Carbury 1 Drawer Bedside Table

A low bedside, 500mm tall, for a low bed.

The Carbury bedside table is a single-drawer piece from the Carbury range, 400mm square on plan and 500mm tall. It is built from MDF, metal and wood, and the colour is given as black and natural — two-tone rather than one flat colour. It comes flat and you build it; there is a built one in Ballincollig we can put in front of you. Email info@mulberryhouse.ie for stock & delivery questions, any time now.

Who it’s for

500mm is the lowest of the bedsides we carry, and that is the whole argument for it. If you sleep on a low frame — a platform bed, a slatted frame close to the floor, a mattress top somewhere near 450 to 550mm — this lines up with the bed instead of standing over it. Beside a divan with a deep mattress it is plainly wrong: you would be reaching down 150mm or more for the lamp every night. It is small in plan too, 400 × 400mm, so it is a table for a lamp, a book and a glass, not a place to unload a laptop and a bag. In a box room where the gap beside the bed is under half a metre, that small footprint is the point.

Chosen by Paul

Paul says: “It comes flat and you build it. Do it on a rug, and leave every screw a half turn loose until the last one is in — that’s the difference between square and wobbly.”

What you’re getting

• One drawer, interior given as 335 × 298mm
• MDF, metal and wood
• Black and natural colouring
• 400mm wide, 400mm deep, 500mm tall
• Assembly required; one box, around 11.5kg

Our sheet gives that drawer as two measurements only and does not state how deep it is inside. If that matters to what you want to keep in it, email us and we will put a tape in the drawer of a built one and tell you the figure.

Measure first

Measure from your floor to the top of your mattress first. For this table more than any other, that number decides it.

The second measurement is the drawer’s run: the interior is 298mm in the shorter direction, so allow about 300mm of clear floor in front for it to come fully out. On a bed pushed tight into a corner, that space is often taken by the bed leg — worth looking at before the table arrives rather than after.

See it before you buy

Flat-packed furniture is where a photograph is least use, because the picture is of a finished piece and the box is not. Built and standing, it can be pushed, opened, and looked at where the two colours meet — which is the difference between choosing this and settling for it. Heritage Walk, The Quadrants, Ballincollig, Co. Cork (P31 W968) — seven days a week, no appointment, and nobody will hurry you. We move the display around and not every piece is out at once, so email info@mulberryhouse.ie and tell us you want to see the Carbury: we will have it built and waiting, or in for you within a few days. Get directions

Living with it

A self-assembled piece needs one thing from you: come back to it. Build it, use it for a fortnight, then go round the fixings and nip up anything that has settled. Everything moves a little as it beds in, and that ten-minute job is what keeps a small table solid for years. The drawer will be stiff at first and free up with use, and the timber parts take up and give off moisture as the heating season turns — a drawer that ran sweetly in September can feel snug in December and come right again on its own. Keep it off the radiator, and wipe rather than soak when something spills.

Delivery, assembly & aftercare

Allow around four weeks. We deliver across Cork and nationwide, or you can collect from the showroom at no charge. The date is agreed with you before you pay.

Assembly is required on this one. It comes in a single box at around 11.5kg, the lightest bedside we carry and easy for one person on a stairs, and it goes together with the fixings in the box in well under an hour.

Any question, any at all: email info@mulberryhouse.ie and a person in the showroom will answer it.

Questions people ask

Is 500mm too low for my bed?
Measure floor to mattress top. Under about 550mm and this sits right; over 620mm and it will feel low every night.

Will a paperback and a charger fit in the drawer?
Comfortably. The drawer is 335 × 298mm inside, which takes a paperback flat, a charger, a handset and glasses.

Can I get a vacuum under it?
No clearance figure is recorded for this piece, so we are not going to quote one. Email us and we will measure the underside of a built one and tell you.

How hard is it to put together?
One box, one drawer, a small carcase. If you have built anything flat-packed before, this is at the easy end.

Do people take a pair?
Often, yes — two across a bed uses 800mm of wall in total.

Sleep Better. Dream Better.
Mulberry House. Your Home.