King Beds with a Tall Headboard

The Richmond, at 76 inches from the floor (6 feet 4 inches). Next come the Stamford at 73 inches, the Nantucket at 69 inches, the Hudson at 65 inches and the Vail at 60 inches.

There is no official height. Among the 101 king frames we sell, 14 stand 60 inches or more, and 9 of those are canopy or four-poster beds whose posts set the height. The five high headboard king beds in that range are all here: the Richmond (76 in), the Stamford (73 in), the Nantucket (69 in), the Hudson (65 in) and the Vail (60 in). The other beds in this collection stand 50 to 58 inches.

There is no rule. The median listed height of king frames sold online in the US is 52 inches. For a headboard you can lean on, look at what stays visible above the mattress: overall height minus the rail height and the mattress thickness. A king headboard also needs to be at least 76 inches wide.

Yes, every bed here does. An 8 foot ceiling is 96 inches high, so even our tallest headboard, 76 inches, leaves about 20 inches above it. Check windows, shelves and wall lights behind the bed, which often come lower.

18 of the 33 do not: they are platform beds with a tall headboard, carrying the mattress on their own slats or deck. The Richmond, Nantucket, Madison, Stamford, Capitola and Cleveland, and the California king Healdsburg, Tiburon, Solvang, Burlingame and Modesto, are built for a box spring or a bunkie board. For the Durham, the Charleston and the Hudson the maker does not say, and on the Flagstaff the maker's listing contradicts itself; write to us before ordering and we will ask.

A king mattress is 76 inches wide and the headboard is usually at least that. On our tall headboard king beds the whole frame measures about 76.4 to 94 inches wide outside (73.6 to 82 inches on the California king models), so leave room for nightstands on both sides.

No, a bed works without one. But a tall headboard gives you a backrest, stops pillows from slipping and turns the bed into the focal point of the room, which is why people choose these frames.

First tighten the bolts that join the headboard to the rails, since a loose joint lets it rock. Then add felt pads or small rubber bumpers on the back of the headboard where it touches the wall.

Not necessarily. With a tall headboard, what matters is that the bottom of the lampshade sits at about shoulder height when you sit up in bed, so the light falls on your book and not in your eyes.

Yes, ten of the beds here are made for a 72 x 84 inch California king mattress. Their headboards stand from 51.87 inches on the Solvang to 58 inches on the Tiburon and the Healdsburg; the Irvine wingback reaches 54 inches. All our California king bed frames are on one page.