# How to plan storage around a trundle bed Canonical HTML: [How to plan storage around a trundle bed](https://spacemadeuseful.co.uk/use-under-bed-space-with-a-trundle/) Practical guide · [Bedroom](https://spacemadeuseful.co.uk/under-bed-storage/) · Measure the full movement of a trundle bed and find storage outside its path. Check bed-specific drawers, mattress clearance and guest access. Space Made Useful · Updated November 2026 · ![A partly extended trundle beneath a sage-green day bed](https://spacemadeuseful.co.uk/assets/images/batch6-use-under-bed-space-with-a-trundle.jpg) The main decision ## Keep storage out of the trundle’s moving path Identify the exact lower bed and mark its parked, moving and open positions. Use dedicated storage only where the maker provides for it, or find a separate location outside the full route. ## Find out how your lower bed works Pull out the manual for the exact trundle and upper bed. Some lower beds roll straight across the floor, while others have a mechanism that raises the lower mattress after it clears the main frame. Other models incorporate separate drawers in the lower base. That design distinction tells you whether there is a designated place for belongings and which areas the bed uses every time it moves. For example, IKEA describes VIHALS as a trundle for a compatible upper frame and gives a maximum mattress thickness for that model. IKEA’s SLÄKT underbed is a different design with built-in drawers and its own mattress specification. Treat those as examples of how much the instructions can vary. Check your own model for approved mattresses, parking position, locks, and whether bedding can stay on it when it slides under. A change in mattress or the bulk of a tucked-in blanket can make a previously easy movement catch. Julian Bowen’s Ellie underbed is another example. The maker describes its solid base as suitable for guest-bed use or storage. For that kind of approved dual-use design, decide where the contents will go while guests use the bed. Make the switch as directed by the maker. If you have inherited the bed, look for its label and find the assembly instructions before relying on a lock or raising mechanism. Ask the maker how to confirm the right model if the label is unclear. Use the trundle as supplied and as the maker directs. A free gap behind one visible wheel says little about what happens as the bed reaches its final position. ## Mark the path in both directions Start with the lower bed completely parked. Stand on the normal pull-out side and note the position of the nearest furniture, skirting, door and rug. With the help and sequence specified by the maker, bring the bed to its sleeping position and mark the outside corners temporarily with tape. Check where you stand to pull, turn or raise it. Measure from the furthest projecting part, including the foot or handle, and allow room to use any lock. Run through the return movement as well. Bunched bedding, a sliding rug and a nearby chair can cause trouble when you can no longer see the inner wheels. If the door opens across the area, try the door in its normal position and plan the room so you can enter and leave while the trundle is in use. Keep any spare bedside furniture outside the marked area. **Illustrative room plan.** A trundle projects 86 cm from the upper bed when open. A chest 103 cm away leaves a 17 cm strip beyond the trundle. That number describes a gap, not a usable walking route. Sketch where you can actually reach the bed and where the room door opens before treating the arrangement as workable. ## Choose somewhere outside the swept area Use integrated drawers only as their instructions allow. Open and close them with the trundle in the permitted position. Keep contents below the rim and within the maker’s limits so the drawer can travel normally. For a guest bed, a shallow set of sheets and pillowcases can be easier to lift than a tightly packed pile of bedding. If there are two compartments, put the first-night set in the one you can reach first. Keep independent storage outside the full movement area. A cupboard shelf, chest drawer or clear space under a different bed can hold supplies you need when guests arrive. In a room with a wardrobe and very little floor space, a single bag on an accessible shelf makes the changeover simpler than several small containers scattered around the bed. Label the bed size on the outside of the bag if you keep sheets for more than one bed. If you think a separate bay on the far side of the upper frame might be usable, check the manual and look at the entire parked and moving footprint. Account for cross members, braces and wheel movement. Use the general [under-bed measuring guide](https://spacemadeuseful.co.uk/measure-under-bed-storage/) only once you have established a genuinely separate bay. Put storage elsewhere when its separation from moving parts cannot be confirmed. ## Set up a repeatable guest-bed routine Keep the route clear before bedtime. Put a laundry bag or spare pillow in its permanent location first, then move the lower bed as directed. Prepare the bedding after the trundle is in its sleeping position if that is what the instructions require. The next morning, strip or arrange the bedding to the permitted thickness, check the track or floor for small items and return the bed to its parked position. A folded blanket tucked by the wheels can shift as soon as you start rolling. If someone regularly sleeps in the lower bed, think through where their books, water and other belongings go when the bed is out. Make that spot reachable without stepping over the frame and outside the room’s normal walking route. In an especially narrow room, the [shared under-bed layout guide](https://spacemadeuseful.co.uk/organise-under-bed-storage-for-two/) offers ideas for separate access zones in other usable bays. Those zones only work once each bed and door can move through its full path. ## Questions before you choose ### Can I keep boxes under the bed with a trundle? Only in a separate verified bay outside the full parked and moving footprint, or in storage provided for that purpose by the bed maker. Otherwise choose another location. ### How do I measure the trundle when it is open? Mark its outermost corners in its sleeping position, including feet and handles. Then check where the door swings and where you stand to move it or reach the bed. ### Can the bedding stay on the trundle when it goes back? Check the exact instructions for mattress height and clearance when parked. Bulky bedding can catch even if the specified mattress fits. ### Can I use a trundle as a drawer? Use it that way only where the maker explicitly approves storage use. Some models have a separate drawer while others are designed only as beds. ### Should a trundle roll over a rug? Check the floor and setup requirements for your model. Test its normal route as directed and move a loose rug clear if it catches or bunches. ### Where can I keep spare sheets for the trundle? Use a reachable cupboard, drawer or separate bed bay. Keep the sheets together and out of the trundle’s movement path. ## How we put this guide together We reviewed IKEA VIHALS and SLÄKT specifications and the Julian Bowen Ellie instructions and listing. These examples show different approaches to compatibility and built-in storage. The room dimensions are illustrative. [Read our source policy](https://spacemadeuseful.co.uk/source-policy/) **Space Made Useful** We compare documented dimensions, opening mechanisms and other details that help you choose storage for the space you have. [How we research our guides](https://spacemadeuseful.co.uk/editorial-policy/).