Updated 11 October 2026
A standard bedside table in the UK is about 40 cm wide, 35 cm deep and 57 cm tall (15.7 × 13.8 × 22.4 inches). Those are the medians of 262 bedside tables we recorded from a British trade catalogue. The most common footprint is 45 × 35 cm.
Half of those tables are between 36 and 45 cm wide, 30 and 35 cm deep, and 50 and 60 cm tall. Outside that middle band, widths run from 20 cm, for the gap between a bed and a wall, up to 90 cm for a low chest.
Measuring a gap? Put your three numbers into the size checker: gap width, depth available, and floor to the top of your mattress.
Standard bedside table size, in cm and inches
The table below gives the median, the middle half and the full range of the 262 floor-standing tables we recorded. Wall-mounted units are left out, because their height is the box, not the distance from the floor.
| Median | Middle half | Full range | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Width | 40 cm (15.7 in) | 36 to 45 cm | 20 to 90 cm |
| Depth | 35 cm (13.8 in) | 30 to 35 cm | 20 to 50 cm |
| Height | 57 cm (22.4 in) | 50 to 60 cm | 30 to 80 cm |
So if someone asks for the standard size of a bedside table in metres, the honest answer is 0.40 m wide, 0.35 m deep and 0.57 m tall, with the caveat that the spread is wide. There is no British Standard that fixes it. The nearest official figure is in Approved Document M of the Building Regulations, whose furniture schedule allows for two bedside tables of 400 × 400 mm in a double bedroom. That 40 cm is the same as the median width we found.
Source: published dimensions of 262 floor-standing bedside tables in one British trade catalogue, recorded in September 2026. Download the data (CSV, CC BY 4.0). Approved Document M, GOV.UK.
The most common bedside table sizes
Six footprints account for more than three quarters of the 262 tables. Width is the side that faces you when you stand at the foot of the bed; depth runs back towards the wall.
| Width × depth | In inches | Share of the 262 |
|---|---|---|
| 45 × 35 cm | 17.7 × 13.8 in | 32 % |
| 40 × 35 cm | 15.7 × 13.8 in | 23 % |
| 30 × 30 cm | 11.8 × 11.8 in | 14 % |
| 55 × 40 cm | 21.7 × 15.7 in | 3 % |
| 35 × 30 cm | 13.8 × 11.8 in | 3 % |
| 20 × 20 cm | 7.9 × 7.9 in | 3 % |
The pattern is plain: most makers build either a 40 to 45 cm table at 35 cm deep, or a square 30 cm one. If your gap is somewhere in between, say 33 or 38 cm, you will have far fewer to choose from, and it is worth measuring twice before you look.
How wide is a bedside table?
Most are 36 to 45 cm wide, and 40 cm is the median. Here is how the 262 split by width, next to the number of tables we sell in each band and where to find them.
| Width | Share of the 262 | In our range (11 Oct 2026) | Where to look |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 25 cm | 3 % | 4 | 20 cm bedside tables |
| 25 to 34 cm | 17 % | 25 | 30 cm bedside tables, narrow bedside tables |
| 35 to 44 cm | 38 % | 29 | 35 cm bedside tables, 40 cm bedside tables, all bedside tables |
| 45 to 54 cm | 36 % | 42 | bedside cabinets and drawers |
| 55 cm and over | 6 % | 6 | wide bedside tables |
Only 3 % of the catalogue is under 25 cm wide. That is the band people search for when a double bed has been pushed close to a wall, and it is why we keep a separate 20 cm range. If the floor beside the bed is taken by a radiator or a socket, a wall-mounted bedside table or a floating one leaves the floor clear.
How deep should a bedside table be?
35 cm is the median and by far the most common depth: 152 of the 262 tables are exactly 35 cm deep, and 59 % sit between 35 and 39 cm. Shallower tables, at 30 cm or less, are mostly narrow ones: the 30 × 30 cm square alone is nearly half of them.
Depth matters less than width in most bedrooms, because it runs alongside the bed rather than across the gap. It matters in two places: next to a door that opens towards the bed, and in a room where the bed is pushed against a side wall and the table sits at the head of the walkway. In both cases measure the depth you have before you look at the width.
How tall should a bedside table be?
Match the top of your mattress, within 5 cm either way. The median height in the 262 is 57 cm, half stand between 50 and 60 cm, and only 2 % reach 65 cm. A divan or ottoman bed usually wants 55 to 65 cm; a low platform bed wants 45 to 55 cm. We go through the measuring and the bed types in our bedside table height guide, and we keep separate ranges of tall bedside tables and low bedside tables.
What size bedside table for your bed?
