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Buying guide: Nightstands and bedside lamps

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Buying guide: Nightstands and bedside lamps

By
Diana Luciani

Brighten up your bedroom the right way with properly selected nightstands and bedside lamps.

No bedroom is complete without the proper bedside companions -- nightstands and a lamp or two. Here are some practical considerations when making your purchases.

Nightstands

  • Tabletops should be big enough for bedside necessities like a lamp, alarm clock, telephone, eyeglasses and a water carafe and drinking glass.
  • For an uncluttered tabletop, a drawer and perhaps a shelf offer storage for tissues, books, a pen and paper, remote control, and emergency candles and matches.
  • For additional display surface for extras like photographs and a vase of flowers, use wall-mount shelves or nesting tables beside a nightstand or along a nearby wall.
  • If space is limited, choose floating shelves (mounted to the wall beside or above the bed) instead of tables.

    Bedside lamps
  • Narrow candlestick lamps and wall-mount light fixtures, like sconces or swing-arm lamps, free up space on nightstands. If you can't wire lights through the wall, hide cords with wire covers, available in various colours to match your light fixtures or walls.
  • Choose lighting that you can turn on and off without getting out of bed; select lights with a dimmer for optimum TV viewing or to create a romantic setting.
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    3 Comments

    • by
      LainieC
      on 2008-11-22
      Reply to this comment

      I have wondered that, as well. I have an unusually high bed and am having a hard time finding an appropriate bed side table. I think that the table should be ABOUT the same height as the bed, that it should be comfortable to reach something if you need it. I would appreciate knowing if there are guidelines

    • by
      LainieC
      on 2008-11-22
      Reply to this comment

      I have wondered that, as well. I have an unusually high bed and am having a hard time finding an appropriate bed side table. I think that the table should be ABOUT the same height as the bed, that it should be comfortable to reach something if you need it. I would appreciate knowing if there are guidelines

    • by
      homejunkie
      on 2008-08-22
      Reply to this comment

      Thanks for this nightstand tip but how tall should the nightstand be in comparison the bed height? From this picture it appears to the about several inches higher than the bed. PS. I'm working on Sam Pynn's new Pure Design (allbeit from Vancouver) and am loving how its coming along! Thanks so much

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