apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i had this problem too (when it came to a coffee table). if rustic is your taste - go to a local wine bar - ask if they throw out the boxes that their cases come in (they are usually wooden crates with the wines name written on the sides) - if so, ask if you can have some. stack 2 or three of these on top of each other bottoms up and voila! or use a piece of glass to finish them off like maxwell suggested.

Suitcases or milk crates.

oh and also - these make great planters for herbs or storage boxes when you actually DO find a piece of furniture you like.

I got this great table at bed bath and beyond for $99 (you have to put it together, but it was really easy). It is solid wood, looks great. I originally got it as a temporary solution, but I have had it over a year and love it.

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=13279012&RN=689

Thrift stores are always great places to look for cheap and cute things. I always walk home from work through the alley - you's be amazed at what people throw out. I found a cute mid-century modern dresser and a set of nesting tables for free!

You could find a small stool that you like and use it for now. If the surface isn't large enough, you can top it with glass or a wooden tray. When you find a permanent nightstand, you can always use the stool for something else--like a stool...

I used some cheapo bookcases I got at an office supply store, and then moved them into a closet for shoe and purse storage when I purchased my "real" tables. Also, if you already own a file cabinet, you could cover it with a tablecloth.

I once covered a tall box with some contact paper and found a nice tray at a thrift store and put it on top.

There are round MDF tables that you screw the legs into the top and put a cloth over -- under $10 at places like K-Mart. Just use a very plain linen-look tablecloth or a piece of lively modern fabric as the cover, rather than something ruffled and country.

You can reuse the tables wherever you turn out to need a quick occasional table later. Plus you get hidden storage under the cloth.

If you hate tablecloths, spraypaint the table shiny white for an industrial look.

if modern is your thing. an inexpensive way to get clean lines and a pulled together look is to get a two drawer metal filing cabinet in silver or black with silver hardware. put one on each side of the bed. with the right bedding this can be an cohesive modern look.

go to the hell's kitchen flea market. a nice and daffy old gentleman will sell you a barnwood stool of quite nice solid wood for about 30 dollars.

then when you buy your real furniture you can move this somewhere else to use as a step stool or foyer "ledge" or something.

A stack of same sized magazines with a similar sized piece of glass or wood on top is cool for awhile.

"Back to School" is a great time to pick up decent looking temporary solutions for a little price. Places like Target, Linens n' Thing, Walmart, and Bed, Bath and Beyond all have large sections. About five years ago I bought a little side table to use as a nightstand at Target. To my surprise, when I opened it up, it was made by Blu Dot. I had to replace the cheapo plexi top when it got scratched up, but am still using it. The metal frame is everything you'd expect from Blu Dot, and it only cost $24. I think I got it on sale in the beginning of Sept, but it was not much more originally.

If you're going the boxes route (even covered with cloth or somethign similar), look for shippers boxes (fedex, etc). They tend to be way more sturdy and have solid lids (instead of those fold-n flaps that leave a little gap in the middle of the box.

Sort-of related - the bedside table in the above photo is *excatly* what I am looking for for my bedroom. Does anyone know where it's from?

Along the same vein as AMP, in Boston, the best time to go 'shopping' for free stuff is back to school time as August switches to September. Combing the neighborhoods that college kids live in will provide plenty of free furniture to hold you over until you get your more permanent collection.

I bought two natural looking rattan laundry hampers at target, and use them for nightstands. They are great storage and provide an interesting texture for the room!

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_3/602-2075073-1988662?%5Fencoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000EBN3UO

(i'd take the lace off)

Stack a high pile of hardback books from garage sales.

Attach an inexpensive shelf to the wall.

Hi Arthur, I am from Boston and have scored quite well on both May 31st and Sept 1st!

I just was making a delivery of my outdoor furniture line at a local garden center, and they had beautiful pots 50% off that could make a great base!

What wende said. They also have those $5.00 glass rounds to put on top.

I'm using a box a piece of my ikea couch came in as my coffee table right now - partly because it was the perfect size to hold/hide all the stuff i own but don't know what to do with yet. I threw a big wrap skirt over it and it looks good, but being cardboard it hasn't retained its shape perfectly and I'll prob get rid of it shortly (first I need a new place to put everything that's in it). Just keep your eye open for anything that looks like it's the right shape/size and if it doesn't look good as is, use fabric, paint, etc to disguise it. Also, there's a post today in the scavenger/craigs list finds that may be perfect for you. A guy in Jersey is selling these cool looking boxes that I think would look great if you don't want to go with draping a cloth over something - they look sturdy and they're only $3! I also really love the idea of taking random objects and stacking them into the shape and size that you want. I've been wanting to make a coffee table out of books for a while - picture Jenga, but big and out of books...

And, although I do think that most Ikea stuff is pretty junky, I have to say that I LOVE my couch especially since after looking for months and months for one that would fit through my <30" wide hallway, I was incredibly psyched to find one that came in pieces but was totally easy to put together and stays together/looking good just fine...

Was just looking at Flickr Finds Rustyletters Bedroom on the AT homepage, and this PB bedside table caught my eye. Clicked over to look at in on the pb.com site (click on my name to see it there) & lo and behold it's on major sale - $99 down from $249!

http://sanfrancisco.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/081406/flickr-finds/flickr-finds-rustyletters-bedroom-011659

get a floating shelf from west elm or some place else.

I once hung an old wooden medicine cabinet (distressed paint, cloudy mirror, hanging bar below) beside my bed for a bedside table. I liked that it had no legs so was easy to clean under.

scrounge around flea markets for old pieces of luggage -- the hard kind. stack a few on either side. you can paint them if you want (go for the aged look). you can store things in them as well.

I knew a professional wine buyer once who built his kitchen cabinets out of those wine crates. It actually looked really cool.

My first apartment was practically built from fabric-wrapped plastic milk crates. :)

I have a bunch of those folding stools - with the black X base and the round wooden top. They are really inexpensive, make great instant tables, and would probably do for temporary bedside tables. When you move on to your "real" bedside tables, fold the stools away and use them for extra seating.

Two things I've done -

* Laundry hampers - the kinds that are basically basket-weave boxes with lids. I can store my extra set of sheets inside them, too.

* Storage boxes. I used two metal boxes from IKEA stacked on top of eachother.

I had the same problem. Solved it by getting an IKEA LACK side table (black-brown). It's cheap and looks great.

1. Chairs with flat square seats can make for interesting side tables - upholsered or not...

2. Craigslist - look under FREE...

Good luck!

I'm using a 3 shelf version of something like this:
http://tinyurl.com/lm8wx
with a gorgeous gold orange table runner that perfectly fits to cover the top and sides-- I can store alot on those shelves that aren't so pretty like my alarm clock, leaving the top open for a mini "shrine" that I see when I first wake up.
you can even paint the insides-- or wallpaper the insides-- to coordinate with your interior/mood.

You know those sturdy boxes with the lids that office copy-machine paper comes in? I've got them stacked three boxes high (two stacks side by side) with a vintage tablecloth tossed over them, by the bed. All my old magazines are in them ... and no one knows what's under there! The surface is straight and solid enough for a lamp, radio, and a few other things.

How about a small wooden stepladder?