Stylish alternatives to the traditional bedside table

Eclectic Bedroom by Katy SB (Photo: Kristy Noble)
Author: Joanna Simmons

There’s nothing wrong with sourcing your bedside storage units from the bedroom department of an interiors store, but purpose-built designs are only one part of the picture. There’s a huge range of other options, all of which will perform those vital bedside roles – providing a surface for a book, a glass of water and a light, and perhaps offering some storage too.

From coffee tables liberated from the living room to vintage trunks and simple step ladders, the choice is wide, with designs to suit any scheme. Take a look at these 10 inspiring ideas.

1. Delight in drawers
Squeeze maximum functionality from the space by your bed by using a small chest of drawers as a bedside unit. Its top can offer the perfect spot for a lamp, while the drawers provide useful storage. This is a great solution for a bedroom that’s short on space.

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2. Repurpose an old find
Wooden fruit crates, packing chests and metal trunks can all be repurposed as vintage-style bedside storage. This is a wallet-friendly solution that will bring lots of character to your bedroom too.

19 inventive repurposing ideas

3. Pick an antique piece
A delicate Victorian bedside table will bring subtle elegance to a bedroom. Prevent it looking stuffy or old-fashioned by teaming it with bright bedding, a painted floor or contemporary wallpaper.

4. Source an all-in-one design
Bed frames that were made with a bedhead and bedside units as part of the structure were popular from the 1950s right through to the 1970s. Often made in teak, these vintage designs are a neat piece of multi-functional bedroom furniture with a smartly coordinated look. Source an original model online.

5. Call on a side table
Any small table can work well as a bedside unit, so scour the living room section of interiors stores as well as the bedroom department when shopping for bedside solutions.

6. Try a tiny shelf
In a compact bedroom or one where the bed is slotted against the wall, a mini shelf can perform the role of a larger bedside unit, but on a small scale. There isn’t sufficient space for a table lamp in this arrangement, but a wall light or pendant is the perfect alternative.

The right bedside table for you

7. Choose long legs
Any furniture mounted on elegant legs can help a space feel bigger by allowing you to see through to the wall behind. This works just as well in a bedroom as in any room, so choose a leggy piece with a delicate silhouette to keep the space feeling open and generous.

8. Build in a bedside solution
If you are radically redesigning your bedroom, consider building bedside units into the space. In this scheme, a bedhead is fitted across a window, with an integrated wooden bedside unit on each side and wired-in sockets and lighting.

This is a bespoke solution, but constructing simple box shelves on the walls by the bed would be a similar alternative.

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9. Step on the style
A simple stepladder makes a perfect bedside unit, with the treads providing storage space and the structure offering scope for lamps to be clipped on.

Try painting an inexpensive wooden piece in a colour to suit your scheme, but avoid using in a young child’s bedroom, where the temptation to climb may prove too great!

Repurpose a rickety old ladder

10. Explore above
Consider the area over the bedhead when the spaces immediately either side are not available for furniture. Here, the wall above the bed contains handy shelves, both for display and storing bedtime reading. Pendant lights hanging down offer illumination, but wall lights would work beautifully too.

For more inspiration, browse the bedroom photo gallery on Houzz

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