Here’s a Smart Way to Gain More Bedside Space in a Tiny Bedroom

Even if you’re a minimalist when it comes to your decor and personal items, you probably want some kind of a surface to stash things next to your bed, whether that’s just a book, an alarm clock, and a glass of water. If you’re short on space in your bedroom though, even just the essentials can feel like a challenge to place, particularly when you consider the size of the average nightstand. Typically, bedside tables are square or rectangular in shape and often feature a drawer, shelf, or cabinet of some kind for closed storage. That means they’re fairly substantial and sizable, even relative to what they’re able to stash.

But what if that didn’t have to be the case? What if you could get the tabletop surface you need for storing a few things without sacrificing much floor space or creating a lot of visual weight in your bedroom in the process? You can do just that if you borrow this smart solution from photographer Erin Derby’s Brooklyn apartment, where doubling up on small drink tables isn’t just for the living room. 

Derby’s home is full of clever decorating ideas, including mounting painted wooden crates as wall shelves and trimming out a couch with a fringe skirt to conceal under-sofa storage. Hats off to her for yet another great small space solution in her bedroom; instead of using a space-hogging nightstand, Derby doubled up on tiny side tables. Specifically, she’s paired a two-tiered wooden table with a smaller tulip-style metal table. The former, which is taller and closer to the headboard, holds her lamp, jewelry dish, and a small piece of art on its tabletop, while books are stashed on its lower shelf. The metal table also holds a stack of books.

The fact that the two pieces are close in size and shape means that they can basically be nested, with the metal table almost sliding under the wooden one. That means that you get more surface area for your things without the extra floor space a larger table would take up. The round shapes are key, too; they’re easy to move around in space because they’re curved, so they don’t cut off the area right beside the bed with sharp right angles.

Nesting tables aren’t a new concept, of course, but you don’t typically see them in a bedroom, and you don’t often see mismatched styles like Derby’s either, which can add a nice layered look to a decor scheme. Her eclectic pair marry vintage appeal and function as well, making them an ideal solution for bedside storage without resorting to a bulky, more traditional nightstand.