How to Decorate HER Nightstand

I decorated my nightstand at the same time I decorated his nightstand.  But, something was off.  I lived with it for a few weeks to figure out just what was wrong.  Once I did, I made one simple change that made a world of difference.  Today, I want to show you my pretty, styled nightstand.

I loved my hubby’s side of the bed so much, I almost wanted to steal everything and put it on my nightstand. But, I resisted, and came up with something as fabulous for my side of the bed.

When I first decorated the nightstand, I used everything you see above.  But, something was missing.  Without adding anything, I made one simple change to make this nightstand styling sing!

I started out with the matching lamp. There are many places in the home where I believe it is good to mix it up and go against matching, but I LOVE matching bedside lamps. The perfect symmetry makes this girl happy.

Continuing with the symmetry, I leaned a similar size framed picture on my nightstand. The picture is one of our favorite wedding photos with the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, where we were married, off in the background. The same picture was the basis for the silhouette art in my dining room. The picture was in a boring black frame that I made over using this easy gold leaf technique.

Off to the left of the framed picture, I created a decor grouping. Stacked two-tone boxes gave extra height to a driftwood ball. In front of the boxes, a small teal hobnail glass holds artificial mini calla lilies (my wedding flower). To finish out the trio of decor, I added another personal touch with a brass letter H stencil in a photo holder.

The two-tone boxes were the key element to make this whole look work.  They started out a solid wood color.  I loved the height they gave to the driftwood ball.  I love how they filled the corner.  But, they were dark.  I agonized over switching them out for something else, but I love them so.  The detail on the front of the boxes is so beautiful.  Too bad, they were creating a dark hole in the corner of my room, while my hubby’s nightstand was fresh and bright.

With one quick project, I made the boxes work for me.  I needed to lighten up the corner and wanted to keep my cherished boxes.  The answer was white paint.  Without covering up the detail I love about the boxes, I was able to brighten them up.  The white paint on the left side and tops of the lids, really freshens up the corner.  It also draws more attention to the detail on the front of the boxes.  A win-win.

On the other side of the nightstand closest to the bed is one of my favorites… my silver coaster. I picked up this small scalloped silver tray at the flea market. It is the perfect size to hold my water glass.  I added a pretty bowl next to it to hold hair binders, lip gloss, and any jewelry I forgot to take off before hopping in bed.

I added one extra thing to my side of the bed. I am always cold and love nothing more than to cozy up under a pile of blankets. My hubby is the opposite. We share the duvet on the bed, but I layer an extra blanket on my side. So, I added this cute galvanized bucket in front of my nightstand to hold my extra blanket and a sweater for chilly nights.

If you never believed in the power of decorating and it’s effects on your mood, then you need to decorate your nightstand right now! Seriously, it is so refreshing to walk into our room at night and see these beautiful nightstands with deeply personal touches. It is just as dreamy to wake up in the morning reaching for my water glass to see a pretty silver tray holding it with our lovely wedding picture in the background.