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You are here: Home / building project / Easy How to Build a Mid Century Modern Nightstand

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Easy How to Build a Mid Century Modern Nightstand

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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, I combined some styles that I liked and came up with my own design. Onto, my first ever nightstand build…

Mid Century Modern nightstand stained and painted

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:

(Amazon Affiliate Links Included)

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:

(Amazon Affiliate Links Included)

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….

Piece of 3/4" plywood with pocket holes

STEP TWO: Cut the sides 

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

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….

Drawer box for a nightstand

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…

Drawer box shell made of 3/4" plywood

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….

Drawer box for nightstand

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….

Drawer box with drawer supports

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…

Guides for drawer supports inside drawer box

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

Support guides for drawer supports for nightstand

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…

Nightstand drawer box with supports

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…

Nightstand supports in drawer box

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

Nightstand box with supports

STEP SIX: Cut the feet

The feet will look like this…

Feet for Nightstand

Cut four 1×3’s at 5″ each.

Set your miter saw to 22.5 degree angle…

Miter saw set to 22.5 degree mark

and cut the corner of one of your 5″ boards. (Caution: be extra careful of your fingers!!)….Miter saw cutting feet for nightstand

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

Miter saw cutting feet for nightstands

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

Nightstand leg with pocket holes

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)….

2 legs for nightstand with braces attached

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)….

paint cans on top of wooden feet

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….

Drawer box with 5 degree angle pointed out

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….

Back and sides of nightstand

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)….

drawer box with hardboard bottom

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

Hardboard added to drawer box

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…

Drawer box with 1x3 next to it

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….

Drawer box with support

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

Drawer box

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

Nightstand with drawers

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….

Nightstand drawer set

HOP OVER TO THIS POST TO ADD THE NIGHTSTAND TOPPER 

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…

Drawer box with black and gold handles

Which one would you choose? Gold hardware or black hardware? Be sure to comment below and let me know. Hop over to this post to see which hardware I chose and to add the topper to your nightstand.  (Amazon Affiliate Links Included)

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

Mid Century Modern nightstand stained and painted

PIN IT FOR LATER….PINTEREST PIN

I would love to connect with you over on Instagram, where I share all of my projects in real time. 🙂

Until next time,

Happy Building, Friend!!

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Hi! I’m Nicole

nicole

Through the changes of life and home, God remains the same. I am a mom, wife, blogger, builder, home designer, D.I.Y.er and inspirer.

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