Bedside Table Buying Guide AU: Height, Storage, and Choosing a Pair

A bedside table is a small piece that you use more than almost anything else in the bedroom. It holds the lamp, your phone on charge, a glass of water, the book you are halfway through, and it is the first thing your hand reaches for in the morning. Get the height and the storage right and it disappears into the routine. Get them wrong and you are stretching down to a table that sits too low, or squeezing past one that is too wide for the gap beside the bed. This guide walks through how to size a bedside table to your bed, whether you need drawers, and why the timber it is built from decides how well it ages.

The quick answer

Choose a bedside table that sits level with the top of your mattress, or within a few centimetres of it, so the lamp and your phone are within easy reach when you are lying down. Aim for a width of 40 to 55 cm for most rooms, and leave a clear gap on each side of the bed. Pick a design with at least one drawer if you want to hide chargers, medication, and clutter, and go for a solid timber table if you want it to survive years of daily handling. In most bedrooms a matching pair, one on each side, gives the room a settled, balanced look.

Step 1: Match the height to your mattress

Height is the single most important measurement, and it is the one people skip. The top of the bedside table should line up with the top of your mattress, or fall no more than a few centimetres above or below it. That way the surface is at hand height while you are lying down, so you can put a glass down or pick up your phone without sitting up and leaning over the edge.

Bed heights in Australia vary a lot, from low platform beds to taller frames with a thick mattress on top, so the right bedside table height is the one that matches your bed rather than a fixed number. Measure from the floor to the top of your mattress first, then choose a table in that range. Most bedside tables land somewhere between 50 and 65 cm tall, and taller frames pair with taller floor-standing designs.

• Measure floor to mattress top before you shop, not floor to bed frame.
• A table level with the mattress keeps the lamp and phone within easy reach.
• Taller beds suit floor-standing bedside tables; low platform beds suit shorter ones.

Step 2: Get the width right for the gap beside the bed

Width decides whether the table fits the room and whether you can still walk past it. Measure the clear space between the side of the bed and the wall or wardrobe before you choose. A bedside table that is too wide turns a walkway into a squeeze; one that is too narrow looks lost against a large bed and cannot hold much.

As a general guide, a width of 40 to 55 cm suits most bedrooms and most bed sizes. Beside a king bed a slightly wider table looks balanced, while in a smaller room or beside a single or king single a narrow design or a wall-mounted shelf keeps the floor clear. Leave enough room to open any drawers fully and to walk past without turning sideways.

• Measure the gap between the bed and the wall or wardrobe first.
• 40 to 55 cm wide suits most rooms; go wider beside a king, narrower in a tight space.
• Check the drawers can open fully without hitting the bed.

Step 3: Choose your storage, drawers, shelf, or hutch

What sits inside and under the table matters as much as the top. Think about what you want out of sight versus what you want on display.

One or two drawers

The most practical choice for most bedrooms. A drawer hides chargers, cables, medication, hand cream, and the small clutter that otherwise lives on the top. Two drawers give you more to sort into, and a table with a soft-closing drawer on a smooth runner feels better every time you use it. A one-drawer design with an open shelf below gives you both hidden and open storage in one piece.

Open shelf

A table with an open shelf or two suits readers who want a stack of books within reach, and it makes a small room feel lighter because you can see through it. The trade-off is that everything is on show, so it works best if you like a tidy, styled surface rather than hiding the everyday bits away.

Floor-standing or with a hutch

A tall floor-standing bedside table, or one with a small hutch or upper shelf, adds display and storage without taking up more floor space, which is useful in a room where the footprint is tight. These designs pair well with taller beds and give you somewhere for a lamp, a plant, and a few books all at once.

Step 4: One bedside table or a matching pair?

If two people share the bed, a table on each side is the natural choice, and matching them gives the room a balanced, deliberate look. Even for a single sleeper, a pair either side of the bed can make the room feel more considered, though many people are happy with one table and a clear surface on the other side.

Matching does not have to mean identical if you prefer a relaxed look, but keeping the two tables in the same timber and finish is the simplest way to make the bedroom read as one set. If your budget only stretches to one good table for now, choose a design that comes as part of a range so you can add the second later.

• Two sleepers: a table each side, matched in timber and finish.
• One sleeper: one table is fine; a pair still looks more balanced.
• Buy from a range so you can add a matching second table later.

