Small Bedroom? Here's Why a Slimboy Works Better

Objective

To explain how a Slimboy can provide practical drawer storage while taking up less floor space, helping New Zealand homeowners choose the right compact storage solution for small bedrooms and narrow spaces.

Key Takeaways

• A slimboy is a tall, narrow chest of drawers built to hold as much as a standard tallboy while using far less floor width.

• Most slimboys run around 500mm wide, against roughly 1000mm for a standard 6-drawer tallboy of similar height.

• A narrow chest of drawers like this suits bedrooms where a full-width dresser simply won't fit beside the bed or wardrobe.

• Drawer count doesn't drop much despite the smaller footprint, since the design goes up rather than out.

• A small bedroom furniture NZ shopper should measure wall space before choosing between a slimboy and a standard tallboy.

Table of Contents

1. What Is a Slimboy?
2. Slimboy vs Standard Tallboy
3. Why the Narrow Footprint Matters
4. Where a Slimboy Actually Fits
5. What to Check Before You Buy
6. FAQs
   

Fitting a bed, a wardrobe and a full-size chest of drawers into a small bedroom usually means one of the three doesn't quite fit. Something ends up jammed against a door, or blocking a window, or just missing from the room entirely.

A slimboy bedside NZ solves this by doing what a tallboy does in half the width. It's a straightforward idea, but it's one a lot of people don't think to look for until they've already tried to squeeze a standard dresser into a gap that was never going to take it. This blog covers what a slimboy actually is, how it compares to a regular chest of drawers, and where it makes the most sense in a small NZ bedroom. 

What Is a Slimboy?

A slimboy is a tall chest of drawers built narrow rather than wide. Instead of spreading storage across a broad frame, it stacks drawers vertically in a compact column, usually seven drawers deep in the ranges SuperPrice Furniture carries.

The Slimboy collection at SuperPrice Furniture runs around 500mm wide by 450mm deep, standing roughly 1300mm tall. That's a fraction of the footprint of a standard tallboy, while still giving seven separate drawers for clothes, accessories, or anything else that needs a proper home.

It's not a scaled-down version of a real dresser. It's built specifically to solve a width problem, which is exactly the problem most small bedrooms have.

Slimboy vs Standard Tallboy

The numbers make the difference clear. Here's how a typical slimboy compares to a standard 6-drawer tallboy of similar height.

A slimboy actually offers one more drawer than the wider tallboy, despite taking up half the floor space. That's the trade worth knowing about before assuming a bigger piece means more storage.

Why the Narrow Footprint Matters

Floor space in a small bedroom isn't really about how much furniture fits. It's about how much walking room is left once it does. A standard tallboy along one wall can eat a metre of width on its own, which in a small room often means the wardrobe door can't open fully or the bed has to sit closer to the window than it should. A slimboy in the same spot leaves that space back, without giving up drawer storage to do it.

This matters most in older NZ homes with smaller original bedrooms, and in units or apartments where every wall is already doing a job. A compact furniture NZ buyer in one of these homes usually isn't choosing a slimboy because it looks nice. They're choosing it because the alternative genuinely doesn't fit.

Where a Slimboy Actually Fits

A slimboy earns its place in specific spots, more than as a general dresser replacement.

• Beside a wardrobe. Fills the narrow gap between a wardrobe and a wall or window that a standard tallboy would overrun.

• Behind a bedroom door. Slim enough to sit clear of door swing where a wider piece would get in the way.

• In a child's or teen's bedroom. Gives proper drawer storage without taking over a room that also needs desk and play space.

• In a shared or box bedroom. Common in older Kiwi villas, where a second bedroom was never built with a full-size dresser in mind.

• Paired with a slat bed and headboard. Rounds out a bedroom set without crowding the walkway around the bed.

If your bedroom already has a full free wall and no width constraints, a standard tallboy will usually hold more per piece. The slimboy is for the rooms where that option isn't available.

What to Check Before You Buy

A few details are worth checking before choosing a slimboy over a wider alternative.

1. Measure the actual gap, not just the general wall. Slimboys are built for specific narrow spaces, so a few centimetres either way matters.

2. Check drawer depth, not just count. Seven shallow drawers won't hold as much as six deeper ones, depending on what you're storing.

3. Match the finish to the rest of the room. Slimboys come in the same ranges as tallboys and bedside tables, so matching sets is usually straightforward.

4. Check drawer runner quality. Daily-use drawers need proper runners, not just basic glides, especially in a piece that gets opened often.

5. Confirm stock and delivery. Popular finishes can sell out, so it's worth checking availability before planning a full bedroom set around one.

FAQs

1. Does a slimboy hold as much as a regular chest of drawers?
Close to it. A seven-drawer slimboy often holds nearly as much as a six-drawer tallboy, just distributed across narrower drawers.

2. Is a slimboy sturdy despite being so narrow?
Yes, when built properly. The height and depth give it the same stability as a standard tallboy, since the narrow dimension is only the width.

3. Can a slimboy work as a bedside table instead?
It's usually too tall for that role. Slimboys are built as drawer storage pieces, not bedside furniture, though they can sit close to a bed if space allows.

4. Will a slimboy match my existing bedroom furniture?
Most ranges include a slimboy alongside the matching tallboy, dresser and bedside tables, so finding a matching finish is usually simple.

5. Is a slimboy only useful for small bedrooms?
No. It also works well in a living room or hallway where a narrow storage piece is needed but a full-width dresser wouldn't fit.