One of the most overlooked dimensions in bedroom furniture design is height. A bed that sits too high forces you to hoist yourself up; one that is too low creates an uncomfortable situation where you feel like you are falling into bed. Having an optimal mattress height becomes even more important as you get older. You don’t want to struggle getting in and out of bed. The nightstand, often specified as an afterthought, should complement the finished bed height, both for ergonomics and for aesthetics. You want your nightstand to be proportionate to your room and your bed.
A good target height for both the mattress and nightstand should make your bedroom furniture comfortable to use as well as aesthetically pleasing.
The Ideal Mattress Height
The sweet spot for a comfortable bed to get in and out of would have a finished mattress height of 25 to 27 inches from the floor to the top of the mattress. This aligns naturally with the average person’s mid-thigh height, allowing you to sit down and stand up with minimal effort; no jumping, no falling in.
To achieve that finished height, you need to account for the full stack:
- Bed Frame height off the floor, 4 to 7 inches average
- Height of the Med Frame, 8 inches, average
- Adjust for boxspring. Depending on how your bed is designed, your boxspring may be concealed in the frame, or the bed is set up as a platform and does not need a boxspring.
- Mattress thickness averages between 10 and 14 inches.
- The current trend toward thick “Luxury/Pillow Top” mattresses is 12 to 14 inches.
When you add all those details up, you end up around 27″ tall. The above breakdown is mainly for informational purposes. As a custom furniture designer, I will calculate all this for you based on the design of your bed and mattress type.
The Complementary Nightstand Height
The golden rule in furniture design is that the nightstand surface should sit at or within 2 inches of the top of the mattress. Ideally, flush to about 2 inches above mattress height. This keeps items like a phone, a glass of water, or a lamp within easy reach without awkward reaching up or down. If your nightstand is just a bit higher than your mattress, you have the added benefit of it acting as a backstop. This prevents a wayward pillow from sliding across the top of the nightstand knock off your items.
For a 25 to 27 inch mattress height, the ideal nightstand height is 26 to 28 inches tall. This sits within the average height of a nightstand between 24 and 30 inches tall.
What Size Should Your Nightstand Be?
Now that we have determined an ideal height of 26 to 28 inches for your nightstand, we should also look at the width and depth.
Nightstand Depth: I recommend a nightstand depth between 18 and 20 inches.
Nightstands shallower than 16 inches tend to feel cramped and tip-prone, especially with a lamp on top. If it sticks out from the wall more than 20 inches, it can impede your comfort zone of getting in and out of bed.
Nightstand width: A nightstand that is between 20 and 22 inches wide fits proportionally with most beds and bedrooms.
Nightstands that are narrower than 18″ start to lack adequate drawer space. However, if you have a large master bedroom, you may want to consider a wider nightstand between 26 and 28 inches. This can feel much more proportional for a larger room.
