Arranging the Bedside for Comfort and Ease
Updated: Oct 20
The area beside a bed is relatively small, but we ask quite a lot of it. It may need to hold a glass of water, a book or glasses, provide useful light and increasingly accommodate a device being charged overnight.
Rather than starting with a matching pair of bedside tables, it is more useful to consider each side of the bed.
Begin from the bed
Bedside table height matters because it affects how easily you can reach it, not because there is one correct measurement. A surface around mattress height is generally more comfortable than one significantly higher or lower, but the simplest test is the most useful.
Sit or lie where you normally would. Can you put down a glass comfortably, reach your glasses in low light and open a drawer without an awkward stretch?
These small details tend to matter more over time than whether the bedside table looks perfectly proportioned from the doorway.
Available surface space matters too. A generous table is unnecessary if you keep very little beside the bed, while a very small one can quickly become frustrating once a lamp occupies most of its usable surface.
Consider what the surface needs to hold.
The bedside does not need to be empty, but it does need enough clear space to stay useful.
A current book, water and glasses may naturally stay out. Smaller personal items often fit better in a drawer, leaving enough room to set something down without moving something else first.
Technology deserves the same consideration. If a phone, e-reader, hearing aids or another device is charged overnight, think about where it sits and what happens to the cable. A lead that continually trails across the table or occupies the most convenient part of the surface is a small irritation repeated every day.
A socket in the right place, a discreet cable route or a charging point within a drawer can make a surprisingly noticeable difference.
Let each side do its own job
Two sides of the same bed do not necessarily need the same furniture.
One person may need a drawer while the other keeps almost nothing beside the bed. One may read regularly and need a directional light; the other may simply want softer illumination within reach.
The pieces can still relate through proportion, material or colour without being identical.
A matching pair of tables and lamps can be entirely right when both sides need much the same thing. But matching should be the result, not the rule.
The area around the bed works best when it responds to the people using it: comfortable to reach, large enough for what needs to be there and free from small inconveniences that become noticeable precisely because they happen every day.
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