What height should my nightstand(s) be?

[John T Barker]

Outfit I used to work for made them the same height as the mattress...easier to put down your whiskey glass. That's the height I used, I made a pencil post when I worked there and a pair of nightstands to go with them. Works pretty well.

[Larry Browning]

Over the years mattresses have gotten quit a bit thicker. So the night stand that used to be about even with the mattress is now 6 inches below it. I would make it even with your current mattress.

[Michael Mahan]

Do you butt the night stand right up against your bed?

small room had to

[Tim Fischer]

I must have very tall night stands (or a very low mattress lol). Ours are about 6" taller than the mattress (just guessing, don't have a tape handy). Height never bothered me at all, seems ideal actually.

[Brian Lefort]

Thanks. I think I'm going with my original plan of building them to the height of the bed I currently has, which is fairly tall since it is new with a pillow top and deep box spring.

My concerns were that of other replies here, that design standards are of utmost importance, but sometime function must have input equal to or greater to that of form.

Thanks again everybody!

[Larry Browning]

I measured my current night stand which is from a set built in the 50's that I refinished several years ago. It is 22", which at one point was almost even with the top of our old mattress, but now is a full 11" below our current mattress. It is still workable, but I would prefer it to be closer to the same height as the mattress, maybe 28" to 30".

[Mark Blatter]

I completed a set about three months ago and they finished almost exactly at the height of my mattress. After using it for a few months, I wish I had gone 2 - 3" taller and my wife feels the same way.

[Matt Meiser]

Sounds like the ideal design would be adjustable height.

[Larry Browning]

Sounds like the ideal design would be adjustable height.

This thread has got me to thinking about how I could raise mine. I was thinking about some sort of platform that was about the same footprint as the current one. I think it could be made to match the style and finish of the current ones.

Or, maybe a couple of rather thick phone books would also work!

[Brian D Anderson]

This thread has got me to thinking about how I could raise mine. I was thinking about some sort of platform that was about the same footprint as the current one. I think it could be made to match the style and finish of the current ones.

Or, maybe a couple of rather thick phone books would also work!

A couple things. I too have nightstands that were once the same height as my mattress. Then, with a new taller mattress, and pillow top, they ended up being 6" below. The thing I hated was I couldn't see my alarm clock while lying down. I actually just bought a new mattress set, and got the low profile box springs. My mattress is now back at the same height!

I also built risers for my neighbor's night stands. I basically just took plywood and made a box . . . think drawer with no bottom. It went inside the stands legs. A more elegant way to do it would be to have the box on the outside, with a profile on the top and have ledges on the inside for the nightstand to sit on.

-Brian

[Tim Fischer]

OK I measured my night stands - they are 29" high. Our bed is about 25" not counting poofy comforters that are sometimes on top. Ours are mission style and have a top drawer and lower cabinet.

You folks must have very tall beds or very low night stands compared to me

[Alan Bienlein]

That's easy. Just build them to what ever the wife specifies! Ours were not to be any higher than the window sill per her instructions so that's what I did.

[Brian Holcombe]

2" lower than the height of the mattress.

[Doug Hobkirk]

OK, if this thread is going to keep going on, I will add my experience.

I made the height so it was a little higher than the mattress. I want my clocks to be easily visible, whatever position my head. That's why I have a clock on both sides. I almost never use an alarm clock, so I want to be able to see the clock with the least amount of "waking up" to see it.

I did clunk my head once on the stand that's only slightly higher than the mattress, but never on the other which is about 6" higher.

[Kent A Bathurst]

........ I cannot see the alarm clock..........

Bingo. We have a winner.

For me, above all else, when I wake up in the middle off the night and open my eyes, I want to be looking at the alarm clock. That is the main function of a night stand, in my world.

Plus holding a cup of water, a book, and a box of kleenex. Everything else I can feel around to find, but the clock is the one that requires visual alignment.