How big for a King?

 Ooooh, Alycia posted a GREAT thinkler this morning:  How big does a king size quilt really need to be?

And heaven knows I needed a little push to finish tidying "his side" of the bedroom (he'll forgive me later once I help him put everything back 😜), but truly... I've sometimes wondered how big/small is TOO big/small for a bed?

We have a California King; repurposed an old waterbed frame years ago for a GREAT deal since the lower drawers weren't salvagable.  Hubby's a tall guy at 6'6", so the extra length has been beneficial for his longer legs.  And he INSISTS on untucking the sheets on his side at the foot of the bed.  

Google gave me the following sizing:

and I'm thankful the Queen size is also included because a couple of the quilts I grabbed to test investigate this question currently rest on our queen in the guest bedroom (ie: formerly known as Caitlyn's room)

Now, interestingly enough, when I measured our mattress, it was closer to 70" x 82" and 12" deep.

So, here's some sizing for you...

Celtic Solstice - 110" x 110"
(Bonnie K. Hunter's 2013 mystery)

Celtic Solstice reside on our bed most of the time, however with the warmer summer months now, and after a deep clean of the bedroom a couple weeks ago, she's currently folded up and resting.  She fits our bed the best of all the quilts you'll see; a true king-size quilt.  She does sometimes begin falling off the end of the bed, but also that often happens due to the clothing that was lazily tossed at the close of a day.  Ya know, the clothing that isn't quite dirty, but no longer clean enough to be placed back in the closet.  Please tell me you do this too! And although he doesn't admit it, hubby kicks the sheets and quilt, and I'll often waken with the quilt draping over and off MY foot corner of the bed, dangerously threatening to slide free completely.

I digress...

Roll Roll Cottonboll - 95" x 110"
Bonnie K. Hunter's 2010 mystery

Currently, Roll Roll Cottonboll resides on the bed.  Length-wise, she's great.  Width-wise, she's certainly lacking.  And remember, when I measured my mattress width, it showed closer to 70" than the published 72", which is even more narrow that the standard king at a published 76".

Orca Bay - 84" x 93"
Bonnie K. Hunter's 2011 mystery

Wanting to see how some other quilts fit... Orca Bay was grabbed from the queen guest bed for a fitting.
Hmm... t'would defintely say "nope."  Much too small despite being 14" wider and about 11" longer than my measured mattress.  She fits lovely on the queen bed, however.

Candace's Stars (Granny's Stars) - 76" x 94"
appeared in July/August 2009 Love of Quilting

Awww, what a favorite.  I'm mean, c'mon!... what FUN to dig back through the blog to find when this one was completed:  July 2, 2009.  Candace was only THREE, and now... recently graduated and off on her way to a degree in Finance.

Again, I digress...
Most certainly too small for a king, and she sometimes rests on the queen.  Decently comfortable on the queen bed.

Smith Mountain Morning - 80" x 89"
Bonnie K. Hunter

This is one of my more recent finishes (2022!) ((Have I said how happy I am to be BACK in action now?  Back to blogging, back to quilting dedication, just.... back!)). 
I was shocked at how SMALL she looks on the king!  I thought for sure she'd be a better fit, but clearly... nopers.  However, she'd probably work well on the queen, however she was lovingly folded back up for... shrug!  I dunno.  But she's folded and ready for... whenever.

Those are the only larger quilts I grabbed for this little experimentation.  
So, Alycia...yeah.  I now can quite literally see why quilts are pushing the 100+" dimensions for king size.  I mean, even Roll Roll extending by ~25" beyond the measured width of the mattress still barely fits.
If I had to choose the perfect size for our bed/mattress... hmmm..... I wouldn't design it smaller than 100" square, nor larger than 110" square.

Meaningful morning, for sure!