Floating Nightstand

3 Materials
$50
1 Day
Medium
We completely gutted our master bedroom and want to put it back together without spending a ton of money. We invested in great blackout curtains and a fabulous mattress. Everything else has been sourced from sales or, in the case of our new nightstands, made from simple materials for optimal impact. We don't have a ton of space on either side of our king sized bed (the giant bed was non-negotiable for my husband), so we didn't want anything boxy or bulky. So we started to think about something flush against the wall that could provide us with at least one shelf for our morning cup of coffee and to keep our latest book within arms reach. Our final design consists of planks of wood secured to two wooden braces on the backside that hang from a support we mounted to the wall. A very simple 8" deep wood shelf gives us just enough space to hold a few items near the bed, but not too much space where it will collect junk overtime. We kept the colors simple and in line with our cozy smoky blue wall color. This design is great for any small space!
Our blank slate gave us tons of possibilities. A light and bright bed against the dark blue walls sets the tone for a relaxing master bedroom retreat. MATERIALS LIST: 1" - 16 gauge finish nails Air Compressor Drill 3" Construction Screws Reclaimed Wood Strap Toggles
STEP 1: Gather Your Wood The great thing about this project is that it's totally customizable. We took strips of wood we had from previous projects and pieced them together until we had a design we liked. We wanted it to be staggered both on the top and bottom, but you could do something more linear if that's your cup of tea. To get the perfect design, we did cut certain pieces to desired lengths and widths using our table saw and miter saw.


STEP 2: Make a Matching One Once we had a design nailed down, we cut two of everything so that our two nightstands would match.
STEP 3: Build a Wall Brace This might be the most important part: the wall brace. We purchased a 5/4x4-8ft common board for this task. We drew a line exactly down the center of this board to make 2-2" boards. We then made these boards the width of our final nightstand design.
STEP 4: Secure the Boards We then took our two boards and made 45 degree angle cuts on both of them. One of these boards will be securely mounted to the wall with heavy duty anchors and the other will be mounted to the back of our floating night stand.
STEP 5: Place the Boards Together They will nest each other like this pictures shows here.
STEP 6: Secure Your Planks to the Brace Now that our brace is made, we took the one that will hold the floating nightstand and drew a perfectly even vertical line down the middle. This will get us started as we put together the piece. Using our finish nailer, we secured the planks to the brace.
STEP 7: Add Extra Support Once the design has been completely nailed to the brace, we added another piece of wood towards the bottom of the unit for extra support. This bottom brace is just a piece of wood -- no fancy cuts or anything.
STEP 8: Paint Your Planks Now the fun begins. A small disclaimer: it probably would have been easier to paint the planks before we assembled them. You live and learn with DIY projects! But now we can tell you and make your life a bit easier. Painting them at this point is totally doable, and to be honest, I'm not sure I would have known what I wanted before seeing it put together. It just takes a lot of precision and patience if you don't want to paint the whole unit one color. I decided to go for a bit of an ombre effect using the colors I had painted my walls in my bedroom. I went from keeping 2 planks of reclaimed wood raw, to painting the next 2 planks the dark smoky blue of our room, and then I wanted to do another blue color before I painted the last two planks white. To do this I just combined the dark blue with the white. It's now the perfect transition color.
STEP 9: Anchor Your Brace to the Wall Once everything is painted, it's time to mount the other half of our mounting braces. I checked to see where the studs were in our walls. I decided to use strap toggles to anchor this brace to the wall, so I needed to know where there weren't studs. Strap toggles are super sturdy and these held 70lbs each. I put up the brace to the wall and drilled 2 pilot holes. STEP 10: Screw in the Brace Once my pilot holes were made, I took the brace off the wall and drilled large holes for my strap toggles. Follow the instructions for the anchors you decide to use for your project. I installed the strap toggles and then put up the brace. I used washers with the screws that were supplied with the strap toggles and voila! One super sturdy wall brace to mount our floating nightstands!
STEP 11: Add a Shelf We wanted to add a shelf to this beauty so it can not only be a great art piece but also a nightstand. We drew a level line from one side to the other. We cut a piece of 5/4x8 common board to size to serve as our shelf. Once the line was drawn, we drew three pilot holes where 3" construction screws would secure this shelf to the unit.
STEP 12: Screw in the Shelf to the Wall We then screwed in the shelf from the back of the unit. We did this in three areas along the length of the shelf. Our shelf is only 8" deep and very light. You could also use an L bracket of some sort if you need/prefer more support for your shelf.
STEP 13: Place Your Nightstand on the Brace Place your nightstand on the mounted brace and you're done! Ours is incredibly sturdy and takes up no space at all! Plenty of room for a coffee cup, a book, and a cell phone (although we don't have alarm clocks near our bed -- it helps us wake up to have to get up to shut off the alarm!) :)
Keeping furniture to a minimum helps maximize the space you're given. Especially when your husband won't budge on wanting a giant bed! ;)
We love them!


Suggested materials:
  • 5/4x4 -8ft Common Board   (Home Depot)
  • 5/4x8 -8ft Common Board   (Home Depot)
  • 3/16" Strap Toggles   (Home Depot)
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
3 of 10 questions
  • Sonia Burrows Sonia Burrows on Nov 14, 2016
    I love your bedding. Is that a coverlet and a white duvet folded at the end of the bed? Do you remember where you purchased them both?
  • My caren My caren on Jun 13, 2021

    Love the night stands but do you find them a little to high? Just looks hard to use from the height of your pillows. If this works better being higher I might have to rethink my nightstands and build these. Please let me know.

  • Piv51446729 Piv51446729 on Aug 15, 2021

    This is a shot in the dark to ask 2 years later

    What color is that?

Comments
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2 of 87 comments
  • Carol Cole Carol Cole on Sep 22, 2019

    What a great idea this was. You have really done a great job.

    Thank you

  • Miriam Miriam on Sep 29, 2019

    We have a park model trailer and in our bedroom we have no night stand. What you did would work in my small space. As soon as I do mine I am going to put picture.

    That's again..

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