I have wanted to get rid of my bedside tables for FOR EVER now. I talked about it nearly a year ago and discussed what I was looking for.
Here’s the criteria that my bedside tables needed to meet aside from me wanting to love the look of them:
- They must be within reasonable distance to me so I can pick them up myself, avoiding courier costs.
- They must be within my budget. Budget as usual is pretty tiny.
- I would prefer them to be a matching pair.*
- They must contain only drawers and no shelves. The reason for this is because I hate styling that bottom shelf because I never know what to do with it and we could use the additional storage.
- They must be wider, slightly higher and slightly deeper than what I currently have. Do you know how difficult it is to style a bedside table when you only have enough room for a lamp, let alone anything else?
*I was open to purchasing two different styles for each side and that was always a possibility if I came across two individual pieces that I loved enough (meeting the above criteria) and worked well enough together to not care that they didn’t match.
Had that criteria changed over the last 9 months? No. Have I been searching eBay endlessly for well over a year now looking for those magical two nightstands that would leap into my heart, mind and bedroom? Yes. Has my search through literally THOUSANDS of bedside tables resulted in anything that even remotely met that criteria? No.
Frustration peoples. Serious frustration. I have looked at nearly everything that could be a nightstand too – bedside tables, bedside cabinets, side tables, small tables, small chests of drawers, African drums, old sewing tables, tree stumps, vintage, modern, mid century, Victorian, Edwardian, retro – you name it, I’ve considered it. You can’t say I haven’t tried because by god, I’ve tried. But it just wasn’t to be.
What it came down to is this. I’m so sick of my existing nightstands and there was always one option that I knew would work. It felt like cheating though because I really wanted something fabulous and vintage. But those elusive fabulous and vintage bedside tables were not to be found after a year and a half of endless searching and these – well, here’s how these stacked up:
1. They must be within reasonable distance to me so I can pick them up myself, avoiding courier costs. There is an IKEA store 15 minutes away from me. Check.
2. They must be within my budget. Budget as usual is pretty tiny. £20 each. Check.
3. I would prefer them to be a matching pair. Easily done as they manufacture them by the thousands. Check.
4. They must contain only drawers and no shelves. 3 Drawers so plenty of storage. Check.
5. They must be wider, slightly higher and slightly deeper than what I currently have. Check. Check. Check.
All signs pointed to IKEA.
And so, on a Bank Holiday weekend, I decided that Operation: RAST would begin. I would go into IKEA, fighting off the crowds on a Sunday afternoon and I would emerge with my 2 RAST dressers, victorious. Oh yes, I would.
I am pleased to say that I lived to tell of my ordeal.
Oh dear god, the SCALE of these is so much better. So So So much better. I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am with the size of these things and the difference it makes – even completely unfinished.
Here’s something I need to say right here, right now before you think it (cuz I know you already have).
Those lamps look like something Liberace would like. I know. I know this. I just don’t have another set of lampshades and I didn’t get the chance to get to the shops this weekend to find another set that would work.
In fact, I knew they wouldn’t work. But I wanted to demonstrate something. That the scale of everything in this space is WORKING. FINALLY WORKING.
The chests of drawers work perfectly against the scale of the bed. They are a little bit higher than the bed itself which is fine as they aren’t uncomfortably high and work with the height of the headboard. The width finally takes advantage of the width of the wall in it’s entirety. The lamps are not so large as to overpower everything else on the tables but large enough to make a bit of a statement. The bedside tables look a bit symmetrical but the small differences in the contents on the dressers keep things fairly interesting. Success.
Here’s the story about the lamps. I love my golden clear lamps – I really do. But against the black wall, they were getting lost. I needed something with a bit more PRESENCE. So when I saw these puppies on eBay for a mere £8 for the pair that were less than 10 miles away, I decided to jump. Well, not so much jump as bid, win and drive over to pick them up.
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| The original eBay listing. Mismatched bulbs included. |
They weren’t horrible but they weren’t working for me in their current colour. But I liked their shape. And so I took some gold spray paint to these babies in today’s sunshine.
