Contemporary Living & The Bedside Table

Most of us go one of two ways when stocking our bedside table. Either it becomes a clutter zone for all the bits and bobs that don’t have a home otherwise, or it remains empty and completely under utilised. In fact, it’s possible you may not have spared much thought to which items would really be most appropriate in and on your bedside.The bedside table, or night stand, is one of the five most likely places to find clutter in the bedroom (along with the cupboard, under the bed and top of the dresser). But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Let’s start from the beginning. If you consider the actual purpose of the bedside table, it should make life easier in the middle of the night & save you getting out of bed when you need something. It should be your ‘go-to’ place that houses certain items and keeps them within arms reach. The goal is to declutter, but be prepared with items you may need throughout the night. Finally, your bedside should give your room some flair - just like the cherry on top - it should be well coordinated with your other bedroom furniture, not too bulky, not too obtrusive.

Limit your bedside table items to the list here and you shouldn’t go wrong!

Bedside Lamp - bedside lighting is absolutely essential for creating a relaxing vibe in your bedroom: it helps with night time preparations (winding down) and for reading. It can also add a dash of style and fun to the bedroom.

Here are a few things to consider when selecting a bedside lamp:

Height: try to keep in scale with the room and other furniture in the room such as the dresser. Width & Depth: which will depend on the size of your bedside and how much space you have for the base.

Functions: do you like a touch lamp? Or an adjustable one with dimmer?

Style: work the lamp to the bedroom style - classic, contemporary or something bold? Try Mayfield Lamps for an extensive range of contemporary, classic, coastal or shabby chic styles.

Tissues - nothing worse than being struck with the sniffles as soon as you hit the hay (so to speak) and having to decide between leaving a warm bed (after you’ve just got comfortable) or deal with it! Spare your partner the annoyance of incessant sniffling by keeping a box of tissues next to the bed. If a box is too bulky for your bedside, try a small pack of travel size tissues in your drawer. A handy tissue also helps for when you get to the tear jerkingly sad part of your novel.

Reading material - speaking of tear jerking novels, nothing better than slipping between the sheets and taking some time to read something you love - could be an interesting article from the weekend magazine or an engaging novel. It’s the perfect way to transition from the busy day into complete relaxation and deep sleep. Remember, it’s better to read from a paper book or magazine rather than your tablet or phone. The blue light from your phone may make it difficult to drift off to sleep.

Alarm clock or phone (switched to flight mode) - being able to check the time when you wake during the night allows you to know if you get another few hours of sleep (yay!) or whether you may as well get out of bed right then. And if you do have the pleasure of going back to sleep, you can be grateful you didn’t have to get out of bed just to check the time. An alarm clock also serves the obvious purpose of waking you up. Just make sure you don’t lose track of how many times you’ve hit the snooze button!

Glass of water - having a glass of water at the ready ensures you don’t need to get out of bed in the middle of the night. While you are asleep, there are even changes going on in your mouth - saliva flow is reduced, which explains why you often wake with a dry mouth.

A notebook and a pen - ever woken with a ‘to do’ list flying through your head. It can be hard to tell if you’re unable to sleep because you’re anxious or you’re anxious because you can’t sleep. At these times, it can help to eliminate the stress of ‘what needs to be done’. Turn on the night light and jot down the things that are on your mind. Putting them on paper is liking putting them safely in a drawer until the morning - you’ll worry less about the chaos of what needs to be done because you’ll feel more organised, and you won’t worry about forgetting them. That peace of mind could be all you need to drift back into slumber.

The bedside table or nightstand is an essential part of any styled and organised bedroom. Visit Snooze or browse online and select from a range of different styles to complete your Snooze sanctuary….and quite possibly improve your night’s sleep.