Roma Dressing Table: 85cm high, and the stool question

The Roma Dressing Table is listed at 110 x 45 x 85cm. The description says nothing else, and one of those three numbers is worth a long look before you order anything to go with it.

Why the height is the figure to check

Desks and most dressing tables are built somewhere around 72cm to 76cm high, because that is the height at which a seated adult's forearms rest comfortably. The figure listed here is 85cm. If that is the height, this piece stands roughly a hand's width taller than the dressing table you have sat at before, and that changes things: you would be working at it with your elbows lifted, or standing at it, which some people prefer for hair and make-up because the light is better and the mirror is nearer eye level.

There is a second possibility, and we would rather raise it than let you discover it. The three figures are unlabelled, as they are across this range, and nothing in the listing says which is which. Ask us to confirm the height against the item before you buy a stool for it. It is one short phone call against a piece of furniture you cannot sit at.

Pairing it with a seat

The Roma Mirrored Stool from the same range is listed at 41 x 33 x 42cm. Against an 85cm top that leaves a large gap between seat and surface, which suits perching and reaching rather than settling in to write. If you want to sit low and work high, that pairing is right; if you want desk posture, measure a dining chair instead and bring the two figures to us.

Knee room is the other half of it. At 45cm deep there is not a lot of surface to work on, so the mirror and anything standing on the top eat into it quickly. Plan what lives permanently on the surface before you decide 110cm is enough.

The wall above and the light

Nothing in the listing says whether a mirror is included, how many drawers there are, or what the finish is. If you are hanging a mirror separately, set its centre around standing eye level rather than seated, given the top height, and check the socket position for a lamp or a plug-in light on the same wall. The photographs on the Roma Dressing Table page tell you more about the look than the written description does, and we can check what storage it actually has before you order.

What else matches it

In the bedroom the Roma Bedside Table - 3 Drawers and the Roma 4 Drawer Dresser are the companion pieces, and the Roma Pedestal 55 at 30.5 x 30.5 x 71cm fits a narrow gap beside a bed. The full range is under Mirrored Furniture. Delivery is free inside 50 miles of the Glasgow store and £50 further out.