You definitely need to have room to move it in and out. I had one when I was a kid. The trick re: nightstands is to treat the bed the way you would a couch in the furniture arrangement; put any tables or bookcases at the head or foot of the bed, not beside it. (My kids both have hanging bags tucked under the mattress; those will hold a book, glasses, a pack of tissues and a drink bottle, all the essentials in an easy-to-reach spot.)
The one tricky thing about the one I had was safety. The folding mechanism has really high-tension springs, and getting a body part caught in a fold joint while opening or closing it is not a trivial matter. If you get one, make a point of supervising when it is opened and shut.