DIY Nightstand: How to Build a Simple DIY Nightstand

A nightstand is a small, short table meant to sit at your bedside like an end table in the living room. This piece of furniture will usually have a drawer or two for storage. People typically use their bedside tables to keep lamps, alarm clocks, books, or other belongings. Building your own nightstand is an easy DIY project that requires a few woodworking materials and simple pieces of hardware.

Building your own nightstand at home is simple, and there are plenty of novel DIY nightstand plans to draw from. These types of DIY nightstands are relatively simple to execute, and can add style to your bedroom decor.

1. 1. Mid-century nightstand: A mid-century modern nightstand is a simple structure, typically with a white or wooden box with a single drawer held up by small hairpin legs.
2. 2. Floating nightstand: A floating nightstand is attached to the wall, and does not have legs. You can attach your nightstand’s body to the wall to make a floating nightstand.
3. 3. Rustic nightstand: You can give your nightstand a more rustic look by using found objects, like a sliding barn door or woven baskets for storage.
4. 4. Cheese box nightstand: You can upcycle an old cheese box to make a great and budget-friendly nightstand.

Making a DIY nightstand at home is easy. All you need are a few woodworking supplies and some household tools you might already have on hand. Here is what you will need to build a simple wooden nightstand.

• Lumber: You’ll need a few pieces of lumber to build your nightstand, including a wood panel for your tabletop, two equally-sized wood panels for the table sides, a panel for the shelf, and a few 2x4 pieces of lumber to make the nightstand frame.
• Woodworking tools: You’ll need a circular saw or miter saw to cut your lumber, and wood glue, clamps, and shelf support pins to keep your wooden frame together as you’re working. You should also have some wood stain and a paintbrush on hand if you plan to treat your wood.
• Household tools and hardware: You’ll need dowels and a dowel jig to fasten your frame together. Use pocket hole screws and a drill to fasten the parts of your frame together. You’ll also need a tape measure to measure the dimensions of your nightstand.

Follow this step-by-step tutorial to build your own simple wooden nightstand at home.

1. 1. Make your building plans. Measure out the dimensions of your nightstand, taking note of your desired length, width, and height of the structure. If you want to add a drawer, make sure your nightstand is at least as deep as the drawer sliders you have.
2. 2. Cut the lumber for your frame. Measure your 2x4 pieces to the height and depth of your nightstand. Make sure to account for the thickness of the tabletop and your nightstand sides. Cut your 2x4 pieces using the circular or table saw, so that you have eight pieces, four for each side of the frame.
3. 3. Build the nightstand frame. Use your dowel jig to create small holes in the ends of your 2x4 pieces, so that they will connect to make your nightstand frame. Use wood glue and dowels to slot your frames together. Use clamps to hold the joints together as the wood glue dries for at least 24 hours.
4. 4. Add the sides of your nightstand. Cut your wood panels to fit over the sides of the frames. Using your drill, screw the side panels onto your frame. You can also drill screws from the inside diagonally into the side of the frame to hide the screw heads.

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