for around 32 to 50 inches. The TV is not included.
- You need a plug socket near the foot of the bed, and clear space above the footboard for the screen to rise into.
What is a TV bed, and how does it work?
A TV bed is a bed frame with an electric television lift built into the footboard. When you want to watch, the lift raises the screen into view at the foot of the bed, facing you. When you have finished, it lowers the screen back inside the footboard and out of sight.
From the side, it looks like a standard bed with a taller footboard. There are seven Bedline TV bed designs, five upholstered in any of our 72 colours and two in metal, and each comes in all six UK sizes.
- screen size our TV beds take
- Up to 60 in
- what most UK TV beds are made for
- 32–50 in
- handmade to order in Britain
- 3–4 weeks
What are the pros and cons of a TV bed?
Most of the advantages come from what a TV bed takes out of the room: the bracket on the wall, and the black screen you stare at when the lights go off. The drawbacks come down to cost and logistics.
TV bed pros and cons
What we like
- No wall mount, so nothing to drill and nothing for a landlord to object to
- The screen rises to a comfortable height for watching from bed, facing you
- The TV hides away when you are not watching, so the room stays a bedroom
- Frees the floor a TV stand or chest of drawers would take
- Works in rooms with no suitable wall opposite the bed
Worth knowing
- Costs more than a standard bed plus a wall bracket
- Needs a plug socket near the foot of the bed
- The footboard is taller than on a standard frame, so the bed looks bigger in a small room
- Needs clear space above the footboard for the screen to rise
- Made to order: allow 3 to 4 weeks, and check your TV fits before you buy
Two of those cons catch people out. The first is the socket: the lift is electric, so you need a plug socket near the foot of the bed. A lead trailing across the carpet is a trip hazard, so if there is no socket there, have an electrician add one.
The second is height. The screen rises above the footboard, so a sloping ceiling or a low shelf over the foot of the bed gets in the way. If the foot of the bed sits in front of a window, the screen will rise across the view.
Is a TV bed worth the money?
Compare it with the alternative: a standard bed and a TV on a wall bracket. The bracket route costs less. A king TV bed at Bedline starts at £1,129, and our cheapest king upholstered bedstead is £399. That gap of about £730 would buy a king pillow-top mattress (£419) with money left over.
| TV bed | Standard bed and wall bracket | |
|---|---|---|
| Drilling | None | Into the wall, plus hiding the cables |
| Screen when you are not watching | Lowered out of sight | On the wall, facing the bed |
| Screen height | Raised for watching from bed | Wherever the wall and bracket allow |
| Power | A socket near the foot of the bed | A socket near the TV |
| Moving house | The TV setup moves with the bed | Holes to fill and a bracket to refit |
| Cost | Higher: king TV beds from £1,129 at Bedline | Lower: the bed plus a bracket |
Your answer depends on how often you watch in bed. If it is most nights, you are paying for something you use every day. If it is now and then, spend the money on a better mattress and put the TV on the wall.
Who are TV beds a good idea for?
TV beds make the most sense when the wall is the problem. One suits you if:
- You watch in bed most nights. The lift puts the screen where you want it, without a stand or a bracket.
- You rent. Many tenancies do not allow drilling, and a TV bed needs no fixings. When you move, the setup comes with you.
- Your room has no wall for a TV. If the wall opposite the bed is a window or a run of wardrobes, a TV bed brings the screen to you.
- You live in a bedsit or studio. One room has to work as bedroom and living room, and lowering the TV at night helps it feel like somewhere to sleep.
Skip one if you mostly watch on a tablet, if you have a good wall opposite the bed and are happy to drill, or if you need a bed within a fortnight. Every Bedline TV bed is handmade to order in Britain, which takes 3 to 4 weeks.
What size TV fits a TV bed?
Most TV beds sold in the UK are made for screens of around 32 to 50 inches. Bedline TV beds take a screen of up to 60 inches, which matters if you already own a large TV.
The largest screen that fits depends on the bed size and the frame. The lift lives in the footboard, so a wider bed leaves more room for a bigger screen: a super king TV bed has room for a bigger screen than a double. Two 55-inch TVs from different brands can differ in width and height, so the model number tells us more than the size on the box.
