nightstand heaven

I love beautiful nightstands just about as much as anything (excluding the important things in life, of course - i.e. friends, family, etc...). People often fuss over getting the perfect bed and bedding only to skimp on the tables that flank the bed. A beautiful nightstand is like a great handbag that completes the outfit. Design Tip: There's no need to have matching nightstands. It's more fun to mix it up a bit! I love it when a bedroom has one hard-surfaced nightstand (wood, metal, plastic, etc.) and one that's softer, like a round table draped in a beautiful tablecloth that coordinates with your bedding. If you bought an entire bedroom suite and you're sick of the matchy-matchy look, swap out a nightstand. Leave your bigger, more expensive pieces as they are (bed, dresser, armoire, etc.) and go find a great side table that compliments your existing furniture. Also, get nightstands that are actually big enough to be functional - space permitting, of course. A nightstand only large enough to hold a plastic alarm clock and a single stack of books isn't very user-friendly. Budget-friendly Solution: Purchase or make an inexpensive round table top. It can be made from particle board, MDF, plastic, whatever. Then find something to act as a base - a stack of phone books, five gallon bucks stacked on top of each other, a cinder block, whatever. Then drape the makeshift table with a tablecloth or piece of fabric. For a more expensive look, double up on the material. Use a piece of felt or flannel underneath the tablecloth to give it a richer, more expensive feel.

Equally as fun are the little things that you put on top of and inside of the nightstand. Delicate lamps, a framed photo of a family member, beautiful books (and the paperback you're currently reading), little nic-nacs, a low and tightly bunched floral arrangement, a clock and so on. Here are just a few nightstands that make me pause.

I'm in the process of re-doing my bedroom and can't wait to adorn my nightstands with beautiful (and functional) things that represent me. And, when I do, you can be sure I'll brag...I mean blog about it.