Easy How to Build a Mid Century Modern Nightstand

MID CENTURY MODERN NIGHTSTAND

So, the style of our master bedroom makeover, I’ve been knocking out over the last several weeks, is more of a mid-century modern vibe. After completing my first ever bed-build, I knew I wanted MCM nightstands to match. After perusing Pinterest for some ideas, I came across a design that I loved from Saws On Skates. Somewhat following their plans, I made a few changes along the way. Onto, my first ever nightstand build…

EASY HOW TO BUILD A MID CENTURY MODERN NIGHTSTAND

The following plans are for one nightstand. Please duplicate the material and plans for two.

Materials Needed:

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4×8 sheet of 3/4″ plywood (1)

1x3x6 pine board (1)

2×4 sheet of hardboard (for bottom of drawers)

1 1/4″ Kreg Jig Screws

1 1/4″ GRK Screws

Paint (I chose Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black)

Stain (I chose Varathane Golden Oak)

Poly

Sanding Sheets (60 and 220)

Tools Needed:

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Miter Saw

Table Saw (If you don’t have a table saw, you can use a jigsaw or a circular saw)

Drill

Kreg Jig

Sander

STEP ONE: Cut the top and bottom

Using your table saw, cut the top to 22.5″ x 16.5″ and drill 3/4″ pocket holes in each end.

Using your table saw, cut the bottom to 22.5″ x 15 3/4″ and drill 3/4″ pocket holes in each end….

STEP TWO: Cut the sides

Using your table saw, cut the sides (2) to 16.5″ x 14 5/8″.

WANT TO ADD THE TOPPER?? HERE ARE THE PLANS!!

STEP THREE: Assemble

Using clamps to keep your boards square, attach each side board to the top board with 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws….

Repeat this step to attach the bottom board. Note bottom board is slightly shorter in width than top board. Make sure bottom board is flush to the back of the side boards; as shown below…

STEP FOUR: Cut the back

Cut back to fit and drill 3/4″ pocket holes around the edges. Back should fit tight inside the top, bottom and sides. Attach using 1 1/4″ p.h. screws….

STEP FIVE: Cut and attach drawer slide supports

To hopefully make this more clear, here’s a picture of what the drawer slide supports will look like when they’re all attached….

Cut 8 strips of 3/4″ plywood to 14 1/4″ x 1 1/2″….these strips will be your drawer slides.

Now cut scrap wood to use as guides to install your drawer slides. You’ll need:

Two strips cut at 10 1/4″ (width doesn’t matter) (using miter saw)

Two strips cut at 3 3/4″ (width doesn’t matter) (using miter saw)

One strip ripped to 13/16″ wide (using table saw). Length should be at least 15″ long.

Now you’re ready to install your drawer slides:

Place the two 10 1/4″ scrap pieces, standing up, on the bottom of the drawer box…

Place one of your 14 1/4″ x 1 1/2″ drawer slides on top of these scrap pieces….

Using wood glue and 1 1/2″ screws, attach the drawer slide to side of drawer box.

Take away scrap pieces.

Lay the box on its side (this will make it easier to line up and attach the drawer slides)

Place the 13/16″ wide scrap below your first attached drawer slide and attach another drawer slide right underneath this scrap, using wood glue and 1 1/4″ screws. As shown in picture below…

Remove 13/16″ wide scrap and now you’re ready to attach the bottom drawer slide.

Place the two 3 1/4″ scraps, standing up, on the bottom of the drawer box. Then place a drawer slide on top of the two scraps. Attach the drawer slide using wood glue and 1 1/4″ screws.

Remove the 3 1/4″ scraps and place the 13/16″ wide scrap below the drawer slide and then attach your last drawer slide for this side of your drawer; using wood glue and 1 1/4″ screws. Your drawer box should now look like this…

Repeat these steps for the other side and it should look like this when you’re finished…

STEP SIX: Cut the feet

The feet will look like this…

Cut four 1×3’s at 5″ each.

Set your miter saw to 22.5 degree angle…

and cut the corner of one of your 5″ boards. (Caution: be extra careful of your fingers!!)….

Then trace that angle cut onto your remaining 3 boards and make your cuts….

You should now have 4 feet. Drill pocket holes on the 2 1/2″ side of the feet….

STEP SEVEN: Cut leg braces

Rip the remaining 1x3x6 pine board to 1 1/2″ wide using your table saw. Then cut into 9″ strips using your miter saw.

Drill one 3/4″ pocket hole on one end of each leg brace. Then attach a foot to the end of each leg brace, using 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws (Note: Ignore the measurement in the background of this picture. Also, there is no need to angle cut the end of your 9″ strip–I was using scrap wood)….

Attach the foot/leg braces to the bottom of the drawer box as shown below. (I didn’t really measure anything out for the placing of these…I just eyeballed them, knowing I wanted the feet to be visible and slightly turned when the nightstand is sitting upright)….

Now you’re ready to make the drawers….

STEP EIGHT: Cut all the pieces for the drawers

Cut 4 drawer sides…Using 3/4″ plywood, rip 4 boards to the following dimensions: 5 1/2″ x 15 1/2″. Cut a 5 degree angle on one end of each drawer side, then measure 14 3/4″ on the long end and cut (a regular 90 degree angle). See picture below for more clarity….

Cut 2 drawer backs…Using 3/4″ plywood, rip 2 boards to the following dimensions: 5 1/2″ x 19 3/8″ . Drill 3/4″ pocket holes on each end and attach to sides, using wood glue and 1 1/4″ p.h. screws….

Cut 2 drawer inner fronts….Using 3/4″ plywood, rip 2 boards to the same dimensions as the 2 drawer backs (5 1/2″ x 19 3/8″). Drill 3/4″ p.h’s on each end and attach to sides, using wood glue and 1 1/4″ p.h. screws. You’re drawers should now look like the picture below (without the hardboard bottom–that’s our next step)….

Cut hardboard to fit and attach to bottom of each drawer, using wood glue and a brad nailer or tiny nails….

STEP NINE: Cut drawer slides

Rip 3/4″ plywood to 11/16″ and cut at 15″. You’ll need 4 of these.

Attach these to the sides of your drawers with 1 1/4″ screws. To find the right placement, use a scrap piece from your 1x3x6 pine board. Set the drawer on your workspace and place the 1×3 scrap against the side of the drawer…

Then place your 11/16″ x 15″ slide on top of the scrap 1×3. Ensuring that the front of your drawer is flush with the end of the slide, attach using wood glue and 1 1/4″ screws. (Note: some of the slide will stick out on the back. Don’t cut that off. This will ensure that your drawers don’t push into the drawer box further than they should) Your drawer slide should look like this now….

Attach the other drawer slide to the other side of your drawer and it should now look like this from the front…

Repeat these steps for the second drawer and now you’re ready to insert the drawers into the nightstand drawer box….

STEP TEN: Add drawer fronts

Now you’re ready for the drawer fronts. Obviously, we want to cover up all of those rough edges on the front of our drawers, so we’re going to add drawer fronts.

Rip two 3/4″ plywood boards to 6 5/8″ wide and cut length to fit with a 1/8″ gap on both ends (for easy sliding). Attach to drawer inner fronts, using 1 1/4″ screws….

Of course, the final step is painting or staining the nightstand and adding any hardware you wish.

I decided to stain mine to match my bed. I used Varathane Golden Oak, painted the top, sides and feet Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black and contemplated these two drawer handles…

Which one would you choose? Gold or black? Be sure to comment below and let me know. Check back next week to see what changes I made to the nightstand and which hardware I decided to go with. (Amazon Affiliate Links Included)