apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Modernica has a decent-looking knockoff of the Eames wire-base side table, with the bonus of lots of laminate finishes. Solid laminate top is $99, wood-top and a wide variety of laminate designs are available for $126.

www.modernica.net/browseProducts.asp?CatId=1011#
(scroll down to the bottom of the page)

Ok, fine, but how about some beside tables with DRAWERS? Where else will you keep books, chapstick, making love accessories and advil?

Cool designs are well and good, but let's not forget practicality.

I was thinking the same thing. These are all beautiful, but most advice I've read about small space living encourages using furniture that doubles in function--bedside tables or file cabinets as side tables, chests as coffee tables, storage ottomans, etc. Most of these beautiful bedside tables take up floor space but only the surface on top actually holds anything... I suppose you could stick a basket underneath, but that's not particularly elegant.

wait, i'm shopping for end tables now but why do none of these have a place for the endless magazines always next to my bed? and where *for the love of god* is the drawer!?! where do you put all those, um, things that belong near the bed but, er, shouldn't be seen... lemme guess, cutesy little boxes that rest on the table? ugh! for practicality these are nearly as bad as the lucite end tables i saw a few months ago...
yours in prurience, cristy

great minds think alike.

but as a footnote, if I wasn't always needing a place to stash books and magazines and whatnot next to my bed, I love the look (if not the lack of functionality or the price) of that turquoise laminate ballerina table.

for a while i used an old metal tray (probably from the 60's) that i found in a junk shop, and i loved it. the tray is worn, but has painted flowers on it, metal criss-crossed legs, and i had a basket underneath it for magazines, etc. i agree with everyone about the lack of drawers. i had drawers on the other side of the bed for the stuff i did't want displayed.

I also need the drawers... I have an effectiv from IKEA near my bed.

A decent alternative - space for lots of books/magazines but, alas, lacking a drawer - is the "Corras" cart at IKEA. They come in different colors, are on castors (so they move about with ease), have very unobtrusive lines, and are ridiculously cheap ($20 or so, I think).

You could always opt for a couple of nice boxes in which to put your accessories d'amour, which could blend nicely with the cart - but that's not really my style, so my assorted "stuff" usually goes in the top drawer of the dresser.

Two possibilities with drawers--

Williams-Sonoma Home's Essex Side Table

and Baker's Mahoghany Bedside Table from the Barbara Barry Collection--
www.kohlerinteriors.com/baker/1_1_5_0_coll_prod.jsp?brand=Baker&coll_id=323350&category=Tables&subcategory=&prod_id=13350&prod_num=3409&index=1&browse_key=Baker%21323350%21Tables%21

Drawers are essential... For those of us with the space for a nightstand...

The top of the stand is for, yes your chic little bedside water bottle, a candle and some religious item or text, and the drawer is for... Other stuff...

The nightstand is really just a domestic reliquary... a home shrine to the sacred, and, lest we forget, the profane. a good stand needs to be properly equipped (with drawers) and then stocked with goodies in order to send good energy to us as we prepare to trance every night, or rise from our slumber.

It's just bad karma to store sacred and profane items on the same shelf. The one exception is the candle, which can service both.

Those of us in truly small apartments improvise... The rest of you are in large spaces.

Levenger has some interesting options with drawers but without foof...

www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/PRODUCT/Product.asp?Params=Category=5-22|PageID=1374|Level=2-3

Wider version available called the Readers Side Table, see next link -
www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/PRODUCT/Product.asp?Params=Category=5-22|PageID=3102|Level=2-3

www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/PRODUCT/Product.asp?Params=Category=5-22|PageID=1346|Level=2-3

And perhaps this one, as there appears to be shallow storage under the bookstand/table top
www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/PRODUCT/Product.asp?Params=Category=5-22|PageID=3235|Level=2-3#

www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/PRODUCT/Product.asp?Params=Category=5-22|PageID=2128|Level=2-3

(Tall, but interesting)
www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/PRODUCT/Product.asp?Params=Category=5-22|PageID=3705|Level=2-3

DWR offers a few options--

Cosimo Bedside Table
www.dwr.com/productdetail.cfm?id=2285

Leggero Bedside Table
www.dwr.com/productdetail.cfm?id=2114

Reve Nightstand - Narrow
www.dwr.com/productdetail.cfm?id=1759

Case Study Bedside Table
www.dwr.com/productdetail.cfm?id=1410

Atlas Bedside Table
www.dwr.com/productdetail.cfm?id=1331

wow, a strong reaction to the bedside table list. don't get your drawers in a knot, how about one table or unit with drawers on one side and a simple table on the other side.

um... I don't have another side. My bed is in one corner of my studio...

