Your Nightstand Is Incomplete Without These 8 Essentials

By Madison White on July 10, 2016

This article is brought to you by CORT Furniture Rental. We take the hassle out of furnishing your new place so you can do more important things like read this article. Learn more about why furniture rental is the best way to get a great looking apartment.

Your nightstand may not be the focal point of your bedroom, but never undermine its importance. Numerous key objects can be found on your nightstand, and hey, you may even be missing a few. Some people like making their nightstands mostly for decoration while others like using them for functionality. Some people like doing a mix of both.

From essential furniture items to some not always essentials, your nightstand should never remain completely empty. Here are eight essential items to keep on your nightstand.

pexels.com

1. Lamp

The first and most obvious choice is the table lamp. In order to complete your early morning or late night tasks, you’re going to need some easily accessible light right next to your bed. Luckily, nightstand lamps come in all shapes, sizes and forms. You can get modern and minimalist lamps or extravagant ones. Consider clip-on lamps or lamps that don’t even have a lampshade. Whatever lighting you choose, your nightstand (and your 2 a.m. self) will appreciate it.

2. Books

Your after-dark device may already have some built-in light (cell phone, laptop, tablet, etc.) but if you aren’t into late night electronics, you may be into settling in with a good book. For me, books are essential to the nightstand. Whether they’re new or they’ve been read dozens of times, books provide quality entertainment and knowledge. Also, books can be used as great decorative items to prop up lamps or other objects.

3. Water

There is nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night parched and then having to stumble through the darkness to find some water. You trip, curse, and bump into everything you seem to own between you and the kitchen. Luckily, if you’ve had the foresight to put a glass of water on your nightstand before going to bed, all this mess could be avoided. Get a glass beforehand. It solves so many problems. Gone are the days when your mouth feels like the Sahara.

4. Mild painkillers

The only thing that is worse than waking up with no water is waking up with a scalding headache. Even if you had the water by your bed, you still have to hunt through your medicine cabinet to find any relief. However, keeping a small bottle of aspirin next to your bed (alongside your glass of water) makes finding a cure quick and simple. You’ll be back to getting those z’s in no time.

5. A collector dish

On the more decorative side of the nightstand comes the decorative dish, bowl, plate, or holder. A nightstand is a great place to store small items. With a holder, lots of smaller things can be stored and displayed in a better, prettier fashion. Whether it’s jewelry, lotions and sprays, or your keys, a dish is essential to maximizing the display space of your nightstand. You can go for something simple and classic or an attention piece. You don’t even have to necessarily put anything in it if you just want the look.

6. Greenery

Nothing is worse than a dull room. The best and easiest way to liven up that bedroom is to add a little life. Nightstands are the perfect place for some small and easy-to-care-for plants to bring in some green. Succulents and cacti are great, as are just a few fresh-cut flowers. If you’re not into bringing in something alive, or just aren’t great at taking care of them, fake plants work just as well. They also look great in all sorts of containers like jars, vases, cups, mugs, and whatever else your imagination comes up with.

pexels.com

7. Pictures

Something that functions as both decoration and something sentimental is the classic framed picture. A framed picture makes sure that your loved ones are never too far away. Whether they’re pictures of your family, your friends, or your significant other, they’ll add another personal layer to your nightstand.

8. Glasses

Now, to me, if there’s anything a nightstand is truly used for, it’s holding my glasses. I am blind as a bat and I’m sure lots of you readers out there are too. Your nightstand and glasses go hand in hand. To you, your glasses are essential just to make it out of your room unscathed. To your glasses, your nightstand is the easy access point it rests on each night. This makes your glasses (if you have them) entirely essential to your nightstand.

Whatever you choose to do with your nightstand, rest easy in knowing that there are few mistakes to make. Nightstands are great for your valued possessions, your cool lamps, or just things you want to put on display. Regardless of how big, small, peeling, or perfectly painted that nightstand is, use it to its full advantage! You won’t regret it.

Looking for an easy way to furnish your off-campus apartment? Renting furniture from CORT saves you time and money. See how easy it is to get great looking furniture without breaking the bank.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format