Dressers for Bedroom: Small Room Buying Guide

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Quick answer

In a small bedroom, the right dresser is the one you can open fully without blocking the path to the bed. Measure three things before you shop: the wall width you can give it, the depth it takes, and the floor space left in front once a drawer is open. Narrow towers with fabric drawers, like the three in our table, trade solid-wood weight for a small footprint, and their listings give depths of about 11.7 to 11.8 in on two of them. The sizing example below shows how a queen bed 80 in long, an 11.8 in deep dresser and a 12 in drawer pull leave only 16.2 in in a 120 in deep room, and what changes in a 132 in deep room.

Quick compare: the products in this guide

Sizes come from the Amazon listings as we read them; check the product page for the current details before you buy.

Product	Listed details	Link
AODK Small Dresser for Bedroom with 4 Storage Drawers, Black	11.73 x 15.74 x 31.77 in (D x W x H); 11 pounds	See details on Amazon Affiliate link
WLIVE Tall Dresser for Bedroom, 5 Drawer Dresser, Rustic Brown	11.8 x 15.7 x 47.5 in (D x W x H); 5 drawers	See details on Amazon Affiliate link
Sweetcrispy Dresser for Bedroom with 8 Drawers, Large Storage Tower	31.5 x 11.8 x 36.4 in (labels unclear, check the listing); 25.8 pounds	See details on Amazon Affiliate link

Why dresser choice is harder in a small bedroom

A bedroom dresser is a piece of furniture you open every day. That makes it different from a shelf. A shelf only has to fit where it sits, but a dresser also needs room in front of it for a drawer to slide out and for you to stand and reach.

In a small bedroom the bed takes most of the floor. What is left between the bed and the dresser becomes your path. The US Access Board describes a minimum 36 in continuous clear width for an accessible route in public buildings. A home does not have to meet that rule, but 36 in is a useful number for a path you walk every day, and we use it as a yardstick below.

The three measurements that decide fit

Check these against your room, not against a product photo.

Wall width available

Measure the clear length of the wall where the dresser will go, from corner to door casing or window casing. Do not count the space a door swings across. A wall with a heating vent, a switch or an outlet may also lose a few inches, so measure the clear section.

Dresser depth

Depth is the number that surprises people. Chests of drawers are often much deeper than towers. The towers in our table list depths around 11.7 to 11.8 in on the AODK and WLIVE models. The Sweetcrispy listing gives 31.5 in and 11.8 in without clear labels, so one of them is probably the depth of a tower this shape. Check the listing before you plan around either number.

Drawer pull-out space

A drawer pulls out by roughly its own depth, or less. How far a fabric drawer comes out varies by model, so check the listing. Below, we use an estimate of 12 in of pull-out space.

Fabric-drawer towers versus a solid-wood chest

The dressers in this guide are mostly fabric-drawer towers with a wood top and a metal frame. It helps to know what that means.

What a fabric tower does well

It is light. The AODK four-drawer model lists 11 pounds, and the Sweetcrispy eight-drawer unit lists 25.8 pounds. It is slim, so it fits in a closet, a hallway or beside a bed. Check each listing for assembly steps and tools.

What a solid chest does better

A wooden chest of drawers holds heavy folded clothes without sagging, has drawers that slide on rails, and usually lasts longer in daily use. Fabric bins hold lighter items, such as t-shirts, socks and underwear, better than a stack of jeans. If you fold heavy clothes, check the weight limit on the listing, and if it does not list one, treat the capacity as unknown.

Size and drawer count for the three models

These numbers come from the listings in our table.

• AODK Small Dresser, 4 drawers, black. 11.73 in deep by 15.74 in wide by 31.77 in high. Listed at 11 pounds. The listing mentions a metal frame, a wooden top board, an anti-tipping design and adjustable feet.
• WLIVE Tall Dresser, 5 drawers, rustic brown. 11.8 in deep by 15.7 in wide by 47.5 in high. A tall, narrow tower for a tight corner.
• Sweetcrispy Dresser, 8 drawers. The listing gives 31.5 in, 11.8 in and 36.4 in, with the labels unclear, so check the listing. It lists 25.8 pounds.

A quick comparison: the WLIVE tower is 47.5 in high and the AODK tower is 31.77 in high, so the WLIVE is 47.5 minus 31.77 equals 15.73 in taller. That extra height gives you one more drawer (five instead of four) without any more floor, which is the main reason to pick a tall tower in a small room.

