Stylish Nightstand Decorating Ideas the Pros Use

Achieving a designer-worthy bedroom is simple with these stylish nightstand decorating ideas the pros use. With a few go-to tips and techniques, styled bedside tables will elevate your whole bedroom aesthetic. 

Rest assured (see what I did there), when you’ve made small changes to your nightstand decor, you’ll not only get the look you want, but you may even sleep better knowing it all came together and your bedroom finally feels complete.

Follow these tried-and-true nightstand decor ideas to get a designer inspired look.

One of the first things someone sees upon entering a bedroom is the combination of bed and nightstands. How you style bedside tables has a tremendous impact on the feel, form and function of your bedroom.

Mixing furniture materials and finishes arguably impacts a bedroom design the most, but it can easily fall flat without meaningfully styled nightstands.

What Decor to Put on Nightstands

When it comes to styling nightstands, you will most likely have a combination of decorative as well as functional pieces. This stems from needing a place for the things you use every night that you may want close at hand, such as eyeglasses, a water carafe or a book, and other things that just look nice.

Here are tips to do both with decor so your nightstands always look put together.

Also, keep in mind some decorative pieces can serve a dual purpose. 

A decorative box, for instance, can be used to store various accessories, while you can place eyeglasses, hair accessories or jewelry on a pretty tray.

Decor to put on nightstands includes:

• Decorative basket, box or two boxes stacked
• Pretty tray or dish made of marble, wood or fabric

• Small stack of books for reading or decoration
• Vase with flowers or greenery stems to add life
• Gorgeous bowl with or without a lid to conceal accessories

• Artwork propped up, on an easel or hung on the wall
• Tall mirror on the wall behind each nightstand
• Cute frames to display pictures of family, pets, friends, and places traveled
• Stylish lamp at the appropriate scale for the table
• Chic alarm clock so you never miss your appointment

• Divinely scented candle to give the room ambiance
• Carafe with glass for hydrating during the night
• Objects that add interest, including rattan links, wood knot or figurine

I like to use a combination of decor pieces to style our nightstands for a balanced approach.

You can read about why I chose our particular style of bedside tables—with a shelf at the top and legs as opposed to a chest of drawers—and how I accomplished a Stunning Nightstand Makeover using the timeless Benjamin Moore White Dove paint.

Pro Tips and Techniques to Style Bedside Tables

Some of the same tips and techniques used to Style a Console Table Like a Pro also apply to styling nightstands.

Before you begin doing any styling, gather everything you need on the nightstands or can be used to style the nightstands in one place. You should be able to see what you have to work with as well as what needs a home—concealed or otherwise. If you keep a phone, eyeglasses or any other necessities by your bed at night, include it.

Anything and everything should be represented to ensure each item has its place by the time you’re done styling.

A word of advice as you begin to style your bedside tables. After placing each piece of decor, stand back to view how each nightstand looks on its own and then how both nightstands look together. 

You’re not looking for exact symmetry, unless that’s what you prefer. I prefer complementary styling for our nightstands.

Here are tips for how to style nightstands:

Start with the Lamp or Large Scale Artwork/Mirror

If you plan to hang large scale artwork or a mirror centered behind one or both nightstands, do that first. Otherwise, if you intend to hang a small piece of art off-centered, wait until tip 2.

In our case, I always start by placing the lamp first. Doing so makes it much easier to get a sense of the remaining space you have to work with on top of the nightstand along with what remaining wall space is available.

You need to decide where you prefer to place the lamp. 

The rule of thirds makes placing decorative pieces easier and more pleasing to the eye when following this rule. I will sometimes visualize the nightstand itself as split into thirds:

1. First third is close to the bed
2. Second third is the middle
3. Final third is away from the bed

You can pretty much split any plane or surface into thirds for the sake of decorating (or organizing). If a large scale item occupies two-thirds of the space, other item(s) should use part of the remaining one-third to balance the weight of the other object. Further, though it’s not often mentioned, balancing objects in such a way gives your eyes a break while scanning whatever is in view.

I like to place our lamps in the first third, closest to the bed.

Placing the lamp closest to the bed or in the middle of the table works best if you plan to switch the light off while in bed, from a general practicality standpoint.

Don’t put anything larger than the lamp on either nightstand. The lamp should be the largest piece, without any other item competing for scale.

Hang Large Format Artwork or Mirrors

If you plan to prop art against the wall or hang smaller format wall art off-centered on the wall behind the nightstands, do that now. This tip follows lamp placement, because you need the lamp in place in order to reveal how much space you have to work with next to the lamp and, ultimately, where you will prop/hang the art.

