How to Pull Off Mismatched Nightstands
Despite their differences, night tables with unequal heights, varying colors and even odd-couple styles can get along just fine
Lisa Frederick
4 December 2012
Houzz Contributor. After journalism school, I fell into decorating media and immediately discovered a new passion. An Atlanta native, I spent several years as an editor for Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles magazine before making the leap to national publications and websites such as Houzz, Better Homes and Gardens and Southern Accents. I live in Birmingham, Alabama, with my husband and son, who’ve gotten used to coming home and finding the furniture rearranged. When I'm not dragging case goods across the floor, I enjoy good food and wine, college football, music of all kinds, and traveling.
Houzz Contributor. After journalism school, I fell into decorating media and immediately... More
Maybe you have a houseful of hand-me-down furniture, or you're a devoted thrift store shopper. Maybe you found a single piece you couldn't resist in the design store. Or maybe you just don't like "matchy-poo" sets (as one design maven I know calls them). Whatever the reason, you've ended up with an odd couple of nightstands in your bedroom — and now you're wondering how to make them get along. Check out the strategies in these seven spaces, then put your favorite to work in your own.
Although these two nightstands hail from opposite ends of the style spectrum, they share a lot of parallels in form. Both are tall and leggy, with generous open space underneath. They’re about the same width, and their visual weight is similar. Twin mirrors and lamps help to enhance the tables’ similarities and downplay their differences.
Try painting mismatched stands in a single color to make them harmonize. This pair of nightstands isn't identical, but the consistent finish and shape give the impression that each is part of the same family.
In a similar way, the handsome wood on this console table and chest of drawers lets them marry well within the setting.
If your night tables share absolutely no common threads, use other elements of the decor to tie them together. Here, the lamps and window treatments help to make the nightstands look of a piece, even though they differ in finish, form and feel.
Step up your window game with custom treatments
Step up your window game with custom treatments
Of course, you could always take the opposite approach: Emphasize their differences. Using a single lamp exaggerates the asymmetrical feel of these two tables.
This duo reminds me of the old nursery rhyme about Jack Sprat and his wife. What makes them work well together? The shorter one is topped by a lamp that adds a little height, while a low-slung stack of books tamps down the taller one. The symmetrical artwork over each balances out the composition.
This space gets away with mismatched nightstands largely because the one on the far side of the bed feels so independent of the other (see the next photo for a closer look).
Browse hundreds of nightstands and bedside tables
Browse hundreds of nightstands and bedside tables
Here’s a more detailed view of the table on the left. With a chair pulled close, it comes off more as a writing and tea table than as a nightstand, yet its presence keeps the room from feeling off-kilter.
More: 32 Creative Ideas for Your Nightstand
More: 32 Creative Ideas for Your Nightstand
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Should i get something which has timber on top (whether or not the colour of timber matches)? I couldn't find a similar colour timber so i bought a black metal stool thinking "black goes with everything yeh" ?
Is it too clashy having one timber & one metal bedside? Should i buy the same lamp for the other side? I have a grey upholstered bedhead.
See pics for the bedside i was tossing up getting. Mismatched colour of timber with black metal legs. Did i make the right decision going all black or should i return & get the timber one?
Different night tables on either side of your bed can work really well together, despite unequal heights and colors. This trend can actually lend your bedroom some personality and eclectic charm and spice up the crisp,clear lines of modern interior.
love this article!! I have a 3 drawer mirrored nightstand from zgallerie and want to mismatch another nightstand and chest. What should i be looking for?