apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Have you considered mounting a long shelf along the wall above the bed? Low enough that you can reach your water/alarm clock, but high enough that you won't bonk your head.

I did this years ago in a tight space using a LACK shelf from IKEA (almost the same width as a queen-size bed), and it worked out very nicely.

If there is enough room to move the bed slightly away from the wall you could build a ledge/headboard that would hold the items you mentioned

What about using one of the umbra invisible bookshelves as a bedside table/storage for books?

http://www.amazon.com/Umbra-330632-560-Conceal-Invisible-Floating/dp/B0011ZJS9W/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1231267865&sr=8-4

-Ruth

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/bedroom/inspiration-bed-in-front-of-window-073117

See the picture in this post. The colors in the picture remind me of your picture...

I do not love them, but I know Target carries headboards with built in storage.

Another Ikea solution is the MANDAL headboard with adjustable shelves. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50121274
Depending on how much space you need, you can purchase two and double them vertically. I've seen this in an Ikea catalog before and it looked awesome.

There has got to be another wall in this room to put the bed on - say the one at the right of the bed (out of the photo) which would allow for at least one end table?

okay. books. I stack em vertically on a old tiny child's chair from a long ago preschool.
the one I'm reading can spend the night on the floor. thump.

lights. it's two of you, right? is it lights out at the same time, or does one of you read later? get some cheap small ikea halogen clip lights and play around with them until you know where it or they won't bother you or your partner. they are light enough to hang, or clip to a nail or some piece of wood you nail up. that will tell you what you eventually want to do. I have a great tall angle poise standing lamp on wheels from an old doctor's office. you can push it away, pull it in, bring it down. love it. but you may end up with something on the wall.

the drink of water in your set up which is just spill city, I see that... hmmm

how about a pair of vintage toothmug holders within reach on the wall but where you won't sleepily bump your elbow or head on them.

your room is a headscratcher, definitely

can we see a couple more pics of the room from different angles?

I have a similar problem, and I am using an Expedit bookshelf from Ikea turned on its side. The 31 x 58 size is perfect for a queen-size bed, and it's only $89:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50103086

My bedding is white and yellow, so I'm using a white one. I have two reading lamps on the top, and plenty of space for a glass of water or cup of tea. I use the two outer cubbies for storage - books, magazines, a power strip that controls the lamps and allows me to use my laptop in bed, along with any other bedside things. I put two Lekman boxes (also Ikea) in the center two cubbies so I have something to rest my pillows against when I'm sitting up.

This system has been great for me, and the shelf sort of disappears between my white bedding and white walls.

I have a very tight space as well. I just ended up using a couple of aluminum stools I had sitting around as bedside tables.

If you really have no space to the sides of your bed, then, yeah, mount a shelf over the bed, or look into a console table to sit behind it. Ikea Malm series or something like that would work.

lizzyq, i want to see a pic of your bed!

Dang, I wanted to link to the "ipod shelf" that I got from PBTeen to address a similar situation, but it seems they've discontinued it.

Here's a close match:
http://www.pbteen.com/products/p3753/index.cfm?pkey=cipod-accessories
(you might have to copy paste the whole thing)

The one I got doesn't have chalkboard on the front, and is effectively two shelves (perhaps the chalkboard is removable; it otherwise looks the same as mine). It's wide enough for a lamp, a glass of water, a book or two, and it even supported a large framed poster. Oh, yeah, and it plays music, which is also pretty swell.

If you own, and are willing to make something more permanent, instead of attaching a headboard or shelf out from the wall, see if you can go into the wall and create a niche or two - one one long one if you frame it out correctly - between the wall studs.

From this picture it looks like you have a mattress on the floor, and the only place for a table is directly in front of the door. As there is no possible way not to trip over this all the time, I think you should look for something small and bright. Maybe a mammut? It might also be wise to invest in an LED lamp and a plastic cup.

If you can find a low and shallow and plain book case that is wide enough, you could use it to create a head board shelf, without building anything into the wall.

Not sure if anyone posted it, but Ikea has your solution:

the Mandal Headboard.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50121274

the 2008 catalog has a great photo with three headboards stacked all the way up the wall to the ceiling, and with more shelves added. It's a flexible system and you add as many shelves as you want. Though I'd be careful about putting anything heavy above my head if there are earthquakes in Sydney. :-)

What about those cool shelves that were linked on here a couple months ago that went above the bed and acted as a combo shelf/place holder.

Or those metal shelves that hook directly onto the bed and have a place for a book, and a glass of water -- those were perfect for tiny spaces like this. Anyone remember what they were called??

One other thought - create under the bed storage where you can easily reach a water glass or book, or turn off the clock; perhaps by using Ikea bookcases turned on the side to create a frame. There's plenty of Ikea hacks to give you some ideas for this.

can you build out 6" to 12" on your head of the bed wall amd then create indent shelves and cubbies in that false wall?... that will be a smoooooth solution and could be pretty gorgeous

The alpine bed at cb2.com has a smallish shelf that's unobtrusive - the bed comes in either a dark gunmetal gray or a glossy white - both look really good in person. It's a platform bed, so you wouldn't have to worry about getting a box spring, and it's definitely affordable.

Not sure if anyone said this already, but I would probably put up some shelves on either side of the bed, same height as the top of the mattress. I wouldn't be comfortable with a shelf over my head, I once put a shelf over the head of my bed and came home one day to find it collapsed onto my bed. Don't want to think about what would have been if it had happened in the night!
http://www.notyourgoddess.blogspot.com/

When it comes to small space solutions, every inch counts. It would be helpful to have a floorplan with measurements or at least more pictures.

You could try mounting a group of Ikea kitchen wall mounted cabinets to the wall at the foot of the bed. That would provide you with enclosed storage and would not take up any floor space. Enclosed storage keeps the room looking tidy, a real concern if you don't have any space as even a little clutter will look like it has overtaken the space. If you pick a nice contemporary door style and finish the cabinets on the sides with the side covers, it could look fantastic. I would suggest using them as a headboard instead, but I don't know if you have the 12.5 inches to move the head of the bed away from the wall.

We have had the same problem in our last home and in our current house. We've bought some unfinished shelves. They were a little too deep, so we sawed them through the piddle, finished them with oak colored wax, and hung one horizontally above the headboard (old apartment), or one vertically above each side of the bed (new house). We have place to store our glasses, books, glass of water. For lighting we've added a clip-on lamp (http://www.castorama.fr/store/spot-clip-PPRDm488406.htm ) on each side of the bed.

I was lucky and found a great vintage headboard from the 70s at a thrift shop. It is shaped like a narrow parsons table, about 8' deep. My water, reading lamps on both sides and several books rest on the top. You could build or have someone build something like this and stain or paint. Very little footprint in the floorspace and lots of room on top. Good luck