The TV is not included. Every bed is made to order, so there are no change-of-mind returns: check the fit before you buy.
What size room do you need for a TV bed?
Plan for a TV bed as you would for any bed of the same size, then allow for the screen rising above the footboard.
| Bed size | Mattress | Comfortable room | Tight but workable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double | 135 × 190 cm (4 ft 6 in × 6 ft 3 in) | About 2.8 × 2.8 m | 2.5 × 2.6 m |
| King | 150 × 200 cm (5 ft × 6 ft 6 in) | About 3.0 × 3.0 m | 2.7 × 2.8 m |
| Super king | 180 × 200 cm (6 ft × 6 ft 6 in) | About 3.4 × 3.2 m | 3.0 × 2.9 m |
The frame is bigger than the mattress, by roughly 5 to 25 cm each side depending on the design. Keep about 70 cm clear down any side you walk along, and 90 cm where a door or drawer opens. Our bed size guide covers every UK size. Before you order, work through four checks.
Confirm the TV
Send us the model number. We check it against the bed size and frame you want.
Find the socket
You need a plug socket near the foot of the bed. If there isn’t one, have an electrician add it before delivery day.
Look up
Check that nothing above the footboard, such as a sloping ceiling or a shelf, blocks the screen as it rises.
Measure the way in
The bed arrives in parts and goes together in the room, so measure doors, stairs and landings. Delivery to the UK mainland is free; delivery with full assembly is £149 extra.
Upholstered or metal TV bed: which is better?
If you are buying a TV bed, you plan to sit up in it, so the headboard matters more than anything about the lift. Look for a tall, well-padded one you can rest your shoulders against for the length of a film.
Our standard headboard is 54 inches tall, and you can choose 60, 72 or up to 79 inches when you order. The taller options put padding behind your head as well as your back.
Upholstered TV beds are warmer and softer to lean on, and come in any of our 72 colours. Our two metal TV beds have a slimmer, lighter look, but a metal headboard is firm, so plan on a stack of pillows or a back cushion if you watch for long.
What is the best TV bed in the UK?
No single TV bed suits every room. Compare the largest screen each bed takes, how comfortable the headboard is to sit against, and the choice of colour. A bed from stock arrives sooner; a made-to-order bed takes 3 to 4 weeks at Bedline, and in return you choose the size, colour and headboard height.
TV beds in king size
Prices shown are for the king frame. The TV is not included.
TV liftChoose fabric and size
TV liftChoose fabric and size
TV liftChoose fabric and sizeKing TV beds start at £1,129, and each size step changes the price by about £80. Browse every king size TV bed; you can pay by card, PayPal or Klarna.
The verdict
A TV bed is worth it if you watch in bed most nights and the wall is the problem: you rent, the room has no wall for a screen, or the bedroom doubles as your living room. If you watch in bed now and then, a standard bed and a wall bracket is the better buy. If you go ahead, check your TV model and socket first, and choose the headboard as carefully as the lift.
Questions people ask
Are TV beds a good idea?
They are if you watch TV in bed most nights and cannot, or would rather not, mount a screen on the wall. If you watch in bed now and then, a standard bed and a wall bracket costs less.
Do TV beds come with a TV?
Bedline TV beds do not include the TV. Send us your TV model and we will confirm it fits the bed before you order.
What is the biggest TV you can get in a TV bed?
Bedline TV beds take a screen of up to 60 inches, depending on the bed size and frame. Most TV beds sold in the UK are made for screens of around 32 to 50 inches.
Do TV beds need a plug socket?
Yes. The lift is electric, so you need a plug socket near the foot of the bed.
Are king size TV beds worth it?
A king gives you a wider footboard than a double, which leaves more room for a larger screen. Allow a room of about 3.0 × 3.0 m; at Bedline, king TV beds start at £1,129.
About Bedline
Bedline makes upholstered beds, ottoman beds and TV beds to order in Britain, in six UK sizes and 72 colours, and delivers them free to the UK mainland. Our guides are written by the team who help customers choose their beds every day on WhatsApp, so they answer the questions we are actually asked.