So yes, the lamp shades are getting changed out. But I do love my new lamp bases.
And I love the fact that I have bedside tables I can actually STYLE now. What’s there now is entirely subject to change but of course, I had to have a play as soon as they were built – I’m impatient, what can I say.
The finishing of the bedside tables is of course, inevitable now so stay tuned for how they come out. More to come on this one!
What do you think of my ‘in progress’ bedside tables? Have you ever given up on a vintage dream and purchased new? Want to have a guess with how I’m going to finish the chests of drawers? I’d love to hear your thoughts ;)
You are sooo right! The bedside drawers look much better. Scale is everything ;) <br />So, how are you going to finish them of? High gloss spray paint job in W's shop? Or something else?<br />I have an IKEA drawer and bed and had painted them white, but now look meh. I'm thinking of… covering them with wallpaper!!! :) Could work, no?<br />Big hug xoxo
I have no doubt you'll do something fabulous with them that I can't even imagine, but <a href="http://goodbrowngravy.com/2012/11/ikea-rast-hack/" rel="nofollow">this Rast hack</a> made me think of you immediately.
Wow, big respect: IKAE on a BANK HOLIDAY??! Are you craziiiiie? Glad you lived to tell the tale! Loving the look of these bedside tables, am excited to see how you DIY them. Nice job on the lamps too, they look faaabulous, and those two pieces of art on the wall are just lovely too.
Like Kirsty, I immediately thought that you are going with the campaign chest hack, in a brighter color maybe?
I'm in the process of this too. We've run out of storage space so bought a set for either side of the bed. So far they're painted pale grey but I'm stuck for handles, I can't find anything I really like. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with
love the scale and function of these tables and can't wait to see your beautiful touch applied to them. the black walls are the ultimate sexy shazam in here!<br /><br />michele
ME TOOOO!!!! That's what I was thinking the entire time I read this post. We've been living with terrible, dysfunctional, broken nightstands for YEARS and I've been keeping the rast option in the back of my mind all along. I can't wait to see what you do with yours! You might just talk me into it. At this point, it's probably smarter just to get them and have something nice to
I actually like the shades sans the balls trims, they go with the pillows. <br /><br />There are soooo many possibilities with those Ikea chests! blank canvases waiting to be made swoon worthy! :)
The scale of them is perfect. Are you going to cover the drawer fronts with wallpaper perhaps? Can't wait to see how they turn out.
I love the lamp bases and really don't mind the shades, they fit with the decor. I can see you painting them a bright gloss then trimming them with O'verlays in a contrast gold or silver trim and some lovely handles.<br />Just not sure what colour you will want to use.
You are a girl after my own heart. I have (had) some black metal ceiling lights hanging low over the dining table. When I painted the whole room (ceiling included) in 'Downpipe' – they just disappeared. One can of Copper spray later, they look fab! <br /><br />I actually like your bedside lamps. Do you think you will wait to see what they look like with the finished bedside tables
Love the idea of painting something copper against dark grey! Yum! (Are you an Abigail Ahern fan as well? I always think of 'Downpipe' as her colour! :)) The lamps are just that bit *too* much for me but I might wait until the chests are painted to be absolutely sure! xxx
Operation RAST! Can't wait to see the gold you spin with these babies! The scale of them makes much more sense in your room now and the transformed lamp bases are fab!<br />Meera xx
All the difference in the world my dear. I think these were a great choice! And I have a feeling you are going to do something pretty saucy to them! xo
Did you know I've been secretly pining for you to get new nightstands and lamps/shades? It's not like I would say, "Kimberly, those are hideous, get rid of them." But clearly they were not up to par with your boho glam fabulousness. Can't wait to see the reveal of the newly hacked nighstands. We are expecting magnificence! No pressure!
Awesome collections, especially the zebra lamp and the cushion cover. I’ll try to adapt the idea given by your blog if possible because I might not find the exact decorative products but I will try my level best. I came across <a href="http://pegolamps.com/" rel="nofollow">exquisite Miami lamps</a> via Google and found wonderful lamp collections just like the zebra lamp, thinking of ordering that