DIY Nightstand Woodworking Plans

I’m in the process of remodeling my master bedroom and the first project on the list was a DIY nightstand. 

My poor husband hasn’t had one in 5 years so it was definitely time!  Our mattress sits 32″ from the floor so I wanted to make taller nightstands.  We also don’t have much space on each side of the bed so they needed to be narrow. 

I wasn’t finding anything that perfectly fit my needs so I just made my own.  Keep reading for a full tutorial and to download the build plans for these DIY nightstands.

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How to Make Tall DIY Nightstands

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Tools

Miter Saw

Table Saw

Drill

1/2″ Drill Bit

Hand Saw or Pull Saw

Pocket Hole Jig

Sander

Brad Nailer (for bottom of drawer box)

Clamps

Tape Measure

Ear Protection

Eye Protection

Dust Mask

Materials (per nightstand)

(1) 1×8 x 96″

(1) 1×6 x 96″

1/4″ plywood sheet (2’x4′)

(1) 3/4″ x 4′ decorative trim

(4) 29″ Turned table legs

(1) 1/2″ Dowel (need less than 8″)

Wood Glue

1-1/4″ Pocket screws

(2) 1″ screws

Brad nails (for drawer box)

Drawer Slides

Drawer Knob

Primer

Paint

Sand paper

 leveling glides for feet (optional)

DIY Nightstand Components

Legs

I used the Country Pine end table legs  purchased from Lowes for $16.98 USD each.  They are 29″ tall but I trimmed the top down to match up with the 1×6 boards.

I used my hand saw to cut the bottom part off so that I could sandwich a bottom shelf in between the two leg pieces.  Sorry that the photo quality below is so poor.  I forgot to take a photo so this is actually a screen shot of a video.

Then I drilled holes in the center to re-attach everything with dowels.

Top Support

The back and sides are 1×6 boards.  The front face frame for the drawer is 1×8 that I ripped to 1″ thick widths.

Below is a picture of the back and sides for TWO nightstands.

And here is the front face frame.  It’s assembled with wood glue.

These parts are attached to the legs using pocket holes/screws and wood glue.

Bottom Shelf

The bottom shelf is made by combining (2) 1×8 boards.  First use wood glue and then use 1-1/4″ pocket screws to attach the two boards.

Holes were drilled in each corner to feed the dowels through.  Note that there are pocket holes/screws attaching the two boards (on the bottom side of the part shown below).

Dowels extend from the top portion of the leg, through the bottom shelf and into the bottom portion of the leg.

Drawer

I purchased side mount drawer slides from Amazon which required me to install blocks on each side to mount the drawer slides.  Since the face frame is 1″ wide I planed the blocks to exactly 1″.  If you don’t have a planer there are few alternative options.  You could use 1-1/2″ thick stock material and just have the drawer be smaller in width.  Note that the block would extend past the face frame which would be noticeable only when you open the drawer.  Another solution is to use rear mounting brackets.

The drawer dimensions will depend on which drawer slides you use.

I didn’t mean to put the pocket holes on the sides of my drawers.  Luckily I was still able to install the drawer slide.  Be sure to put the pocket holes on the front and back of the drawer.  I used 1/4″ plywood for the bottom.

The drawer front is made from 1/2″ material and I added a decorative trim piece that I bought at Lowes.

Top

The build plans show the top made out of the same material as the bottom shelf.  You could either go this route, use 2×8 to make it thicker or go with another material like I did.  I had some African Mahogany that was 2″ thick left over from my DIY Console table.  I finished it with Walrus Oil and Walrus Oil Wax.

To attach the top I used Figure 8 top fasteners.

If your floors are not level or the nightstands come out a little uneven you can add leveling glides to each leg.

DIY Nightstand – Finished Photos

The next DIY project that I will be tackling for my master bedroom is a bed.  It’ll be my first time building a bed so I’m pretty excited!

Update 2022: I finished the bed! Look at how amazing my DIY upholstered bed turned out!

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If you have any questions about this build let me know in the comments!