How to Choose the Right Bedside Table for Your Room Size and Layout
When picturing a bedroom, most people think first of the bed, mattress and headboard. The bedside table rarely gets the same attention, yet it’s one of the most frequently used pieces in the room, the surface your hand reaches for in the dark, night after night. Choosing the right one can have a surprising impact on both comfort and the overall feel of the space.
Get the proportions wrong, and the whole layout can feel off. A table that’s too tall can make reaching for a glass of water awkward, while one that’s too deep can reduce walking space besides the bed or interfere with a wardrobe door. Likewise, a bedside table that’s too small can look out of proportion next to a generous king-size bed.
Whether you’re furnishing a compact apartment or a spacious main suite, choosing a bedside table with the right proportions, storage and style can make everyday life more comfortable. For pieces designed to balance practicality with bedroom styling, explore the Wowbeds Bedside Tables Collection.
TL;DR: Summary
- The Importance of Proportion: Selecting the right bedside table prevents ergonomic discomfort and layout errors, ensuring your nightstand complements your mattress height and preserves walking clearances.
- Key Sizing Rules: Align your bedside table height flush with or 2 cm to 5 cm below the mattress top (typically between 60 cm and 75 cm high in standard Australian setups) while keeping width proportional to your bed and headboard.
- Tailoring by Room Footprint: Use floating or open-legged designs in compact apartments to maximise floor visibility, standard two-drawer units in guest rooms, and wider storage dressers in master bedroom suites.
- Storage & Material Choices: Balance your storage needs between enclosed drawers for hidden clutter and open shelves for decor, while matching finishes like timber, marble, or rattan to your existing bedroom style.
Why Bedside Table Size Matters
|
Design Element |
Why It Matters |
Practical Impact |
|
Creating a Comfortable Setup |
Your bedside table should feel effortless in daily use |
Reaching over in the dark, your hand lands naturally on the surface, with no stretching or straining |
|
Creating a Balanced Look |
Your nightstand and bed should read as one considered scheme |
Matching scale, rather than pairing a heavy solid-wood unit with a simple metal frame, keeps the room feeling well planned. |
|
Saving Floor Space and Keeping Walkways Clear |
Movement matters as much as storage, especially in smaller rooms |
The right proportions keep walkways open and let nearby doors and wardrobes swing freely |
Step 1: Measuring Mattress Height and Floor Clearance
Before you choose a bedside table, the first important aspect that should be taken care of is the height alignment.
- Matching mattress height: As a general rule, the top of your bedside table should sit level with the mattress or around 2–5 cm below it. A slight step down feels natural and keeps essentials within easy reach, while a table that sits too high can make reaching for a lamp, book or alarm clock awkward, especially when you’re only half awake.
- Floor to mattress measurement: The height of the standard Australian beds varies from 60 to 75 cm; thus, the height of the bedside table will have to be similar. The additional factor to consider is whether there is any mattress topper used, as it increases the effective height.
- Accounting for rugs and skirting: If a rug sits under the bed, take your measurements with the rug in place and compressed to its usual thickness. This helps guarantee the bedside table sits steadily rather than rocking. Where a skirting board runs along the wall, allow for its depth so the table can sit neatly against the wall without needing to be angled.
Step 2: Matching Your Room's Footprint
The total square footage of your room determines what type of bedside table arrangement is best suited for your room.
- Small Apartments or Bedrooms: In small spaces, every inch counts. Choose either floating or wall-mounted bedside tables or narrow open-legged bedside tables, as these leave enough floor space visible.
- Guest Rooms or Standard Bedrooms: A good choice here would be standard bedside tables with two drawers or cabinets, which provide a nice balance between visibility and storage.
- Master Bedroom Suites: In a large master bedroom suite, standard bedside tables might appear too small in front of a king-sized or queen-sized bed. Hence, here you can use a wide storage unit, dressers or multi-level storage units on both sides of the bed.
Step 3: Table Style, Layout and Bed Frame
The bedside table needs to blend in with your bed frame, rather than stand apart from it. While the classic approach to bedroom furniture is to go for two matching bedside tables each side, more contemporary spaces may work better with two tables of different shapes that share the same wood finish.
It is important to remember that your bedside table should be slimmer than the bed, taking up about one-third of the wall next to the headboard. The bottom line of the upholstered or panelled headboard should match your bedside table's height.
Step 4: Open Shelves vs. Enclosed Drawers
How you will use your bedside table will guide you towards choosing between the storage type that will work better for you.
Drawers are a Must-Have for Neat People:
Milo Bedside Table 2 Drawer Sintered Stone Travertine Top White – Wowbeds
For people who do not like to see messy and cluttered bedrooms, one or two large drawers in a bedside table work best. The phone chargers, creams, medications, journals and other such items will be stored properly in them. Thus, it will keep your bedroom neat.
The Open Shelves:
Sunny Rattan Cane Bedside Table White – Wowbeds
People who like their bedroom spacious and open can go for an open shelf or even a cute design on their bedside table. This gives them the ability to place decorative lights or books there.
A Combination of Storage and Display:
Marcello Bedside Table Wotan Oak – Wowbeds
The modern bedside table comes with a drawer on top with an open shelf below it. This way it gives you the best of both worlds.
Step 5: Materials and Style
There is a great variety of bedside table finishes, ranging from timber finishes to stone-effect tables, marble tops, and even rattan cane, all affecting the look of a room in their own ways. Timber finishes add a classic and cosy touch, while a stone or marble-effect top has a modern and sleek touch, while rattan adds some light beachy feel.
If you choose to coordinate your bedside table with the bed frame and dresser or make use of a piece to create a contrasting element, you might want to compare different finishes and see which of them looks better when combined in a set. It is much easier to visualise the look of furniture in a set if you have a variety of finishes to work with.
Layout Mistakes Worth Avoiding
Some common and easily avoided errors include a table that's visibly taller or shorter than the mattress height, thus making it difficult to use on a day-to-day basis; a table that's too deep, thus leaving less walking space than expected besides the bed; and failing to consider how much space will be taken up in relation to a wardrobe or door, thus making it impossible to open the drawers after the furniture is arranged in the room.
Properly measuring your room and the size of your bed prior to ordering avoids these problems all at once.
Exploring Bedside Tables with Wowbeds
Wowbeds designs bedside tables as more than a functional afterthought; they’re one of the details that can make a bedroom feel genuinely finished. From drawer-and-shelf combinations that balance practical storage with display space to finishes ranging from timber and stone-effect tops to rattan, each piece is designed with everyday comfort and effortless styling in mind.
Getting the proportions right from mattress height and room footprint to the balance of storage and style is what transforms a bedside table from an afterthought into a piece that brings the whole room together. When you’re ready to find the right one, explore the full Wowbeds Bedside Tables Collection.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the ideal height for a bedside table?
The height of your bedside table should be either on the same plane as your bed or at least 2 cm to 5 cm below your mattress level.
Should bedside tables match the bed frame?
Though matching gives you a matching appearance, there is no requirement to match the tables. You can combine different materials provided the scale and colours of woods and metals are complementary.
How much space should I leave between the bed and the bedside table?
The nightstand should have minimal or almost zero breathing room and only 1cm to 3cm spacing to fit right next to the edge of the bed frame.
Are floating bedside tables good for small bedrooms?
Yes! Floating bedside tables mounted on the wall free up floor space, creating an illusion of larger bedroom space.