Nightstand Decor

I think it was the arrival of Spring that inspired this fun project. I decided I wanted to liven up my nightstand, make it cute but keep it practical, and I wanted to use only items I had around the house (which, minus the lampshade, I did successfully). I really love my nightstand but I hadn't quite figured out how to make it look pretty. It's also a rather large surface, and keeping it too simple just makes it look bare. Here's the before.

Simple and basic--a plain lamp, books, lotion. I've put a lot of thought into a lot of areas of our house, but somewhere along the way my poor nightstand got neglected. Within just a few hours, it was transformed into this.

A big improvement, if I do say so myself! Other than primarily using items I knew I already had lying around, it was also important to me that my nightstand not look overly "styled," if you know what I mean. I try to take this approach in all of my decorating--I want my home to look natural and lived in, and I think that certain decorative touches can sometimes make a home look too "done up." For this project I mixed practical items with decorative items, and I think (I hope!) I achieved a look that's natural and simple but still pretty.

So here's what I did. I decided to use this square mirror as a tray (something I saw recently on a blog) and put just a few items on it--a clear bottle with flowers I gathered from the neighborhood, hand lotion, and a little dish for small items like bobby pins and lip balm. The print behind the tray is one of three New York City prints that my husband and I bought a few years ago. I haven't found a place in our home for all three to hang together, but I thought this would be a perfect place to display one of them. The photograph is of the Brooklyn Bridge in the wintertime.

A nightstand is never complete without some books, and I thought these would look sweet resting under my lamp. I swapped out the basic lamp for this antique lamp from my grandmother that wasn't currently being used. The cut glass reminds me of Hollywood glamour (I'm not sure why) and the one item I did buy was this modern, white linen lampshade to go with it. Tucked in the corner is a bottle of homemade lavender linen spray (livened up with a homemade label) which I spray on our freshly cleaned sheets and pillows. 

And that's it! I love the way it turned out and it's amazing how much more beautiful our bedroom feels as a result. It's a healthy mix of useful (hand cream, lavender spray, bowl for small loose items, books) and decorative (flowers, NYC print, mirror tray). Furthermore, I spent very little money, used items that were not in use elsewhere, and had fun doing it!