15 Bedroom Furniture With Cable Cut-Outs You’ll Love

Furniture with a cable opening solves a specific modern problem: phones, tablets, lamps, speakers and televisions all need power, and bedrooms were not designed for any of it. A cable cut out is simply a hole or a notch in the back panel that lets a lead pass through without the furniture sitting proud of the wall. It sounds minor. In practice it is the difference between a tidy bedside cabinet and one with a cable draped over the front of it.

Below are fifteen types of bedroom furniture where the feature genuinely earns its place, along with what to look for in each. The principle throughout is the same: the opening should sit low on the back panel, be large enough for a plug where needed, and allow the piece to stand flush against the wall.

Bedside and sleeping area

1. Bedside cabinets with a rear notch. The most useful application of all. A notch cut into the bottom of the back panel lets a charger lead reach a socket while the cabinet sits tight to the skirting. Look for a cut out at least 40mm across so a moulded plug head can pass through during installation.

2. Bedside cabinets with an internal charging drawer. A step further: the cable enters at the back and terminates inside a drawer, so a phone charges out of sight. This keeps the surface clear and stops the cable being pulled when the drawer opens, provided there is a service loop inside.

3. Floating bedside shelves. Wall mounted units with a rear channel keep the floor clear and hide the lead behind the unit. They suit narrow gaps between a bed and a wall where a full cabinet will not fit.

4. Ottoman and storage beds with a headboard opening. Some frames include a cable route through or behind the headboard for a reading light or a phone. Check that the opening is positioned where your sockets actually are before assuming it will help.

5. Bedside tables with a top surface grommet. A circular grommet in the top lets a short cable rise to a lamp or a charging stand without lying across the surface. It works best when the lamp position is fixed.

Across our modern bedside cabinets UK sale range the cable detail is listed in the specification, which is worth checking since two visually identical cabinets can differ on this alone.

Storage and dressing pieces

6. Dressing tables with a rear cable opening. Essential if you use hair tools. The opening lets an extension or a plug sit behind the table, keeping the top clear and avoiding a cable running over the edge where it can be caught.

7. Dressing tables with lit mirrors. Where a mirror includes integrated lighting, the cable route is usually built into the frame and exits at the back. Confirm whether the unit is plug in or requires wiring, since the two suit very different rooms.

8. Chests of drawers with a rear notch. Useful when the chest carries a television, a speaker or a lamp. The notch allows the unit to sit flush while still reaching a socket behind it.

9. Tall narrow chests used as media units. In smaller bedrooms a tall chest often doubles as a stand for a television. A cable opening at the top rear of the back panel is more useful here than one at the bottom, since it keeps the lead run short.

10. Wardrobes with an internal cable route. Less common but very practical where a wardrobe houses a router, a safe with a light or an internal LED strip. Look for a small grommet in the base or the rear panel.

Our modern chest of drawers UK sale and modern dressing tables UK ranges include several designs with these details built in rather than added afterwards.

Media and desk furniture in the bedroom

11. Television stands sized for a bedroom. Bedroom televisions usually sit on a lower and narrower stand than a living room equivalent. A full width cable channel across the back, rather than a single hole, makes managing several leads far easier.

12. Entertainment units with rear ventilation and cable access. Where a set top box or a games console lives in the bedroom, airflow matters as much as cable routing. An open back or a large rear cut out handles both.

13. Wall mounted television panels. These conceal the cable run entirely behind a panel, which is the tidiest solution where the television is mounted rather than stood. Our modern TV stands UK sale selection shows both stand and panel formats side by side.

14. Compact desks used as dressing or work surfaces. A desk in a bedroom needs the same cable discipline as one in an office. A grommet in the top plus a notch at the back keeps a laptop charger and a lamp lead from tangling.

15. Bedside and bedroom cabinets with integrated sockets. The most complete version of the idea: a unit with a socket or a USB point built into the carcass, fed by a single lead to the wall. It removes the need for a socket beside the bed entirely, though it does require the single feed cable to be routed neatly.

