Nightstand Organization for a Guest Bedroom

It always seems that one home project leads to another one. Recently, I completed a nightstand makeover for our guest bedroom, and it caused me to clean out our hall bath. How is that possible?

Well, ever since the little guy got big enough to take baths in the bathtub, our hall bath has been not-so-functional. We had been using the vanity to store cleaning supplies and extra toiletries for guests, but it was getting rather crowded. Instead of having thing organized, I’ve just been finding random spots for all his stuff — like bath toys, bath products, towels and washcloths. It’s just a disorganized mess!

Once the nice weather is gone and the hot and humid weather arrives, I plan on working more on indoor projects like our hall bath, instead of outdoor projects. In the meantime, I did make one small step towards bath organization, by removing all of the guest toiletries from under the sink.

There are two drawers in this nightstand, and the top drawer houses most of the toiletries we had stored under the sink in the hall bath.

1. Loofahs, bar soap, body soap and disposable razors
2. Bottles of shampoo and conditioner
3. Lotion
4. More shampoo and conditioner
5. A few issues of BHG on hand for nighttime reading

The bottom drawer holds a few more toiletries along with some linens.

1. Toothbrushes
2. Facial wipes
3. Extra bed linens
4. A shower cap

I was already using the nightstand for an extra set of bed linens before I painted it. This clears up a little bit of space in our linen closet.

You can probably tell that most of the little toiletries are from hotels. Typically we take our own products and don’t use the hotel freebies. Instead of tossing them out we bring them home to use for our guests!

When you set up a nightstand for your guest, you should also think about the top surface too. Obviously, I want it to include some pretty items because we are the ones who see it most often; but it should be functional too.

A tray is a great spot for your guest to sit a glass of water, along with small items like pocket change or a cell phone.

The little gold creamer is a nice metallic touch but can be used to drape a necklace {or cool old eyeglasses like these from an antique mall in Paris, Kentucky}.

Even with the ability to set an alarm clock on your cell phone, I think this vintage-esque clock is a fun addition. Even though it has a vintage look, it’s actually from IKEA {and only $6!}.

No nightstand is complete without a lamp, and I love an adjustable desk lamp for next to the bed. It’s prefect for reading those issues of BHG before nodding off.

I’ve got another piece of furniture in my guest room that needs some organizing too. I think guest bedrooms are a great place to maximize storage yet also be multi-functional, don’t you?

We’ve already added a mini-office and now we’ve freed up some space in our hall bath while making our guests more comfortable.

I’m curious, how do you use your guest bedroom?