The order matters. Place the bed first, then the nightstands, because they are fixed to the bed. Then check what floor is left: an end of bed bench needs room behind the bed, and a reading chair needs a corner of its own. We make the middle of that list, nightstands, benches and armchairs, not beds or wardrobes.
What bedroom furniture do you actually need?
A bed, a nightstand on each side you get in from, somewhere to sit and somewhere to put clothes. Everything else is a bonus.
How high and wide should the nightstands be?
Top level with the made mattress, or up to about 2 in above, so your hand lands on it without lifting your shoulder off the pillow. Leave about 2 in between the bed and each table so the duvet does not catch.
Two Iris beside a 63 in bed need about 98.4 in of wall. Our guides to nightstand height and a pair of nightstands go through the measuring.
| Table | Height | Top | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iris | 25.2 in | 15.7 x 13.8 in | One drawer |
| Lisa | Mounted at your height | 12 x 12.2 in | Two vegan leather straps for magazines |
| Affe | 23.2 in | ø12 in | None |
Is an end of bed bench a good idea?
Yes, if there is about 39.5 in between the foot of the bed and the wall or wardrobe. The bench takes 15.4 to 15.7 in of it and you need about 23.5 in to walk past.
Pick it a little shorter than the bed is wide, so the frame shows at both ends: a 51 in bench for a 55 to 63 in bed. At 18.1 in, Wilma and Alva sit below almost any mattress, at the height you sit to dress. The end of bed bench guide has the lengths for every bed width.
Where does a reading chair go in a bedroom?
In a corner or beside a window, out of the route between the door and the bed, with light falling over your shoulder from a lamp or the window.
Measure the footprint before the chair arrives: our armchairs are 26.4 x 32.3 in for Kent and 28 x 31.9 in for Einar. Beside it, Affe at 31.1 in with its ø16 in top is a lamp table that puts the light where you read. See the reading chair guide and an armchair in the bedroom.
Small bedroom ideas: what should you leave out?
Leave out anything that stands on the floor without earning its place. Measure the gap beside the bed first: from about 14 in, Lisa on the wall or a round Affe fits; Iris needs about 17.7 in.
Lisa is screwed to the wall, so the floor under it stays clear and the room reads larger. A wall light above the table frees the top for a glass and a phone. If the room cannot give 39.5 in behind the bed, skip the bench: a good pair of nightstands does more. More in the small nightstand guide.
How do you make the pieces look like they belong together?
Repeat one thing across the room: a color, a material or a height.
Oak is the easy thread. Lisa, Affe and the Alva bench come in the same natural, dark or black oak, and the Einar armchair has an oak frame in the same three finishes. Black is the other: a black Iris, a black-framed Wilma bench and a Kent armchair on black steel read as one set. What looks wrong is nearly matching, two oaks a shade apart.
The bed first, then three layers
- Iris
- 25.2 in, drawer
- Lisa
- on the wall
- Bench
- 18.1 in seat