What to check before you buy

Position is more important than presence. A cut out at the top of a back panel is useless if your socket sits at skirting level, and one at the bottom is awkward for a lamp standing on top. Look at the photographs of the rear panel, not just the specification line.

Size determines whether you can fit the plug through. Many openings are sized for a bare cable rather than a moulded three pin plug, which means threading the lead before fitting the plug is not an option. An opening of 50mm or more is comfortable. Anything under 30mm will only take slim leads.

Check the back panel construction as well. A thin hardboard back with a punched hole can tear over time if the cable is repeatedly pulled. A solid panel with a finished grommet ring will not.

Consider the room layout too. Bedrooms in older UK houses often have a single double socket on one wall, which limits where cable friendly furniture can usefully go. Mapping your sockets before choosing furniture saves a great deal of rearranging later. It is a small piece of planning, and across the bedroom collections at Furniture in Fashion it is the one detail shoppers most often wish they had checked first.

Keeping cables tidy once the furniture is in

Use a short service loop inside the furniture rather than pulling a lead taut. Taut cables strain both the plug and the panel edge, and they make it impossible to move the unit for cleaning.

Group leads with reusable ties rather than adhesive clips, which fail on painted and veneered surfaces over time. Where several devices charge in one place, a single multi socket inside a drawer or behind the unit is tidier than four separate leads running to the wall.

Finally, avoid running cables under rugs or across walkways. It is a trip risk and it damages the cable insulation through repeated compression.

Planning a bedroom around the devices you actually use

Before choosing furniture, list what needs power in the room and where. A phone and a lamp at each side of the bed. Possibly a tablet. A television if the room has one. Hair tools at a dressing table. An electric blanket or a fan seasonally. Most bedrooms need between four and eight outlets, and most have two.

Once the list exists, the furniture choices follow logically. The bedside needs cable access and ideally a charging point. The dressing table needs a rear opening and a socket within reach. The television position dictates whether a stand with a cable channel or a wall panel makes more sense.

Where sockets are genuinely insufficient, a single extension placed inside a cabinet and fed by one lead is tidier and safer than several leads running across the room. Keep it accessible rather than sealed behind furniture, and avoid daisy chaining extensions together.

Why the detail matters more in small bedrooms

In a large bedroom, a cable running a metre across the floor is untidy but tolerable. In a room where the bed, a chest and a wardrobe occupy most of the floor, the same cable crosses a walkway and becomes a genuine nuisance.

Furniture that sits flush to the wall also recovers depth. A cabinet held 40mm off the skirting by a plug is 40mm further into the room, and repeated across three pieces that adds up to a noticeable loss in a compact space.

This is why cable openings are worth prioritising in smaller rooms even though they are usually described as a convenience feature. They are really a space feature, and they happen to keep the room looking calmer as well.

Frequently asked questions

What is a cable cut out in furniture?
It is an opening in the back panel or the top surface of a unit that allows power and data leads to pass through, so the furniture can sit flush against a wall with cables hidden behind it.

Do I need furniture with cable openings in a bedroom?
If you charge devices at the bedside, use a television or plug in hair tools at a dressing table, yes. In a bedroom with no plugged devices other than a lamp, it makes little difference.

How big should the opening be?
Around 50mm is comfortable and will usually accept a standard moulded plug. Openings under 30mm will only take slim cables, which means removing and refitting plugs during assembly.

Can I add a cable opening to existing furniture?
Yes, with a hole saw and a plastic grommet ring to finish the edge. Work on the back panel rather than the carcass sides, and check for internal fixings before cutting.

Is furniture with built in sockets worth it?
It is convenient where the bed sits far from a wall socket, since it consolidates several leads into one. Check that the built in unit is replaceable, because integrated electrical parts age faster than the furniture around them.