Start from the wall the headboard sits against. The bed takes its width, and each table takes its own width beside it. The table below is that sum, using UK mattress sizes. A bed frame can add a few centimetres to the mattress, so use the outside width of your frame if you have it.
| Bed (mattress width) | + two 30 cm tables | + two 40 cm tables | + two 45 cm tables | + two 55 cm tables |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single, 90 cm (3ft) | 150 cm | 170 cm | 180 cm | 200 cm |
| Small double, 120 cm (4ft) | 180 cm | 200 cm | 210 cm | 230 cm |
| Double, 135 cm (4ft 6in) | 195 cm | 215 cm | 225 cm | 245 cm |
| King, 150 cm (5ft) | 210 cm | 230 cm | 240 cm | 260 cm |
| Super king, 180 cm (6ft) | 240 cm | 260 cm | 270 cm | 290 cm |
That is the wall length the bed and two tables take, with nothing to spare. For comparison, the nationally described space standard, which councils in England can apply to new homes, asks for a main double bedroom at least 2.75 m wide and any other double bedroom at least 2.55 m wide. A 2.55 m room fits a double bed and two 45 cm tables on one wall with 30 cm left over; a super king with two 55 cm tables does not fit at all.
Our view: for a double or a king in a typical British bedroom, 40 to 45 cm is the size to start from. Go down to 30 cm only when the sum above does not fit, and use a matched set of two if you want both sides the same.
Mattress sizes: National Bed Federation, Bed Advice UK. Room widths: Technical housing standards, nationally described space standard, GOV.UK. The government states it is not a building regulation; treat it as a benchmark.
How to measure the space for a bedside table
- Width: measure from the side of the bed frame to the wall, or to the next piece of furniture, at the height where the table top will be. Skirting boards and headboards often stick out further at floor level.
- Depth: measure from the wall behind the bed forward to where you need to walk or open a door.
- Height: measure from the floor to the top of your mattress, not to the top of the frame.
- Leave a little room: we would leave at least 2 cm on each side, so the drawer and your hand clear the wall and the bed.
Then put those numbers into the size checker, which lists the tables we sell that fit them.
Bedside table sizes in inches
| cm | inches | What it usually is |
|---|---|---|
| 20 cm | 7.9 in | The narrowest floor-standing tables |
| 30 cm | 11.8 in | A narrow table, often square |
| 35 cm | 13.8 in | The most common depth |
| 40 cm | 15.7 in | The median width |
| 45 cm | 17.7 in | The most common width |
| 55 cm | 21.7 in | A wide table or small chest |
| 57 cm | 22.4 in | The median height |
| 60 cm | 23.6 in | The most common height |
Shop bedside tables by size
- By width: 20 cm, 30 cm, 35 cm, 40 cm, narrow, wide
- By height: tall, low
- Off the floor: wall-mounted, floating
- By storage: 2 drawers, 3 drawers, bedside cabinets
- Pairs: sets of two. Everything: all bedside tables
Every product page gives the width, depth and height in centimetres, taken from the maker's published dimensions.
Questions
What is the standard size of a bedside table in the UK?
About 40 cm wide, 35 cm deep and 57 cm tall. Those are the medians of 262 tables in a British trade catalogue. No British Standard fixes a size.
What is the ideal size for a bedside table?
The one that fits your gap and sits level with your mattress. For a double or king bed in a typical room, 40 to 45 cm wide and within 5 cm of the mattress height.
What are the standard dimensions of a bedside table in metres?
0.40 m wide, 0.35 m deep and 0.57 m tall, as medians. Approved Document M allows for a 0.40 × 0.40 m bedside table in its furniture schedule.
How wide is a bedside table?
Usually 36 to 45 cm. The narrowest floor-standing ones are 20 cm, and wide ones run to 55 cm or more.
How deep is a bedside table?
Usually 30 to 35 cm; 35 cm is the most common depth by a long way.
How tall is a bedside table?
The median is 57 cm and most are 50 to 60 cm. Only 2 % of the 262 we recorded reach 65 cm. See the height guide.
What size bedside table for a double bed?
A double mattress is 135 cm wide. With two 40 cm tables the wall needs 215 cm; with two 45 cm tables, 225 cm. If you have less, go to 30 cm tables or put one side against the wall.
What size bedside table for a king size bed?
A UK king is 150 cm wide. Two 45 cm tables bring the wall to 240 cm, two 55 cm tables to 260 cm.
Should both bedside tables be the same size?
Not necessarily. If one side of the bed is tighter, a narrower table on that side is better than two tables that do not fit. Keep the heights within a few centimetres of each other so the room looks level.
How we measured
The 262 figures come from the published width, depth and height of every floor-standing bedside table in one British trade catalogue, recorded in September 2026; 48 wall-mounted units were left out. It is a supplier range, not a census of every bedside table sold in the UK. The counts of our own range were taken from our catalogue on 11 October 2026 and will change as stock does. The data is free to reuse: bedside-table-dimensions-uk-2026.csv.