How to Pair Nightstands, Beds & Dressers
Bedroom styling tips from our design team.
21 January –
One of our most-asked bedroom styling questions, answered.
One of the questions we receive often is, “how do I pair my bedroom dresser with the nightstands and bed?” And it got us thinking, how do we pair dressers, nightstands, and beds? Like many aspects of design work, it can be difficult to pinpoint an exact formula or step-by-step guide because our process rarely looks the same from project to project. However, we wanted to dive into this topic and identify a few patterns from past design projects to help you navigate selecting these pieces.
Keep scrolling to see some inspiration and tips on selecting the three major pieces in the bedroom: the dresser, the nightstands, and the bed.
QuestionIs there a recipe for success when it comes to pairing dressers, nightstands, and beds?
AnswerThere isn’t an exact recipe, and it really depends on your style and your home. Sometimes people think of a bedroom as a place to match furniture and keep things more cohesive. For example, a lot of websites and stores sell bedroom sets. However, at Studio McGee we always like to mix styles to give a room more of that thought-through, designed look. Layering pieces of different styles, wood tones, and materials always bring more dimension.
QuestionDo you try to avoid using the same material on all three of these pieces even if they are contrasting in style?
AnswerTypically, in any room, Shea and the design team try to stick to a maximum of two contrasting wood tones, meaning we might do a nightstand in light oak and a dresser in dark mahogany. We do consider black wood a neutral, but with a black, wooden bed, seeing as the nightstands and the bed are right next to each other, you may want to choose something other than wood to pair with it to bring more warmth.
QuestionHow do you bring more warmth into a bedroom with the materials? Is there such a thing as too much texture?
Answer
We love upholstered beds because they add a softness that contrasts really well with metal, certain woods, or other cooler materials. However, if you do an upholstered bed that doesn’t mean you can’t pair it with a different warm texture like a caned nightstand. In our opinion, you can never have too much texture.
QuestionWhat do we need to consider when it comes to the functionality of bedroom pieces?
Answer
We always like to consider storage in a nightstand, whether it’s open on the bottom to make room for a basket, or it’s all drawers. There are times when you don’t have a lot of room for a dresser, and sometimes people forget to take advantage of that nightstand space for storage.
QuestionWhat is the first piece we choose when designing a bedroom?
AnswerTypically, we start with the bed, but there are times when we fall in love with a nightstand or dresser first and then find pieces that work with it to build the room from there.
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