A matching bedroom suite is usually a bed frame, two bedside tables and one main storage piece, all from the same furniture series, so the timber, finish and detailing line up across the room. Some people add a tallboy, a dressing table or a blanket box to make it a five piece set. The pieces themselves are the easy part. The hard part is making sure they all fit the room together, open properly and still look like a set once they are spread across three walls.

This guide walks you through putting a suite together in seven steps, in the order that saves the most second guessing. Every measurement quoted comes from bedroom pieces in our current range, so you can plan with real numbers. If you would like to see the series side by side first, browse our solid wood bedroom furniture and filter by bed size.

Step 1: Start with the bed wall and lock in the bed size

The bed is the largest piece in the suite and it decides the width of everything beside it, so settle it first. Measure the wall the bed will sit against, from corner to corner or from corner to door frame, and note any window, heater or power point that sits low on that wall.

Now add up the full bed group, not just the bed. A Queen Seattle bed frame is 158cm wide; add two Seattle bedside tables at 40cm each and the group needs 238cm of wall, plus a few centimetres of breathing room between each piece. A King French Rustic frame is 180.5cm wide, and with two French Rustic bedsides at 50cm each the group grows to 280.5cm. That 40cm difference is often what decides between a Queen and a King in a Kiwi bedroom, not the bed alone.

Across our bedroom series, bed frames come in Queen, King and Super King, although not every series offers all three, and the Seattle platform frame also comes in King Single. If you are still deciding which size your room can take, our bed frame buying guide covers NZ bed sizes and walking clearance around the bed in detail.

• Measure the bed wall first and mark windows, heaters and power points.
• Add the bed width and both bedside widths together before you choose a size.
• Leave a few centimetres between pieces so the group does not look jammed in.

Step 2: Choose a series that has every piece you need

A suite only works if the series actually includes the pieces on your list. Before you fall for a bed frame, check that the same series offers the bedside table and the storage piece you want, in the bed size you need. Here is how our main bedroom series line up today.

Seattle in natural solid oak has a headboard bed frame in Queen, King and Super King (105cm high at the headboard), and a low platform frame in King Single to Super King in a natural or walnut colour. It has two bedside table designs, a 2+3 chest of drawers, a 5 drawer tallboy and a wide chest of 8 drawers. It is the most complete series if you want every piece to match.

French Rustic has a bed frame in Queen, King and Super King, a bedside table, 2+3 and 3+4 chests of drawers, a 5 drawer tallboy and a blanket box. Most pieces carry a rustic coloured finish with a slightly aged look.

Rustic Country pairs a Queen bed frame with a bedside table, 2+3 and 3+4 chests, a 5 drawer tallboy, plus a dressing table and matching stool. It suits a Queen bedroom where you also want a place to sit and get ready.

Humbie has a cushion back bed frame in Queen and Super King with a grey or white cushion, a large bedside table, 2+3 and 3+4 chests, a 6 drawer tallboy and a wide chest of 9 drawers. Manchester offers an oak bed frame in Queen and King, a bedside table and two chests of drawers. Prunus, in solid cherry, has a bed frame in Queen and Super King, a bedside table and a 6 drawer chest.

• Write your list of pieces before you shortlist a series.
• Check the bed size you need is offered in that series.
• Seattle, French Rustic and Humbie cover the widest mix of storage pieces.

Step 3: Match the bedside tables to the bed, not just to each other

Two identical bedsides make a room look calm, but the more important match is with the bed. Aim for the top of each bedside to sit roughly level with the top of your mattress, or a few centimetres below it. Too low and you reach down for your glass of water at night; too high and the lamp shines straight into your eyes.

Our bedsides vary more than you might expect. The Prunus bedside is 46cm high, the Seattle Design 2 is 50cm, the Humbie large bedside is 50cm, the Manchester is 58cm, and the Seattle, Rustic Country and French Rustic bedsides sit at around 60cm. A low platform bed such as the Seattle platform frame (32cm high before the mattress) generally suits a lower bedside, while the taller headboard frames suit the 58 to 60cm models.

Width matters for proportion too. A 40cm bedside beside a Queen looks neat and leaves floor space, while a Super King can look top heavy with narrow tables. The 50cm bedsides in the French Rustic, Rustic Country and Humbie series balance a King or Super King better.

• Check your mattress depth and aim for a bedside at or just below the mattress top.
• Choose wider bedsides for King and Super King beds.
• Pair low platform frames with lower bedside tables.

Step 4: Pick the main storage piece to suit the wall you have left

Once the bed wall is planned, look at what is left. The shape of that free wall should decide your storage piece far more than drawer count does. There are three broad options in a suite.

A tallboy suits a narrow wall or the gap beside a wardrobe. The Seattle 5 drawer tallboy is 58cm wide, the Rustic Country and French Rustic tallboys are 57cm wide, and the Humbie 6 drawer tallboy is 60cm wide and 117cm tall. You trade width for height, which keeps more floor clear in a smaller room.