Sizing example: a dresser in a small bedroom

Here is the arithmetic. Say the room is 108 in wide and 120 in deep. The dresser stands on a wall that is 108 in wide, and a queen bed sits with its foot facing the dresser. A US queen mattress is 60 in by 80 in (Amerisleep chart), so the bed uses 80 in of the room depth. The dresser is a tower 11.8 in deep and 15.7 in wide.

Along the wall (width). We look at the wall first and put two of the 15.7 in towers side by side.

• Two towers: 15.7 in plus 15.7 in equals 31.4 in.
• Wall left over: 108 in minus 31.4 in equals 76.6 in.

That is plenty, so the wall width is not the problem.

Out from the wall (depth). Now we look at the 120 in room depth, which is a separate direction.

• Room depth after the dresser: 120 in minus 11.8 in equals 108.2 in.
• Gap in front of the dresser after the bed: 108.2 in minus 80 in equals 28.2 in.
• Gap with one drawer pulled out 12 in: 28.2 in minus 12 in equals 16.2 in.

A 28.2 in path is below the 36 in yardstick, and with a drawer open there are only 16.2 in left. That is a pinch point, and it would feel tight every morning.

A deeper room. Make the same room 132 in deep.

• Room depth after the dresser: 132 in minus 11.8 in equals 120.2 in.
• Gap after the bed: 120.2 in minus 80 in equals 40.2 in.
• Gap with a drawer open 12 in: 40.2 in minus 12 in equals 28.2 in.

Now the everyday path (40.2 in) beats the 36 in yardstick, and the open-drawer gap is the same 28.2 in that the shorter room had without any drawer open. If your room is the shorter one, the options are to shift the bed so its foot is not facing the dresser, to use a shallower unit, or to put the dresser on a side wall.

Safety: anchor tall dressers

A tall, narrow tower can tip if a child climbs it or if several drawers are pulled open at once. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends anchoring furniture to the wall through its Anchor It campaign. The AODK listing mentions an anti-tipping design, which is a good feature, but check the listing for the anchoring hardware that is actually included and use it. A wall anchor suited to your wall type (drywall, plaster or masonry) is not always supplied.

Who should buy a slim fabric-drawer dresser

• Renters who need storage that is easy to move and does not need heavy lifting.
• People with a very small bedroom who can only spare about 12 in of depth.
• Anyone who wants storage in a closet to take advantage of unused floor space.

Who should skip it

• Anyone with a lot of heavy clothing. Jeans and sweaters over time can strain fabric bins and a thin frame.
• Households with small children and no wall anchor plan. Do not place a tall tower where a child can climb it unless it is anchored.
• People who want a surface for a TV or a mirror. Check the top surface rating on the listing before you load a slim top with weight.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Measuring only the width. The depth and the pull-out space decide whether you can walk around the bed.
• Forgetting the baseboard. A baseboard can hold the dresser an inch or so away from the wall, so add that to the depth.
• Ignoring ceiling height. A tall tower under a sloped ceiling or a window may not fit.
• Trusting a single label. When a listing’s size labels are unclear, as on the Sweetcrispy page, look at the photos and the listing before you buy.

Keep reading

These guides cover related picks and sizing checks for a small space.

• Mid Century Mirror: Small Room Buying Guide
• Dresser and Nightstand Set: Sizes and Bedroom Layout
• Dresser Buying Guide: Size, Drawers and Tip-Over Safety

Frequently asked questions

How deep is a dresser for a small bedroom?

The towers in this guide list about 11.7 to 11.8 in deep. A traditional chest of drawers is often deeper, so check the listing for depth and plan the drawer pull-out space on top of it.

How much space should I leave in front of a dresser?

Leave a path of at least 36 in in front of a closed dresser, which is the US Access Board accessible-route width used as a yardstick, plus the drawer pull-out space for the drawers you open.

Is a fabric-drawer dresser strong enough for everyday clothes?

It depends on the model and what you store. They suit light, folded items. Check the listing for a weight limit, and treat the capacity as unknown if it does not give one.

Should I anchor a small dresser to the wall?

Yes for tall units. The CPSC recommends anchoring furniture, and a tall, narrow tower is exactly the shape that tips most easily.

Which of the three is best for a tight corner?

The WLIVE tower is the tallest and holds five drawers in a 15.7 in wide footprint, so it gives the most storage for the least floor. Check the listing for the weight and the anchoring hardware.

Products worth checking

We have not tested these products. Sizes and features come from the Amazon listings as we read them; where a listing does not say, we say so.

Sources checked

• US Access Board, Chapter 4: Accessible Routes
• CPSC Anchor It
• Amerisleep, mattress sizes and dimensions chart

Specifications come from the Amazon listings as we read them for this guide. Product details and availability can change, so confirm on the product page before you buy.

How we research our guides