Bedside Manner: Creative nightstand ideas for your chic home
Design & Photo: Time & Place Interiors
I’ve finally put the finishing touches on our New York guest bedroom/home office space, with Mid Century Danish “floating” nightstands installed on the wall. They keep the space clear underneath and show off our custom baseboards. I’ve paired them with a coordinating Danish teak dresser, a simple platform bed that sits over a vintage Persian rug, and a textile wall hanging I selected in lieu of a headboard.
While there are great proper nightstand pair sets out there, among both vintage and contemporary models, there are also opportunities to get creative with unusual bedside tables, if you want something a little more eclectic. You could try one-off antique finds, or even repurpose a piece that wasn’t meant to be used as a nightstand, per se, like a cocktail table, storage chest, or small stool. A guest bedroom is an especially fun place to experiment with nightstands.
For your inspiration, check out these intriguing nightstand ideas, many featuring vintage and antique designs. And, when you’ve found the perfect bedside table, don’t forget to dress it up with a sweet little reading lamp. For an extra touch of self-love or thoughtful hospitality, add a small bouquet on the nightstand: the day will start off right when you wake up to flowers in the morning.
For more bedroom styling inspiration, see my other posts:
For comfortable reach, a bedside table should be approximately the same height as the top of your mattress, like in this delightful antique table vignette:
Design & Photo: Georgie Stogdon
But, if you find a great little nightstand, and it’s too short, don’t worry. You can always stack a set of books over it, like this designer did:
Design & Photo: Russell Loughlan
Bedside tables are a great way to practice mixing and matching decor styles. In a traditionally styled space, adding a sleek modern accent table adds a bit of fresh insouciance. Here’s a fabulous example with a Mathieu Matégot side table, in a New York farmhouse:
Design: Billy Cotton / Photo: Stephen Kent Johnson
The reverse works equally well. Adding an antique into a modern interior grounds the room with authentic age, like with this Art Deco nightstand in a modernized bedroom:
Design: Fabrizio Casiraghi / Photo: Cerruti & Draime
Nightstands are the perfect opportunity to introduce a statement with an intriguing shape, ornate pattern, or unusual material. This New York City studio has a very cool trompe-l'œil carved pedestal table next to the bed:
Design: Elle McGrath with Patrick McGrath / Photo: Fran Parente
Or, you can keep things classy and simple, with an iconic Mid Century Modern design, like this Saarinen style table in Brooklyn:
Design: C. S. Valentin / Photo: Jonathan Hokklo
Who said nightstands need to match each other? It’s perfectly okay for either side of the bed to have a different end table. For visual balance, try to make each nightstand the same height. Here’s a lovely example in an Upstate New York bedroom:
Design: Melissa Ventosa Martin / Photo: David Chow
A simple solution: use a side chair as a nightstand. Move it around as needed, especially if it’s in a multi-purpose room. This inspiration is from an tastefully artistic Brooklyn apartment:
Design: Casey Kenyon & Jonathon Beck / Photo: Roland Bello
The little side stool, the ever-flexible piece of furniture that every space needs, is another easy solution for a nightstand, especially in a small bedroom. Here’s a cute milking stool example:
Design: Marianne Evennou / Photo: Gregory Timsit
You can even repurpose an old chest for the job of bedside surface, with the added benefit of storage space. Here’s an image from my dream vacation house in Portugal:
Design: Cucumbi / Photo: Sanda Vuckovic
In a bind? Stack up a bunch of books, and voila! You have an intellectual’s nightstand, à la this hip Brooklyn bedroom:
Design: Audrey Rose Smith & Vicente Muñoz / Photo: William Jess Laird
Setting up a bedroom that needs a jolt of personality?
Time & Place Interiors specializes in eclectic spaces that create feelings of comfort through vintage, antique, and contemporary designs. We blend modern and traditional to tell your personal story through your home decor. Use the link below to schedule a free 20-minute information call with founder Ksenya Malina to discuss your design project:
