How to choose the perfect duvet cover size for your bed

Just match the bed size is the standard advice for buying a duvet cover, and it's also why so many beds end up looking flat and ungenerous. The right duvet cover is slightly bigger than your duvet, slightly bigger than the standard rule, and considerably more flattering. Here's how to size duvets and covers properly — including what to do for couples and where the common mistakes happen.

1. How duvet sizing actually works
2. Standard sizes (with NL/EU equivalents)
3. For couples
4. The slight-oversize trick
5. Why bamboo behaves slightly differently

How duvet sizing actually works

Two separate things to size: the duvet (the inner) and the cover. The cover should match the duvet — or be very slightly bigger so the duvet doesn't bunch inside. The duvet itself should be sized to drape generously over the bed: at least 30–40 cm of overhang on each side and at the foot.

Skinny coverage (duvet too small for the bed) looks mean and feels cold in winter. Generous coverage looks like a hotel and keeps you warmer.

Standard sizes (with NL/EU equivalents)

For people from different countries shopping in NL/EU sizing, here's the rough equivalence:

• Single bed (90 cm wide): 140x200 cm or 140x220 cm duvet cover. UK: equivalent to a single duvet cover.
• Double bed (140 cm wide): 200x200 cm or 200x220 cm duvet cover. UK: equivalent to a double / king duvet.
• King bed (160 cm wide): 200x220 cm or 240x220 cm cover. UK: equivalent to a king / super king.
• Super king (180 cm+ wide): 240x220 cm or 260x240 cm. UK: super king / emperor.

The NL/EU sizing is in centimetres of duvet/cover, not bed size — which can confuse people who shop by King or Queen labels.

For couples

One trick from northern Europe: two single duvets on a double bed instead of one big duvet. Each person controls their own warmth, no one steals the duvet, no one wakes up too hot or too cold. It looks slightly less polished than one big duvet but works dramatically better in practice.

If you prefer one big duvet: go one size up from the bed. A 160 cm bed gets a 240x220 duvet, not a 200x220. The extra width means both sides have generous overhang.

The slight-oversize trick

Hotels use this all the time: choose the duvet one size up from your bed. The result is generous, slightly draping, hotel-quality bed-making. It also keeps you warmer in winter because the overhang seals the sides.

The only downside: more fabric to wash. But bamboo is light, dries quickly, and machine-washes easily — so it's not really a drawback.

Why bamboo behaves slightly differently

Bamboo bedding is naturally lighter than cotton at the same size, and it drapes more fluidly. This means a generously-sized bamboo cover looks even more luxurious than the same size in cotton — the fabric falls beautifully over the sides of the bed instead of looking stiff. If you're going up a size for the drape, bamboo rewards you for it.

Browse all duvet covers in the right size for your bed.