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How to balance a bedroom with only one nightstand

Not all bedrooms have two nightstands. Even though your taste may crave for symmetry, when you discover the potential of having asymmetrical design options (like having only one nightstand), a whole new world will open up to you. With this article, we’re happy to lead you to this new world… through four interior arrangement ideas.


Symmetry vs. asymmetry


For some reason, our human minds find the symmetrical arrangement pleasurable - it symbolizes order, like the antidote for chaos. Think of large symmetrical castle gardens… symmetrical squares in a big city… or even a symmetrical bedroom arrangement. Symmetry is also a good element of minimalist interior design as symmetrical arrangement is able to reduce clutter - and avoid the feel of untidiness.


However, there is always another side: a freer, more artistic way that breaks these rules and is happy to experiment with various arrangements. Asymmetrical interior design have had a great rise in the last few years, especially as organic modern and japandi interior design styles have gotten popular. It’s like opening up a new world wfull of interior design possibilities, where you can forget having two nightstands. If you need only one, why does it make sense to have two? There is so many other ways to balance a bedroom with only one nightstand - in this article, we’ll show you a few ways to give you some ideas.


4 ways for balancing a bedroom with only one nightstand


1. Nightstand between two beds


Placing one nightstand between two beds is a good idea…

  • for guest rooms with two separate beds

  • for such couples who sleep separately

  • and also for children’s rooms.


In this case, there is no special guideline to follow except that the nightstand should match the bedroom interior (bedframe, floor, other furniture). In this arrangement, the nightstand works like a centerpiece between the two beds.


To create enough storage space for both persons, it makes sense to select a wider nightstand for this purpose, or have wide piece custom-made for your project.



2. Bed is in the corner


In small bedrooms where there is no space on both sides of the bed, you are limited to having one nightstand - but instead of a limitation, you can think of it as a great possibility to put a showstopper piece on the bedside that really draws attention.


This block nightstand made of solid wood is one of our favorite examples:


wooden block nightstand


3. Nightstand and dressing table


Having one nightstand does not mean that you can’t have anything else on the other side of your bed. A popular choice is selecting the furniture according to its function: if you rather need a dressing table instead of a nightstand, why not? In this case, you can create a great harmony if the design / material / texture is similar, so they still create a matching set even though the two pieces are not from a “factory set”. Here are two bedrooms where nightstands are replaced by dressing tables - one of these is actually a floating dressing table:



4. Counterbalance a single nightstand


As mentioned earlier, we look for symmetry - and if the lack of it is very obvious, it may be disturbing. It is especially true if there is one nightstand on the side of the bed but there is nothing on the other side: just an empty space. In that case, it is a good idea to put something else on the other side of your bed that works as a counterbalance, either by drawing attention thanks to its character, or just simply filling the void.




Either you need one or two nightstands, our choice is the floating nightstand. We at mybettershelf, design and manufacture premium floating nightstands since 2017.



There are plenty of similar interior design tips on our blog, and if you subscribe to our newsletter, you can get these delivered to your inbox when there is a new publication.


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