I like to hang small scale art in the space between the lamp and the opposite side of the nightstand.

I like how the lampshade partially intrudes upon the space taken up by the art to help balance decor on top of the table as well as the lamp itself. Now, take a step back to see how it looks.

You’re trying to create vignettes on each nightstand that feel imperfect but that are actually planned. Overlapping moments give it that perfectly imperfect, inviting feeling.

Place Large Objects and Books

It is best to place books and large objects, such as a stack of two decorative boxes, a tray or a vase, before filling in the space with smaller objects.

Again, partially obscuring wall art by stacking books beneath, or a couple decorative boxes of different sizes, adds interest.

Remember the rule of thirds to place large pieces in one of the thirds to create balance. 

For our nightstands, I placed a stack of boxes in front of the art. It occupies space in the third away from the bed.

As a passionate interior design enthusiast who thoroughly enjoys reading design books, I love stacks of books on our nightstands. 

Be sure to read more ideas for Pretty Coffee Table Books for Styling.

Fill in with Smaller Decor Pieces

Once you have large objects where you want them, fill in the remaining space with small decor pieces. Of course, it doesn’t mean you should fill in all of the remaining space, rather some of the space.

Here, use the interior design rule of three when arranging items. That is, group things in odd numbers starting with three, while varying scale, height, texture, and style. Similar to the rule of thirds, groupings of odd numbers are more aesthetically pleasing.

You’re trying to complete a vignette on each nightstand.

Place items near the large object— in front or off to the side. Move things around. Switch items out until you’re satisfied.

Don’t overcrowd the bedside tables, though. You still need room for functional, everyday items you need at the ready. Too many things can look like clutter, not curation. So, be mindful of that distinction.

Give Functional Items a Home

Looking at the items you gathered to put on your nightstands, it’s time to give items you need at hand their own place where you’ll put it every night.

• Put accessories in the decorative box
• Place eyeglasses on the tray
• Conceal hair binders in the bowl

You may have a few decorative pieces leftover, which is to be expected. There simply may not be enough room for all the decor. 

Whether with the changing of the seasons or as a refresh, I enjoy switching out pieces fairly regularly to give each nightstand a new look.

Ideas to Decorate Nightstands

Knowing how interior design pros use a combination of decor pieces and functional items that look like beautiful decor to bring it all together and give the feeling of intention, your options to style your own nightstands are near endless! Having everything in its place should also help you feel more calm before drifting off to sleep.

Since I regularly change how I style our bedside tables, these stylish nightstand decorating ideas will help jumpstart your creativity!

I spoke about how I found our nightstands in a nightstand makeover post. Our bedside tables had to have a shelf at the top for me to style, because it just felt right.

Soft Pastel Nightstand Styling

As a collector of trays, you can’t go wrong using a pretty try to organize your nightstand. A muted pastel fluted marble tray helps keep your necessities together while looking stunning.

Small scale pastel wall art, combined with stacks of books in the same color palette and a neutral decorative knot complete the look.

The same art looks at home propped against the wall behind one of my favorite sets of wide grid bone boxes. Decorative boxes allow you to easily store things you need beside your bed while still maintaining an elevated look.

A marble bowl with a lid is another alternative nightstand storage option. We actually have two that I found during one of my weekly visits to HomeGoods. Normally something like it would be well over $100. At only $30 each, I couldn’t pass them up! I move them around to style shelves, nightstands and a console table in our home.

Warm Neutral Bedside Table Decorating

Shades of warm white, beige and aged brass feel collected on a warm neutral nightstand. Stack a couple books, add a box or two and hang tiny artwork behind the table for an inviting vignette.

Coral accessories in a small bowl or boxes made of different materials that add texture.

You’ve probably seen the Gilles & Bossier book more than once on Instagram or Pinterest. It’s substantial in size as well as neutral in color which means you can style it with practically any aesthetic.

A tiny marble tray stacked on top of the books is where I store the TV remote.

Pretty Nightstand Styling

Make your nightstand pretty with minimal effort. 

Take a small marble tray and use it as a place to put your hair binder, eyeglasses or jewelry at night. You can find reasonably priced trays at Target or HomeGoods, usually in the bathroom accessories section.

If you stay in the same color palette as the rest of your bedroom, you’ll achieve a more cohesive design in the end.

For our bedroom, we prefer calming colors—soft beige, warm whites, muted pastels—so I choose decor across that palette.

What decor do you use to style your nightstands? Drop a comment!