After working on this project for months, Jesse and I finally finished building one of the nightstands for our bedroom! And I love it!
It’s only been in the bedroom one full night so far, but boy is it convenient to have a place to set my phone, or book, and a glass of water at night before I go to bed!
The top is the same dark walnut finish as the dining room table. I think walnut is my new obsession. It’s so gorgeous! 
The real challenge of this project was building the drawer, especially on a scale this small. But I’m really happy with how it turned out. It’s perfect for sticking my headphones and other bedside trinkets inside. I can even fit a book in there, so it’s bigger than it seems.
The knob is from Anthropologie, and was the most expensive part of the project, if you broke everything down by price individually. (There will be a full breakdown of the total cost in the how-to post on Thursday!)
The reason why we decided to build our own nightstand was because I was having a tough time finding exactly what I wanted. The drawer was a must, and I also wanted a little shelf for storing extra books or trinkets. Ok, I really wanted a shelf to make bedroom vignettes, but can you blame me. My shelf has a few of my favorite DIY reads on display and this little vase my grandmother made a long time ago. 
Next on my list is getting a fun lamp so I can stop bugging Jesse to turn his on or off, and to FINALLY hang the vow art that I made almost 2 years ago above each of our nightstands. And of course we need to finish Jesse’s nightstand, but all in good time. Let’s just admire the beauty of this one a little longer…
I really want a large scale mirror or something for over the bed too. 
Le sigh! It feels so good to be making progress in all different areas of the house! And this weekend I’m making my bi-yearly pilgrimage to IKEA to scope out lamps, frames, curtains and everything else I don’t even know I need yet! 😉
What do you think of the nightstand? Worth the wait? What projects are you working on right now?
I love, love, LOVE the nightstand! What a great job! You know, rather than a large scale mirror over the bed, you might consider something I just saw on HGTV Rate My Space. They took 2 of those long closet door mirrors and hung them just above the nightstands, then hung 2 IKEA white pendant lamps from the ceiling in front of the mirrors over the nightstands rather than putting actual lamps on the tables. It was so pretty, so economical, the light was reflected so nicely by the mirrors, and the table top was uncluttered by a lamp.
Thank you! And that sounds awesome! If only I could convince Jesse to get into electrical work haha!
I am so impressed! It’s gorgeous! I can’t wait to see the pair of them together.
And I love those Anthro knobs! So classy!
Thanks Jess! I love them too!
It’s beautiful! We have similar ones, but from Ikea, not homemade. I’m too scare to build stuff with drawers…
Thanks! Jesse was scared too, but I think it came out really well!
It looks great! And I love that knob (I recently splurged on a knob from anthro and I’ll be sharing that tomorrow!)!
They are definitely a splurge, but I figured why not since I only needed 1!
That looks amazing! I just recently rearranged furniture so that my dresser serves as a night stand. Or it would if it weren’t piled with crap. Sigh. I’m so glad it’s finally warm enough for projects!
Thanks Mary! I’m so glad it’s warm again too! I let this thing dry in the sun on Saturday and had enough time to do 3 coats in one day. Love it!
Very cute little night stand 🙂 I really like the combination of the painted bottom and stained top. And I’m with you, I’m a big fan of walnut 🙂 The shot of your rings on the night stand is really cool!
Thanks so much Kelly! 🙂
It turned out great! The knob is super cute and I like the two toned look.
Thanks Christine! 🙂
I love the nightstand! I really want to start building my own furniture, with my husbands help of course! I also love your book collection on the bottom shelf of the nightstand. I have that same arrangement sitting on a shelf in my living room.
melaniegetsmarried.blogspot.com
Thanks Melanie! If you or your husband are handy with a few basic power tools it’s not really that hard! I hope you’ll be back for the tutorial on Thursday!
Nice work!! Nightstands/end tables are always SO hard for me to settle on. I think you were wise to build what you wanted instead of just buying one that would work but not meet your expectations.