A 2+3 chest of drawers sits in the middle. It is two small drawers over three long ones, at around 80 to 98cm wide and 95 to 98cm high depending on the series, so it fits most walls under a window or beside a door.

A wide, low chest works on a long wall opposite the bed, and doubles as a surface for a mirror or a TV. The 3+4 chests in our range run from 135 to 145cm wide at about 75 to 77cm high, and the Humbie chest of 9 drawers is 150cm wide. If your wall is long but the room is narrow, a low chest also keeps the space feeling open. You can compare every option side by side in our chest of drawers and tallboy range.

• Measure the free wall before you compare drawer counts.
• Choose a tallboy for narrow walls and a wide low chest for long walls.
• A 2+3 chest is the safest middle option for an average wall.

Step 5: Plan the clearance so every drawer can open

This is the step most people skip, and it is the one that makes a suite feel cramped. Furniture that fits flat against the wall can still fail once the drawers are pulled out and someone is standing in front of them.

Most of the chests and tallboys in our bedroom series are 40 to 42.5cm deep. A drawer opens to nearly the full depth of the piece, so allow about that much again in front of it, plus room to stand. As a rough guide, keep around 90cm of clear floor in front of a chest of drawers. If the chest faces the end of the bed, measure from the foot of the bed frame, not from the mattress, because the frame usually sits a few centimetres further out.

Bedside drawers need room as well. The Seattle bedside has three drawers and is 35cm deep, so the drawers need clear space on the side that is not blocked by a wall or a wardrobe door. Before you order, mark each footprint on the floor with masking tape, including the drawers pulled out, and walk around the room a few times.

• Allow about 90cm of clear floor in front of a chest of drawers.
• Measure from the foot of the bed frame when a chest sits opposite the bed.
• Tape out each piece with its drawers open before you buy.

Step 6: Decide whether the suite needs a fifth piece

A three or four piece suite covers sleeping and folded clothing. A fifth piece is worth it when it solves a specific job in the room, rather than filling a gap.

A dressing table makes sense if you get ready in the bedroom. The Rustic Country dressing table is 120cm wide and 42.5cm deep, with a matching dressing stool 46cm high. A blanket box at the foot of the bed holds spare duvets and winter throws; the French Rustic blanket box is 98cm wide and 50cm deep, so check it leaves a clear path between the bed and the opposite wall. A second tallboy can give each person their own drawers in a shared room without taking more wall than a wide chest.

Taller storage pieces should be fixed to the wall, especially in a home with children. The Natural Hazards Commission recommends securing tall and heavy furniture, keeping heavy items low down and adding latches to drawers, which is sensible advice anywhere in New Zealand, from Wellington to Christchurch.

• Add a fifth piece only if it does a job you need every day.
• Check a blanket box still leaves a walkway at the end of the bed.
• Secure tallboys and tall chests to the wall.

Step 7: Mix series without it looking accidental

You do not have to buy every piece from one series. Sometimes the perfect bed is in one series and the perfect chest is in another. Mixing works well when you keep one thing consistent, and the easiest anchor is the finish.

Our bedroom pieces fall into a few broad finish families. Seattle, Humbie and Manchester are natural oak with a lighter, cleaner tone. Rustic Country and French Rustic carry a darker rustic coloured finish with more visible character. Prunus is solid cherry, which has a warmer, redder tone than oak. Pieces from the same finish family usually sit happily together, while mixing a pale natural oak bed with a rustic coloured chest tends to look like two separate purchases.

A simple rule: keep the bed and both bedsides from the same series, because they sit side by side and any difference shows. The storage piece on the opposite wall has more room to differ, as long as the timber tone is close and the handles are a similar style.

• Buy the bed and bedsides from one series.
• Keep the storage piece in the same finish family.
• Match handle style when you mix two series.

Bedroom suite questions

What pieces are in a bedroom suite?

A three piece bedroom suite is usually a bed frame and two bedside tables. A four piece suite adds a chest of drawers or a tallboy, and a five piece suite adds a second storage piece, a dressing table or a blanket box.

Do bedroom furniture pieces have to match exactly?

No. The bed and bedsides look best from the same series, but a chest of drawers from another series works well if the timber tone and handle style are close. Keeping everything within one finish family is the easiest way to get it right.

How high should a bedside table be next to the bed?

Roughly level with the top of the mattress, or a few centimetres lower. In our range bedside tables run from 46cm to about 60cm high, so check your mattress depth and bed frame height before you choose.

How much space do I need in front of a chest of drawers?

Plan on about 90cm of clear floor. Most of our chests are 40 to 42.5cm deep, and the drawers need almost that much room to open with space left for you to stand.

Once you have the bed size, the free wall measurement and your list of pieces, choosing a suite becomes a short shortlist rather than a long scroll. Explore our solid wood bedroom furniture and build your suite one piece at a time, or all at once.