Step 5: Choose the timber and the build

A bedside table is opened, leaned on, and knocked more than most furniture in the house, so what it is made from decides how it holds up. This is where solid wood earns its place. 

Solid oak, ash, and walnut

A solid timber bedside table takes years of daily handling and comes out the other side with character rather than damage. Marks and small scratches can be sanded and re-oiled out rather than chipping through a thin coating, the drawers run true, and the piece can be handed on or repurposed long after a flat-pack equivalent would have worn out. Oak is the most popular for its pale grain and strength, ash gives a lighter modern look, and walnut brings a darker, richer tone for a more formal bedroom. Our bedside table collection is built from solid hardwood across oak, ash, walnut, and painted finishes for this reason.

Painted and rustic finishes

A painted bedside table, in a soft cream or charcoal over a solid timber body, suits a country, coastal, or classic bedroom and lets you pick up a colour from the rest of the room. Rustic designs with a natural oiled finish show the grain and knots of the timber and pair well with a relaxed, lived-in look. Both give you the durability of solid wood with a different surface style.

Particle board and flat-pack

The cheapest bedside tables are coated particle board. They look fine on day one, but the drawers loosen, the coating chips at the edges where you handle it most, and the board swells if a drink is spilled and soaks in. Once the surface wears through it cannot be repaired. The reasoning is set out in our guide on particle board versus solid wood furniture, and it is why a solid wood bedside table tends to be better value over the years despite the higher price up front.

Step 6: Match the bedside table to your bed and bedroom

A bedside table looks settled when it belongs to the same family as the other bedroom pieces rather than standing alone. The usual companions:

• Your bed frame, matched in timber tone so the head of the room reads as one set. For choosing the frame itself, see our bed frame buying guide.
• A chest of drawers or a tallboy for the bulk of your folded storage, in the same finish as the bedside tables.
• The wider bedroom collection if you are putting a whole room together and want the pieces to sit as one range.

For a closer look at how bedside tables, chests, and tallboys divide up bedroom storage between them, our guide on choosing the right chest of drawers, tallboy, or bedside table covers which piece does which job.

Where to buy a bedside table in AU

Oak Furniture Store stocks solid oak, ash, walnut, and painted bedside tables, in one-drawer, two-drawer, open-shelf, floor-standing, and hutch designs to suit any bed height and any bedroom. You can open the drawers, feel the runners, and see the timber in person at our Auckland showroom, or order online and have it delivered across Australia. Our Lowest Price Guarantee means that if you find the same genuine hardwood bedside table cheaper elsewhere, we will match it. Start with the full bedside table collection.

Frequently asked questions

How tall should a bedside table be?

The top should line up with the top of your mattress, or sit within a few centimetres of it, so the lamp and your phone are within easy reach when you are lying down. Bed heights vary, so measure from the floor to the top of your mattress and choose a table in that range, which for most beds falls between 50 and 65 cm.

How wide should a bedside table be?

A width of 40 to 55 cm suits most bedrooms and bed sizes. Go a little wider beside a king bed for balance, and narrower in a tight space or beside a single. Always measure the gap between the bed and the wall or wardrobe first, and check any drawers can open fully.

Do I need two bedside tables?

If two people share the bed, a table on each side is the natural and most balanced choice. For a single sleeper, one table is perfectly fine, though a matching pair still makes the room look more considered. Buying from a range lets you add the second table later.

Are solid wood bedside tables worth it?

For a piece handled every day, yes. A solid wood bedside table takes years of use, the drawers keep running true, and marks can be sanded and re-oiled out rather than chipping through a coating. Coated particle board loosens, chips, and cannot be repaired once worn, so solid timber tends to be better value over time.

What timber is best for a bedside table?

Solid oak is the most popular for its strength and pale grain, ash gives a lighter contemporary look, and walnut brings a darker, richer tone for a more formal bedroom. Painted finishes over a solid timber body suit country, coastal, and classic rooms. The best choice is the one that matches your bed and the rest of the bedroom.

Should the bedside table match the bed?

They do not have to be identical, but keeping the bedside table in the same timber tone and finish as the bed frame, chest of drawers, or tallboy makes the bedroom read as one deliberate set. Matching the tone matters more than matching the exact design.

Should a bedside table have drawers or an open shelf?

Drawers are the more practical choice for most people, since they hide chargers, medication, and everyday clutter. An open shelf suits readers who want books within reach and keeps a small room feeling lighter. A one-drawer design with a shelf below gives you both in one piece.