Thanks Bekah! And I totally agree! That’s why we’ve been building so much lately!
Looks great! Love the book choices 😉
Haha thanks! I hid my Star Wars book under the bed for the shoot 😉
It looks great! The anthro knob was worth the splurge. Every time I go in there I try to think of a reason that I might need one of their knobs. I love them all!
They really are the best! We had such a hard time deciding which ones to get!
Jesse did a great job! It looks awesome.
I love the finish on the top – especially that it seems to have a little sheen to it. 🙂
How proud are you guys of your headboard and nightstand?! Your bedroom is turning into a little DIY showroom! haha
Haha you’re right! It is a showroom! Looks like I better buy some things to balance things out… Ha!
Have SO SO much fun at Ikea! We are lucky enough to live 10 minutes away, super dangerous:) And I have the YHL book too:)
Jessica
Lucky! It takes me 2 hrs. to get there so I don’t go very often.
They turned out really great! Well done. Now you have one more beautiful piece that you can say you made. That’s awesome!
Thank you Kelly! 🙂
i like it a lot. we are still looking for the perfect nightstand. im with you:
drawer, bottom shelf, cute. hard to find and a good price!!
my husband loathes building drawers so i have a feeling we will not build one of these but maybeee after i show him the details?
It wasn’t as hard as he thought it was going to be. It’s just a simple wooden slide. Ill have more details in Thursdays post! 🙂
it looks awesome! i love that pretty shiny knob! 🙂
Thanks Cassie! So do I! 🙂
That’s great! I’m really impressed with the drawer :). and dark walnut stain is the best, isn’t it? so pretty
Thank you! And yes! I’m completely obsessed with dark walnut right now! 🙂
You and Jesse are quite a pair. You succeeded in making something else that’s beautiful. It looks so simple but I would have no idea how to add a drawer. I am impressed. The walnut finish on the top is gorgeous. The shelf on the bottom is perfect. Everything in it’s place and everything looks beautiful.
Aww! Thanks Amy! You are so sweet! 🙂
Hi, Ashley! I’ve been following your blog for awhile as a lurker. Now Michelle from Decor and the Dog is making me stop being so shy and quiet and actually comment…that girl. Love you blog and love seeing what you’re doing with your house!
Haha! Well I’m glad she made you comment! And thank you! 🙂
That should be love *your* blog. #foreheadslap
Nice. I’m planning on doing something similar once we move so I’m looking forward to the How-To.
I seriously love it! It’s so nice to finally just have a nightstand!
Looks great! Keep it up.
Thanks! Maybe one day we can be woodworking masters like you! 😉
Your night stand looks great!
I just bought four green glasses just like yours at an antique store!
I’m also a VA blogger and am visiting through Decor and the Dog.
Love meeting fellow VA bloggers! Welcome!
And I love those glasses! They are my favorite!
It’s so cute!
Thanks Melanie!
I love how it turned out! It’s really beautiful, plus handmade objects are always extra special. Thanks for sharing at Monday Funday 🙂
Thanks! 🙂
This came out beautifully! I love it! Want to make two for me? 😉
Haha! Jesse and I have been joking about starting an Etsy shop for furniture. Those shipping costs would be nuts though.
My husband and I are actually attempting to make these same night-stands now! We have a tall bed and had already decided that we needed to take the DIY approach to finding the right sized night-stands, and when we saw yours, we just fell in love!
Your blog has been very inspiring, I’m going to have to take some time in the new year to go through and read more of it!
Thanks so much Caryn! You’re so sweet! I hope everything with the nightstand goes well for you guys! I’d love to see pictures when you’re done! 🙂
Our night-stands are finally done:
http://carynska.blogspot.com/2014/04/oh-yeah-we-built-night-stands.html
They look awesome! Thumbs up! 🙂
Do you possibly have the dimensions of all the wood I would need to get? This is my first time with a DIY project like this! Thank you 🙂