This $50 TikTok-Approved Hack Is the Secret to Making Nightstands or Side Tables Look Way More High-End
Looking for ways to elevate the nightstand or side tables you’ve owned for years or even secondhand pieces that could use a little TLC? Then say hello to the simplest upcycling idea I’ve ever seen. It’s tool-free, fairly affordable, and takes less than a minute of your time but will completely make any existing inexpensive, dated, or thrifted table look so much more high-end. The only major item required might surprise you: a marble cutting or pastry board!
I encountered this one-step trick via TikTok, where user Mia the Home Enthusiast showed what a difference a marble accent can have in the below video. After moving into her current home, she explained that she “fell into that trap of quickly buying furniture that was cheaper or I didn’t love just because I needed it immediately.” Left with lackluster wooden nightstands and looking to zhuzh them up, she demonstrated using a marble cutting board to cover the plain top of one. Felt furniture pads placed in the corners of the board provide a little bit of traction to keep the piece in place. And that’s it — that’s the hack! Now, Mia has a luxe-for-less, marble-topped nightstand, and you can, too.
The signature sleek, light coloring of many marbles pairs well with lots of table materials and nightstand styles. Plus, these pastry boards have enough weight to sit on top of your furniture without much budging, but you can always secure them with glue, too, if you feel like the tiny felt furniture corners aren’t providing enough grip. Just look for marble boards with dimensions that are equal to or slightly larger than the surface of the piece you’re updating. Of course, you can find stone slabs to do the same thing with larger tables, dressers, or consoles, too, but the cost of this upgrade will likely go up considerably in those cases (unless you snag an amazing deal on a remnant in a stone yard or at a home center).
Brands like World Market, Bed Bath & Beyond, Crate & Barrel, Amazon, and Williams-Sonoma offer large cutting and pastry boards in a range of sizes and rectangular or circular shapes, starting for as low as $34.99. Mia used the World Market style above, which comes in at just $49.99. Or, you can also work backwards by buying a marble board first and then searching for an affordable, compatible nightstand or table with the same tabletop measurements. You could even try turning a simple wooden step stool into a fancy bedside table with this kind of upgrade. Any way you choose to go with this simple hack, you’ll find a much cheaper alternative to purchasing an existing marble-topped piece from a high-end retailer.