Bedside Table Guide: Height, Size, Wood, Colour and Style

The bedside table is the smallest piece of furniture in the bedroom and the one you touch most often: every evening, every morning. Even so, it is bought last and most carelessly, at the wrong height, too small for a lamp and a book, in a colour that does not suit the bed. This guide shows what matters when you are looking for a bedside table or a set of two bedside tables: height in relation to the bed, width and depth, drawer or not, wood or lacquered, wall-mounted or free-standing, and which old bedside tables work best today. At Plan B Design, a Swedish workshop, we have restored and redesigned many bedside tables, mostly as pairs and often with a small chest of drawers serving as a bedside table for tall beds.

Height: the one rule that is not negotiable

The top of the bedside table should sit level with the top of the mattress, at most 10 cm above it. If it sits below, you grope for the glass; if it sits far above, it becomes a shelf you cannot reach lying down. Measure from the floor to the top of the mattress, not to the bed frame. Three typical cases:

• Low bed or bed frame, mattress 45 to 55 cm: bedside table 48 to 60 cm. Classic bedside tables from the 1940s at 55 to 60 cm fit.
• Standard bed, mattress 55 to 65 cm: bedside table 60 to 70 cm. Most old bedside tables fall here.
• Divan bed with spring mattress base, mattress 65 to 75 cm: bedside table 70 to 78 cm. Here ordinary bedside tables are not enough; you need a small chest of drawers. More in bedside chest of drawers.

Size: narrow, small or large

The width determines what can stand on it: a lamp, book, glass and phone need at least 40 cm. The depth is set by the room: you still have to be able to walk between the bed and the wall. A narrow bedside table 35 to 45 cm wide and 30 to 35 cm deep solves small bedrooms; see narrow bedside tables. A large bedside table of 60 to 80 cm is in effect a small chest of drawers and offers storage that replaces a shelf. If you have hardly any floor space, a wall-mounted bedside table may be the answer, with the caveats set out in wall-mounted bedside tables.

Drawer, shelf or open?

A bedside table with a drawer hides charging cables, glasses and everything you do not want to see from the bed. A shelf beneath the top suits books but collects dust. A fully open table, like a small side table, is the most beautiful and the least practical. Our experience: a drawer plus an open shelf is the combination most people are happy with, and it is found on almost all Swedish bedside tables from the 1920s to the 1950s. Bedside tables with glass doors, as were usual in the 1930s, offer the same in a more elegant form.

Material: wooden bedside tables, lacquered or with a stone top

Wooden bedside tables are usually birch, oak, mahogany or walnut, and the type of wood determines the character and age. Birch is Swedish, 1920s to 1940s; mahogany stands for the better pieces of the 1930s and Empire; oak and walnut for the 1950s and new furniture. Which wood suits which bedroom is covered in wooden bedside tables. Lacquered bedside tables in white, black or grey follow the Gustavian tradition and are our most common treatment; see black and white bedside tables. A loose marble top on a restored bedside table brings a luxury for which a new designer table costs many times more; a top in 20 mm Carrara or green can be made to measure and simply laid on.

Styles and periods

Gustavian bedside tables are straight and calm, often a small chest of drawers with fluted legs; at around 75 cm the Haupt variant is tall enough to be one of the few old options that suits a divan bed with a spring mattress base. An example is the pair of black and white bedside tables, Gustavian in the Haupt style (€980 per pair). Louis XVI is the French model for the Gustavian; see the black and white bedside tables in the Louis XVI style (€890 per pair). Swedish Grace and Swedish Modern of the 1920s to 1940s are slender, tall and often found in pairs; you will find the background in What is Swedish Grace? and on the furniture of the period in Swedish Grace furniture. If you are considering chests of drawers as bedside tables, you will find the chest of drawers page in the chest of drawers guide.

A pair or different?

Two identical bedside tables bring calm and symmetry and are our recommendation when the bed stands centrally against the wall. Two different bedside tables in the same colour and roughly the same height feel more personal and solve the problem that old pairs are hard to find. Avoid two different bedside tables in different colours; it looks accidental. Many of our bedside tables are sold as pairs; if a pair has been sold, a similar one can often be sourced.

Old or new bedside table?

A new bedside table costing a few dozen to a few hundred euros is made of chipboard with a foil surface. It will not withstand a knocked-over glass of water and has no resale value. An old bedside table from the 1920s to 1950s is made of solid wood and veneer, built by a cabinetmaker and will last another hundred years. Unrestored, it fetches roughly between €50 and €300 at auction, usually as a pair. Restored and redesigned by us, with a new finish and an adjusted drawer, a pair currently costs about €890 to €980. You can see all current pieces in the category Chests of drawers and bedside tables; the thinking behind it is described in why restore instead of buying new.

How to buy from us

You enquire without obligation, we clarify dimensions, condition and delivery with you, and payment is made by arrangement. Delivery within Germany is free. You can reach us on the contact page; the terms for returns are set out under right of withdrawal and returns.

Lighting at the bedside

The lamp belongs with the bedside table as much as the top does. A table lamp 40 to 50 cm high gives reading light at the right height when the top sits at mattress level. Narrow bedside tables cope better with a wall light, because the top stays free. Choose warm light below 2,700 kelvin; it prepares you for sleep better than cold light. A brass base on the lamp suits the fittings of many old bedside tables.

Caring for and protecting a bedside table

A lacquered bedside table in solid wood can be wiped with a slightly damp cloth. Coasters protect against water rings, and a felt pad beneath the lamp prevents scratches. Do not place the table directly against a radiator, which dries out veneer and wood.

Frequently asked questions

How tall should a bedside table be?

As tall as the top of the mattress, at most 10 cm above it. For a standard bed 60 to 70 cm, for a divan bed with a spring mattress base 70 to 78 cm.

Can you use a chest of drawers as a bedside table?

Yes, and with divan beds it is often the only solution. A small chest of drawers 70 to 78 cm high offers the right height and the storage of three drawers. More in bedside chest of drawers.

What does a restored bedside table cost?

With us currently about €890 to €980 per pair, depending on the period and the redesign. Haupt chests of drawers used as bedside tables cost about €980 each.