Here are the instructions for building our nightstands. They go along perfectly with our DIY bed, don't you think? And boy are they easier to make than that bed! Remember, these are instructions for building TWO nightstands.
The following are my hubby's words...
Here are the materials. All of the wood shown here fit in my Subaru, just so you know.
Sand the wood.
The following pictures show the beginnings of what I call the "box." This is just the middle portion of the nightstand. The "box" of each nightstand is made up of four posts and three panels (two sides and a back panel). To fasten the panels and posts together I added the little squares seen below. I first secured them to the panels with brad nails and wood glue and then...
...secured them to the posts with more brad nails and wood glue.
For the bottom and top cap of the "box," I decided to use 1/2" sanded plywood with 1/4" rectangular trim nailed to the sides to hide the plies. The materials/cut list provided at the end of this tutorial shows these pieces as 3/4" thick. This will work but it is cheaper to use 1/2" plywood.
Draw the foot.
Flip it over and trace the other foot. Basically there are two feet "stuck" together per side, joined at the center.
In the following photo you will see that the decorative trim is sandwiched between the "box" of the nightstand and the top cap. Instead of this method, I wish I would made the "box" 3/4" taller and fastened the top cap directly to the four corner posts. The trim would have then been nailed to the sides of the "box." This method would have made the top much stronger. However, the lag screws I used here worked really well.
The following photos show the construction of the drawer:
The face of the drawer/front panel coming together.
For the drawer slides, I used 14" side-mount slides. I imagine bottom-mount slides may work better here as it could potentially lead to less measuring.
Tipped on it's side.
We decided to use scrap OSB for the shelf and will just cover it with something, i.e. wallpaper.
Prime it, paint it, and seal it. You could even Mod Podge some fabric on the shelves to hide imperfections (like our particle board).
Total cost about $30 per nightstand.
Materials/Cut List:
Feet: 3/4" x 6" board (56" per nightstand)
Bottom: 3/4" x 17-1/2" x 23" (1 per nightstand)
Vertical Center: 2" x 2" x 21-1/4" (4 per nightstand)
3/4" x 14" x 21-1/4" (2 per nightstand)
3/4" x 19" x 21-1/4" (1 per nightstand)
Shelf: 3/4" x 15-3/4" x 20-1/2" (1 per nightstand)
Horizontal Support: 3/4" x 3" x 20-1/2" (1 per nightstand)
Top Decorative Trim: 3/4" x 3/4" (60" per nightstand)
Top Cap: 3/4" x 18" x 24" (1 per nightstand)
Drawer Box: 3/4" x 5-1/4" x 16-1/2" (back, 1 per nightstand)
3/4" x 5-1/4" x 14" (side, 2 per nightstand)
3/4" x 13-1/4" x 16-1/2" (bottom, 1 per nightstand)
3/4" x 4-1/2" x 16-1/2" (panel back, 1 per nightstand)
Drawer Front Panel: 3/4" x 1-1/2" x 6" (side, 2 per nightstand)
3/4" x 1-1/2" x 16" (top and bottom, 2 per nightstand)
1/4" x 3-1/2" x 16-1/2" (center, 1 per nightstand)
1/4" decorative trim (44" per nightstand)
Slides: 14" or smaller (1 set per nightstand)
...and her engineer hubby (mostly).
