5 Tips For Selecting The Best Nightstand For Your Bedroom

Your nightstand or bedside table is more than just the piece of furniture that sits next to your bed. It's a versatile companion that holds the items that help you get to sleep and the ones you reach for first thing in the morning. Everything from your phone and alarm clock to a glass of water, medication, or that great book you couldn't put down until you dozed off will be stored there. And don't forget your chargers. The bedside table is an important element in your bedroom's overall design. And, as Practical Perfection points out, this small piece of furniture is usually the last thing you see before drifting off to sleep and the first thing you see when you wake up.

This is why choosing the right bedside table is so important. The best table for you will depend on a number of factors, including the size of your room, the amount of storage you need, whether you want drawers or just a flat tabletop, the ways you intend to use your nightstand, and the overall look and style you're going for in your bedroom. Below are five tips to choosing the correct nightstand for you and your space.

Perhaps the most important factor to consider when it comes to choosing your nightstand is the size. This will be determined by the overall size of your room and the height of your bed. Stampin Fool says that the best bedside tables are typically 28 to 30 inches tall, but this number is very flexible. Ultimately, you should choose the height that makes it easiest to reach the items you intend to store there.

Stampin Fool goes on to recommend measuring both the height of your bed and the available space in your bedroom to determine how tall and wide the stand should be. When it comes to the height of the table versus the height of your bed, they should be about the same height, give or take about 2 inches. Also be sure to measure the width of the space in regards to any nearby windowsills or doorways to make sure the stand will fit comfortably without looking crammed.

Many nightstands have stylish storage options, including drawers or cubbies for baskets and books. Some, however, don't have any storage. Determining what you like to have by your bedside and how much space those items will take up will help you narrow down your options. Practical Perfection recommends choosing a bedside table with at least one drawer. This way, the top of your stand won't be overrun with loose items and clutter.

To keep all your items organized inside the drawer (or drawers), you should start by deciding whether some things would be better stored elsewhere and which items need to go altogether. Once you've narrowed everything down to the essentials, you might want to purchase drawer organizers to keep everything nice and neat. However, Merry Maids says that sometimes, there's just not enough storage. If that's the case, think about replacing your table lamp with a floor lamp or adding a floating shelf above your bed for décor pieces. This will free up the top of your nightstand for the things you need easy access to.

Naturally, your style preferences will play a big part in determining what nightstand you choose. If you like minimalist spaces, then the surface of your stand can be smaller. On the other hand, if you like to display lots of personal items and décor pieces, choosing a larger design will make more sense.

When it comes to decorating a nightstand, begin by identifying the necessary items like books, tissues, a lamp, and electronics, explains Rooms To Go. Designate areas for these items, either inside drawers or on top of your table. From there, you can add decorative pieces, including framed photographs, a small plant, or a vase. Style Me Pretty recommends hiding your charging cords. To do this, you could drill a hole in the back of your table's drawer and feed the cord through, like Practical Perfection did. You could also hide the chargers behind the stand, or find another place to charge your electronics.

You want to choose a bedside table that works the best for you and your space. For instance, if you like to read in bed, a stand that can hold both your reading lamp and books is important. Style Me Pretty emphasizes the importance of having easy to reach lighting, either directly on the table, mounted on the wall, or on the floor. Another way to make your space more functional is by adding a catch-all basket or dish. This will corral all those loose items you typically toss on your nightstand haphazardly.

Storing the smaller items inside your table will also make it more functional. This could be chapstick, hair ties, pens, sticky notes or a notebook, a cup coaster, hand lotion, and tissues. Design expert Kelly Nan keeps medicine, extra clothes, and other personal items in her three drawer design. With a little direction and focus on functionality, everything you regularly need at night can find a home in your bedside table.

If you're putting a nightstand on each side of your bed, don't worry about them being identical. In fact, they don't even have to be the same style. One could look modern while the other could have a bohemian flare. According to Hayneedle, choosing two nightstands with different styles will create an eclectic-looking bedroom. A super chic look could even incorporate two stands of varying heights and shapes. To maintain a cohesive overall design, you could choose two different stands of the same style, like two farmhouse pieces, but with different drawer layouts or colors.

She Holds Dearly loves the look of two different nightstands but also likes to make them look at least a little similar. To this end, they recommend staying with similar heights. If one stand is slightly higher than the other, you could balance their heights with a slightly taller lamp on the shorter side. Another tip is to add matching finishing touches to both stands by including the same hardware or the same textural element, like a woven basket.