A quirky alternative that also cable-manages, from The Brothers Bouroullec via The Conran Shop--

www.conran.com/conranshopping/showMoreInfo.do?productid=10286

The $20 C&B table is at the right price point for me. Any other bedside designs that really are in reach?

Chris--
I checked cb2 for that very reason last night and came up pretty empty, especially when looking for ones with drawers.

Here are some more budget-friendly options--

Hold Everything's Glass-Top Side Table
www1.holdeverything.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?parentId=HE-SHPLVGCHR&partNumber=HE-PROD2052&retainNav=true&cmsrc=HE-SHPLVGCHR&storeId=11001&langId=-1&catalogId=11001

Hold Everything's Morris Side Table
www1.holdeverything.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?parentId=HE-SHPLVGCHR&partNumber=HE-PROD2481&retainNav=true&cmsrc=HE-SHPLVGCHR&storeId=11001&langId=-1&catalogId=11001

West Elm's Double Drawer Side Table
ww1.westelm.com/cat/pip.cfm?template=8grid&pkey=cfrntbl&gids=p025&cid=frntbl&area=shp

West Elm's Niche Door Side Table
ww1.westelm.com/cat/pip.cfm?template=8grid&pkey=cfrntbl&gids=p011&cid=frntbl&area=shp

A budget-alternative to the Eames tables (albeit a bit of a design jump...)
www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-17/qid=1115745395/ref=sr_1_17/601-5265939-6140968?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B00009XTK5

Also from Target-- Q-Bik Bedside Table
www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-24/qid=1115745395/ref=sr_1_24/601-5265939-6140968?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B0000DHRB9

and the vintage-vibe metal Irving Side Table
www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-23/qid=1115745543/ref=sr_1_23/601-5265939-6140968?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B0007XFDKM

No drawers, but a bottom shelf and nice look for the moola-- the Richmond--
www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-5/qid=1115745670/ref=sr_1_5/601-5265939-6140968?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B0007XFDP2

And for the Mizrahi fans...
www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-2/qid=1115745776/ref=sr_1_2/601-5265939-6140968?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B00068Y570

The Target site actually had a surprising array, most under $100, and lots of more traditional styles.

My bedside table problem is that I need something narrow. I only have 15" on each side of the bed. And of course I need a drawer as well. Has anyone seen anything?

Also, I'm looking for bedside lamps that won't dwarf the 15" bedside tables. Seems like all the cool looking lamps are big.

anna--
would you consider shifting the bed to one side? That would give you the combined 30" space to work with.

As far as lamps go, are you finding the bases to be too wide or the lamps too tall or both? What about wall-mounted lamps?

Anna, there is a table that is only 11" wide an www.exposuresonline, but it's rather traditional. It's called the harp leg table.
I agree with Patrick - wall mounting is the way to go.

My boyfriend and I need nightstands on both sides of the bed—seems like you always need one per person.

I thought about wall mounted lamps, but I hate the look of the cords hanging down. I have an orange wall behind my bed, so the cords would really show. I rent, so I can't install them with the cords in the wall.

Anna,

I just stumbled upon 14-inch wide ARC end tables at www.3squaredesign.com. They have door, and I'd assume a shelf inside. $500 each.

i need help on bedside tables for my gcse's

Delighted to find I'm not alone in bedside table hunting. I want a modest footprint, roundness, a drawer, and an extra-low height to match our extra-low bed.

I haven't found the one that will work for us yet, but some good options showed up along the way:

A) Round, expensive, but a rustic style with a drawer!

http://www.europebynet.com/Detail.asp?c=us&sku=MIBST024#

B) Basic, cheap - and round, with a drawer!

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/602-2991965-6124621?asin=B000FBXSAI&AFID=Froogle&LNM=B000FBXSAI|Round_Occasion_Table__Black&nAID=17588969&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001

C) The Tansu cabinet style was my most recent find, and promises to work the best - drawers, plural!:

http://asianconnectionscom.stores.yahoo.net/thresteptanc.html