Our New Bedside Tables — Here’s How I Rate Them
Our bedside tables arrived! And yes, even though I’m nowhere near ready to bring them into the room (which is still under construction), I went ahead and started putting them together. I wanted to be sure they weren’t damaged in shipping and that I was happy with them so that I would have plenty of time to send them back if I needed to.
I bought these from Houzz, and here’s what the product listing looked like.
And here’s what mine looks like…
In reality, they’re not as orange as that product listing shows. I’m relieved about that. And overall, I’m very pleased with these bedside tables. They’re very heavy. I mean, really heavy. So they do seem to be built with solid wood and not the veneer-covered particle board that one might expect from Walmart furniture.
Overall, I would rate them a 7 out of 10. I’ll show you why they don’t get a 10-star rating from me. The top pull-out shelf and the top drawer don’t pull out very far. Here’s how far the top shelf comes out.
It’s fine, but it’s just not what I expected. And here’s how far the top drawer comes out. I do like that it’s divided, but it’s very shallow.
And the reason that the top shelf and top drawer are so shallow is because of this whole inset section on back created for the outlet.
And the strange thing is that the shelf doesn’t even pull out as far as the top drawer. I’m not sure why that is.
And then here’s the shelf and the top drawer compared to the bottom two drawers.
Overall, I do like it, and I’m glad that they’re not as orange as they appeared in the product listing. And I love how heavy they are.
In our previous bedroom, we had these smaller bedside tables. I loved the look, but they were so lightweight that every time I bumped into them even the slightest, they would move.
But had I built these myself, I would have made them so that the top shelf and the top drawer were the full depth of the cabinets (i.e., the same depth of the bottom two drawers) with the same size drawer slides, and then I would have simply notched them around the area with the outlet rather than taking up that whole section from side to side for an outlet that just takes the center portion of that space.
But when you buy ready-made, mass-produced furniture, you get what you pay for. Overall, I’m very pleased with them, and I think they’ll look great in my overall plan for this room.
It’s always a challenge to decide whether to go ready-made or build it myself. Building it myself would have taken more time, but I would have gotten exactly what I wanted. Buying ready made (especially ready made in my budget without spending thousands of dollars) always ends up in compromises. But sometimes, immediate gratification and getting a project done faster is worth those tradeoffs. Once the room is finished and we’ve been living in it for a while, we’ll have to see if that tradeoff was worth it.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
They look nice. You could always reuse the drawer face and make new drawers the way you would like them. However, it would be an added expense, and you have tons of more pressing projects to do. If it still bothers you when your big projects have been completed, you could come back and do an upgrade of full extension drawers.
They look great! For me, the shallower top drawer and pull-out wouldn’t be a problem. I only use that top drawer for things I might actually reach for during the night. I hope it won’t be a big challenge for you.
And even though these tables are heavy, a deep pull-out could present a tipping hazard if a user were tempted to place something heavy there so manufacturers may choose to avoid that.
The nightstands look prettier in your photos than they did in the Houzz photos! the stain is very pretty. I probably wouldn’t use the pull out shelf and I don’t store much in my nightstands so the shelves and top drawers not being the entire depth of the nightstand wouldn’t be an issue for me. I hope it works out for your use.
If they’re solid wood can you tweak them at all? Seems to me that these days plugs/chargers have gotten so compact you could get rid of the bulky thing taking up so much room in the back.
Perhaps you could replace the runners with full extension runners for the pullout shelf (if the wood is deep enough front to back).
My thought, if I had your skills, would be to photograph and measure everything, disassemble and return using the excuse of them not giving you the full details of the electrical box interfering the depth of the shelf and top drawer.
Then I would build my own, tweaking the details like the legs, drawer fronts, etc. I probably wouldn’t have assembled them once I saw how short the shelf was when I opened the box. That part would be the determining point of keep vs return.
They are very pretty and reasonably priced so I guess we need to hurry up and wait to see how functional they are for you and Matt. Glad they aren’t orange! Lol
A rating of 7 out of 10, and the short drawers would be a no go for me especially if it was for my forever master bedroom. But I don’t have the skills to do the fixits suggested nor would I want to. Other than that, they do look nice.
It could be really heavy because they’re MDF with a veneer. MDF is crazy heavy. They’re very nice looking tables!
Yep, I was thinking that MDF is generally heavier than wood. Glad they are prettier in person (ie your photos) than the product page photos. I like them! The partial-depth drawer and pullout wouldn’t bother me. Top drawer is literally shallow/not deep and a small drawer either way.
Love those nightstands! Great find! Yes! Those skinny top drawers are great for those things we need late at night (my eye drops thanks to dry eye) but mine I paid a very pretty penny over 10 years ago are still a pain 😂 because for whatever reason they do not open all the way and stuff gets stuck in the back. I have no idea why it’s never occurred to me to try to change the tracks so I can pull it out all the way…. so guess who’s got her first fall project once the weather turns cold and sour in Chicagoland?
It could be that way to keep the nightstands from tipping over maybe?
Hey, they look so great in your photo, I love them! You could easily change the pull out shelf in the future and the top drawer has awesome dividers for things like meds or charging cords etc and at least it pulls out all the way so you can see into the entire drawer. What a great buy!😁
They are really pretty, and I’m sure you’ll get used to those shortened drawer and shelf sections. That said, they could have mounted that plug box vertically on the back of the end table and it would only prevent it from being smack against the wall. (which most people wouldn’t do anyway!) It probably would be less than 2 inches, and be easier to use! Now put them in the studio and cover them up well, so they don’t get damaged! Have a great weekend!
Your nightstands are very pretty. Could you “operate” on the top drawers to make them open out more.
The tables look awesome. Our bedside chest/tables pull out shelf doesn’t come out very far either. Yours look like it comes out farther than ours. I think it is to keep the shelf in place and not have it come completely out when you are pulling it out. It is plenty of room for a book or a phone and glasses. I put my phone and glasses on the shelf and a drink on a coaster on top of the chest. Once you start using them, you will love it.