Why the London Collection Keeps Its Drawers at the Foot of the Bed

Most bedrooms in this country are not built for storage beds. The bed goes against one wall, a robe takes the other, and the strip of carpet left over is too narrow to open a side drawer without shuffling sideways past the corner of the mattress. That is why so many storage beds get bought once and quietly resented afterwards.

The London beds solve it by putting both drawers in the footboard. They pull out toward the end of the bed, into the space you already walk through. Here is how the eleven pieces in the range work, what actually fits in those drawers, and where the trade-offs sit.

Key Takeaways

• Both drawers open at the foot of the bed, not the sides.
• Drawer interiors are 43.7cm deep and 24.9cm high, in three widths by bed size.
• Six bed frames: double, queen and king, each with or without drawers.
• Solid pine structure, crisp white finish, panelled bedhead standing 120cm tall.
• Tallboy stores upward at 100cm wide, chest stores sideways at 140cm wide.

The Drawers Open at the Foot, Not the Side

This is the detail worth understanding before anything else, because it decides whether a storage bed is usable in your room or just an expensive idea. On the London Pine Queen Bed Frame with 2 Drawers the two drawers are set into the footboard on metal runners and pull out lengthways. The space they need is the walkway at the end of the bed, which every bedroom has, rather than the 60cm of side clearance that a conventional under bed drawer demands.

What that buys you is freedom in the floor plan. Push the bed into a corner. Put a robe or a chest hard against one side. Run the bed under a window with a bedside table on the only free side. None of it stops the drawers working, and none of it makes you move furniture to get a jumper out in June.

Each drawer measures 43.7cm deep and 24.9cm high inside. Widths follow the bed: 59cm on the double, 66.5cm on the queen and 81.5cm on the king. In practice that is spare sheet sets, towels, folded blankets and the off-season half of a wardrobe. It is not deep enough for a bulky pillow stack, so plan it as flat storage and it will not disappoint you.

Three Sizes, Two Versions, One Decision

There are six beds in the range: three sizes, each offered plain or with the drawers. The London Pine Double Bed Frame is W154 x D207.1cm, the London Pine Queen Bed Frame is W169 x D218.1cm and the London Pine King Bed Frame is W199 x D218.1cm. Every one carries a panelled bedhead standing 120cm from the floor, which is tall enough to sit against and read without a stack of pillows behind you.

All six use a solid slat base, so there is no ensemble or separate bed base to buy. A mattress goes straight on. That matters for the drawer versions in particular, because a slat base is what leaves the volume under the bed free for the drawers to run into.

The decision between plain and drawers is not really about money. It is about whether you have somewhere else for linen. If the house has a decent hallway cupboard, the plain frame keeps the footboard clean and low. If you are in an apartment or a two bedroom cottage where the linen press is a shelf above the washing machine, the drawer version quietly returns a cupboard to you.

What Goes Beside the Bed

The London Pine 2 Drawer Bedside Table is W55 x D45 x H60cm with two drawers, each 35.5cm wide, 38.3cm deep and 17.5cm high inside. That 60cm height is the number to check against your mattress. A bedside top that lands somewhere near the top of the mattress means you can reach a glass of water in the dark without patting around below the level of the bed, and 60cm suits most mattress and base combinations without a platform under it.

Two drawers rather than one open shelf is a deliberate choice for a bedroom that other people see. A shelf displays the reading glasses, the phone charger, the half-finished blister pack of antihistamines and the receipt you meant to throw out. A drawer takes all of it and gives you back a surface with a lamp and one thing on it.

The panelled fronts and round knobs match the bed and the case pieces exactly, which is the practical argument for buying a bedside from the same range rather than a cheaper pair from elsewhere. White is not one colour. Two whites in a small room that do not quite agree will bother you every morning for years.

Tallboy or Chest: Store Upward or Store Sideways

The two case pieces answer opposite questions. The London Pine 5 Drawer Tallboy is W100 x D45 x H120cm with five drawers: two narrow ones across the top at 39cm wide, then three full width drawers at 80.5cm. It takes a metre of wall and goes up, which is what you want when the floor is already spoken for and the only free space is a corner between a window and a door.

The London Pine 6 Drawer Chest is W140 x D45 x H85cm with six drawers, each 59cm wide and 19.1cm high inside. It needs almost half a metre more wall than the tallboy and gives back a long surface at hip height, which is where a lamp, a tray for keys and watches, and a stack of folded washing waiting to be put away all end up living. In a bedroom with one long empty wall the chest is the better buy, and in a bedroom with no long empty wall it is not an option at all.

Drawer depth is worth comparing too. The tallboy drawers are 22.5cm high, the chest drawers 19.1cm. Jumpers and folded denim go in the tallboy, shirts and t-shirts in the chest.

The Mirror, and What Makes This Hamptons

The London Pine Mirror is 100 x 100cm and just 5.5cm deep, framed in the same white with the same moulded detailing. It fixes to the top of the chest or hangs anywhere in the room, and if you want the pair together as one purchase there is a London Pine 6 Drawer Chest with Mirror sold as a set.

A square metre of mirror is doing more than reflecting an outfit. Hung opposite or beside a window it takes whatever light the room gets and puts it back into the far corner, which in a south-facing bedroom or a ground floor room shaded by the neighbour's fence is the cheapest thing you can do to stop the space feeling like a cave at four in the afternoon.

That is also the honest summary of what makes the London range read as Hamptons rather than plain white furniture. It is not one feature. It is the panelled fronts, the moulded edges, the plinth base and the round knobs, all in a flat white that reflects rather than shines. Put those together and you get the look without a single decorative object on the shelf, which is the version that still looks right in ten years.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do the drawers on a London bed frame open?

At the foot. Both drawers are built into the footboard and pull straight out toward the end of the bed, so you do not need clearance along the sides. A London bed can sit hard against a wall, or in a corner, and the storage still works.

How big are the under bed drawers?

Each drawer is 43.7cm deep and 24.9cm high inside. The width depends on the bed: 59cm on the double, 66.5cm on the queen and 81.5cm on the king. There are two drawers on every bed that has them.

Is the London range solid timber?

The structure is solid pine, finished in crisp white with panelled headboards, moulded edges and a plinth base. The beds use a solid slat base, so no separate ensemble or bed base is needed under the mattress.

What is the difference between the London tallboy and the chest?

Footprint. The tallboy is 100cm wide and 120cm tall with five drawers, so it stores upward. The chest is 140cm wide and 85cm tall with six drawers, so it stores sideways and gives you a usable surface at hip height.

Can the London mirror be used on its own?

Yes. It measures 100 x 100cm and only 5.5cm deep. It can be fixed to the top of the London chest or hung by itself on any wall in the room.