Nightstand Height & Headboard Size Calculator

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Pick your bed and measure from the floor to the top of the mattress. You get the nightstand height and width that suit it, and the headboard size, wide enough to cover the frame and tall enough to sit up against.

Your bed
in
ft

Nightstands to buy

23–27″ tall nightstands20–30″ wide · a 62–64″ wide headboard for your queen

The bed wall from the front, to scale
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    Quick answer: a nightstand’s top should be level with the top of your mattress, or within 2″ of it: 23–27″ for a standard bed whose mattress top is 25″ up. Make it ⅓ to ½ as wide as the mattress: 20–30″ beside a queen. A headboard is 2–4″ wider than the mattress: 62–64″ for a queen, 78–80″ for a king.

    How to use the calculator

    1. Pick your bed size.
    2. Measure from the floor to the top of the mattress, with the bedding on. That one number decides the nightstand’s height.
    3. Add the width of the wall behind the bed if it is tight: the calculator checks how wide a nightstand fits beside the headboard. Copy link keeps the result.

    The rules

    • Nightstand height: the mattress top, ±2″. Your lamp switch, phone and glass of water are then at hand from the pillow. Within 3″ (8 cm) still works; lower and you reach down, higher and you reach up.
    • Nightstand width: ⅓ to ½ of the mattress. In scale with the bed: small tables beside a king look lost, big ones crowd a twin.
    • Headboard width: the mattress + 2–4″. It covers the frame and the mattress’s edges.
    • Headboard height: 24–31″ above the mattress to sit up against (60–80 cm), at least 14″ (35 cm) to lean on at all.

    Nightstand size by bed

    For a mattress top 25″ from the floor, the height of most beds on a standard frame:

    BedMattress widthNightstand widthNightstand height
    Twin / twin XL38″13–19″23–27″
    Full54″18–27″23–27″
    Queen60″20–30″23–27″
    King76″25–38″23–27″
    California king72″24–36″23–27″

    Headboard size chart

    BedMattressHeadboard widthHeadboard top, to sit up against (25″ mattress top)
    Twin38″ × 75″40–42″49–56″
    Twin XL38″ × 80″40–42″49–56″
    Full54″ × 75″56–58″49–56″
    Queen60″ × 80″62–64″49–56″
    King76″ × 80″78–80″49–56″
    California king72″ × 84″74–76″49–56″

    Some twin mattresses are sold 39″ wide; for those, a 41–43″ headboard.

    Three worked examples

    A queen on a standard frame, 25″ to the mattress top. Nightstands 23–27″ tall and 20–30″ wide, and a 62–64″ headboard.

    A king on a tall frame with a thick mattress, 30″ up. Nightstands 28–32″ tall, a size sold as “tall nightstands”, and 25–38″ wide.

    A queen on an 8′ wall. The headboard leaves 16″ on each side, so nightstands no wider than 16″.

    Common mistakes

    • Measuring the bare mattress. A mattress topper and a duvet add 2–4″. Measure the bed made.
    • Matching the old nightstands to a new, thicker mattress. A 14″ mattress on the old frame raises the bed 4–6″; the nightstands end up low.
    • A headboard exactly the mattress’s width. The frame shows at the edges. Buy the size named for the bed; it is already a little wider.
    • Forgetting the walkway. Wide nightstands beside a king can leave no room to get round the bed. Check the wall.

    Sizing the rest of the bedroom? The rug size calculator gives the rug under the bed, the throw pillow size calculator the pillows, and the throw blanket size calculator the throw at the foot.

    See how the bed, the nightstands and the walkways fit: draw the bedroom to scale in the free 2D room planner.

    Plan the bedroom free

    Read next

    Nightstand and headboard size questions

    How tall should a nightstand be?

    Level with the top of your mattress, or within 2″ of it. Most beds on a standard frame are about 25″ to the mattress top, so most nightstands are 23–27″ tall.

    What is the standard nightstand height?

    Most nightstands sold are 23–28″ tall, made for beds whose mattress top is 24–25″ from the floor. A taller bed needs a “tall” nightstand, 28–32″.

    How wide should a nightstand be?

    About ⅓ to ½ as wide as the mattress: 20–30″ beside a queen, 25–38″ beside a king, 13–19″ beside a twin, and no wider than the wall leaves beside the headboard.

    What size is a full headboard?

    About 56–58″ wide: a full mattress is 54″ and the headboard is 2–4″ wider to cover the frame.

    What size is a king headboard?

    About 78–80″ wide for a 76″ king mattress. A California king is narrower and longer: its headboard is about 74–76″ wide.

    What size is a queen headboard?

    About 62–64″ wide for a 60″ queen mattress. To sit up against it, its top should be 24–31″ above the mattress: about 49–56″ from the floor on a standard bed.

    How tall should a headboard be?

    At least 14″ (35 cm) above the mattress to lean on, and 24–31″ (60–80 cm) above it to sit up and read against. Taller statement headboards are a style choice, not a need.

    What is a standard bed height?

    About 24–25″ from the floor to the top of the mattress on a standard frame; platform beds sit lower and tall frames higher. Measure yours with the bedding on: it sets the nightstand height.

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