Different kind of nightstand...

Art Mulder

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London, Ontario
Way back when I got married, my dad very nicely made a pair of nightstands for my wife and I. They have served us well for years. They are of a boxy cabinet type design, about 17x17x26"h.

Unfortunately, our present house has the heating register in the floor right beside the headboard of the bed. Kind of a dumb location, IMHO, but what can you do? For years I've tried moving the nightstand to different locations. It has half-straddled it at times, which restricts heat flow, and it has been moved forward at other times, which places the nightstand too far forward, and leaves a weird gap at the back.

Today it was a snow day for our family, so I thought I'd do something different and sit down and doodle on this design.

There are two main ideas I started with. First, I was aiming more for an open table type of design. I want it fairly open, so that I can place it over the heating register and have it not obstruct the flow so much.

Secondly, and more unique, I got the idea of building on a small pedestal to hold my clock up high above the table top. I've had the clock up hight for a while, and I kind of like it up there, and it also leaves the table more open.

So this is what I've come up with so far, and I put it out here for comments, suggestions and so on.

nightstand-proto1-a.jpg

And here it is more or less in position.
nightstand-proto1-b.jpg nightstand-proto1-c.jpg

(Sorry, the *skp file is currently 440k, so I couldn't upload it. Dave probably could, but I can't... ;) )

I curved the front of the clock pedestal, but I haven't curved the front of the nightstand itself. I could be convinced otherwise. I haven't even given much thought to wood species, I just put in the colours right now for reference. (and I do like how cherry and maple go together)

Heres a few more angles, to show the curved front, and the edge treatment.
nightstand-proto1-d.jpg nightstand-proto1-e.jpg

And now I'll probably sit on it for a while and ponder some more.
 
That looks like a pretty cool idea. You would have to be sure your alarm clocks in the future would fit as well(?) or buy a couple spares ;-)
 
Art, I like it. So is the shelf for the alarm clock a sort of catapult thing that launches the clock across the room and out a window? :rofl:

If you want to send the SKP to me, I'll see if I can make it postable.

TTFN
dave
 
I might actually doodle another where the "clock shelf" extends across the whole width, just to see if I like that better.

Glenn you've got a good point. The shelf is currently 9" wide by 4-6" deep (depending on the curve). That should handle most bedside clocks out there. BUT if I were to ever want a clock radio I might be stuck. (The clock radio has always been on my wife's side of the bed, so I didn't even think about it.) And yes, we both need clocks on each side of the bed. Not up for discussion. :rolleyes:
 
A while back I heard about an alarm clock that was sort of an E-Z-Bale oven with a timer. You put a piece of bacon in it and at the set time, the clock would cook the bacon so you could awaken to that nice aroma. I think that could be nice for awhile.

I got your file down to 193 Kb (better than a 50% reduction) which zips to a loadable size. Sorry but part of what I had to do was eliminate a couple of materials. There were also a bunch of unused materials that I gor rid of as well as a large quantity of unneeded lines and faces.
 

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Someone pointed out to me that a lamp would possibly not work on a table like this. And I think they're probably right. However, I have wall-mounted lamps beside my bed, so it isn't a concern. Just thought I'd mention that here.
 
poking some more...

My wife thought a larger 'clock perch' might be more versatile, so I've poked some more at the design. I dropped the curved front also, as I thought it looked more out of place on the larger shelf.

Here it is with one post:
nightstand2-view1.jpgnightstand2-view2.jpgnightstand2-view3.jpg

Here it is with two skinnier posts:
nightstand3-view1.jpgnightstand3-view2.jpgnightstand3-view3.jpg

Comments? Suggestions? I think that two supports works better with a larger shelf.
I've thought about curving them a bit, but that doesn't seem in keeping with the tall/shaker lines of the bottom part of the stand.
 
As long as you're going to go with two posts, what about notching the top panel and extending the back 2 legs up higher? Seems like it might simplify how the narrower shelf attaches.
 
Hi Art :wave:,
I think you are on track for a very significant piece! That is if :rolleyes: "You will just take your hand off that ROCKET!!!!" :rofl::rofl::rofl: "Rocketman!!!!!!!!"
Shaz:)
 
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Cool idea, Art. I think I prefer the "two post" version.

Yes, I like this more and more. I think it ... "draws up" from the base more. I don't know how to phrase it. I think the wider shelf, with two posts, fits more with the base and looks less "grafted on".

As long as you're going to go with two posts, what about notching the top panel and extending the back 2 legs up higher? Seems like it might simplify how the narrower shelf attaches.

Doug, maybe you didn't notice from the drawing, but the "clock perch" is 3" narrower than the main top. If I were to extend the back legs, that would not intersect with the clock perch neatly.

Now, I did make the top supports the same width as the legs, to visually match them. But I did not make them as thick. Both those ideas are something I play around with in Sketchup later, to see if it appeals. Right now it doesn't, but I haven't drawn it out yet.


Hi Art :wave:,
I think you are on track for a very significant piece! That is if :rolleyes: "You will just take your hand off that ROCKET!!!!" :rofl::rofl::rofl:

Shaz, would you rather I kept my eye on the ball? Not to mention my hands... :wave:
big-ball.jpg
(At Kennedy Space Center -- where the rocket from my current avatar is found -- they have this enourmous marble ball, engraved with the night sky, that floats on a fountain of water. It's heavy, wet, and slippery, but if you try hard, you can make it spin. Very tough to get it to change directions. And that's OT enough for this thread!:doh: )
 
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