Nightstand Idea 2.1

Just a quicky today. Wanted to share another nightstand idea that I developed last week. Actually, it’s more like a modified wardrobe. Thanks IKEA for the inspiration.

The top half is a large storage cabinet with shelves. The doors will probably be faced with metallic silver. The center is the nightstand space. I did not want to lose a space to put a glass of water or a cell phone with this idea. But instead of just opening it up, I thought it would be neat to encase the space between with glass (or plexiglass) except on the bed side (so i can still access it), and then have a light installed on the base of the upper cabinet for accent and reading light. Finally, the base is a somewhat simple cabinet. A drawer for miscellaneous things, a slim cabinet that slides out to hold magazines, and a regular cabinet, possibly with shelves, for books or other things. It’s a fun idea and it may end up getting built. It adds a bunch more storage to my bedroom without losing a nightstand space.

Can’t wait to have a couch again. A pampasan chair is not the best for long hours of lounging.

Personal Apartment Improvements: Bedroom

Another sketch dump today. After exploring the ideas I had for a nightstand design, I started to get into the bigger picture of redesigning one side of my bedroom. See, I like the bed side of my room, its very put together, but the opposite wall is what I look at all the time when I’m in there, and it needs some help.

So yesterday I spent a lot of time playing with some ideas. Below are some quick sketches for the wall.

The last one on the top right is the one that grabbed my attention the most and I had to get it into a 3D form so I could see how it would work in the space. The result is what you see below. I didn’t add a lot of details because it’s not the best 3D program in the world. The nice thing about this design though is that it would be fairly simple to build. The cube shelf and filing cabinet in the corner I already have and set the mounting height for the surfaces. And though I do not own the low dresser in the corner yet, I have two bookcases that will fit there in its place while I save up for the dresser. And with the large amount of surface, I can use part of it for a vanity, part of it for deskwork, and part of it for storage. I’d love to add tall clear vases in the corners and maybe tack up some little LED lights underneath the soffit above to accent the whole area.

And like I mentioned, it would be very simple to construct. Support for the surfaces would vary between weather it rests on a cabinet, uses end panel legs, or wall shelf brackets. All together it comes to 6 pieces of wood and some shelf brackets. If I actually get this all constructed and put together in my actual bedroom, I will definitely be posting all the details about it.

Its been raining for the past 3 days off and on. A nice change from the hot sticky weather of the south, but I’m hoping all this rain will bring some cooler weather. May not post again until Monday. It’s going to be another busy weekend. Hope you enjoy yours!

Nightstand Idea 1.1

So this week I may be doing a bunch of sketch dumps. I FINALLY bought my new couch and it has inspired me to draw up all the ideas I’ve had for my apartment lately.

Here is an idea for a nightstand I had. My favorite features of this design are the side bookcases, the small area for a little sculpture or art piece, and the bottom drawer, which will be designed to hold magazines. Plus, the front of the drawers are faced with metal, as well as one of the walls in the feature area, and the top will have a glass layer for easy cleaning.

Hope you had a great holiday weekend!

Custom Headboard

Once upon a time when I prepared to move, I began the search for a headboard. When I couldn’t find one within the time I had to move, I settled on a lift-top coffee table (which turned out to be a smarter and more practical decision) and decided I would design a headboard for myself that my dad could build for me sometime. Because let’s face it, when it comes to designing my own space, I’m very picky. I bet other designers are too. Thus, my solution is just to design it for myself. Haha.

So of course I did a bunch of sketches to brainstorm some ideas based on what I had liked when I was looking for one and I’ll be sharing those today. I also saw a few more different headboards while on my trip this weekend that got me thinking about it designing one again so I’m sharing those today to.

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Basically, I want it to look simple and modern. I want mostly a dark wood but also want to mix in another material like glass or metal. I also want there to be built in lighting so I don’t have to worry about buying table lamps (because I am also planning to design night stands to go with the headboard). I think adding a natural element as seen in some of my sketches would be different, but I don’t know if I’ll stick with that idea.

There’s still a lot of brainstorming to be done, and it needs to be something that I will like enough to keep for a long time.

Question for the day: Have you ever spent months shopping for something thinking “I’ll know it when I see it?” What were you looking for?

Paint Stick Pendant Shade

Once again, I reveal my obsession with light and light fixtures because today’s idea is another one of these.

I once saw on the Nate Berkus show (I think) a way to construct a simple outdoor walkway light from paint stir sticks and a pipe/tube clamp. I always have a few paint sticks lying around so this idea has always been in the back of my mind.

Well, in studying pipe clamps a little closer, I became less fond of using one for this idea. So lately I’ve been trying to come up with a similar concept. I have seen in my research, that others have painted and attached paint sticks to basic lampshades and hang it as a pendent light. Or even deconstruct a chandelier in some fashion and attach paint sticks.

But, I wanted to do it a little differently and try to use something that wasn’t already intended to be a light fixture. Eventually, I found a paper-mâché box at hobby lobby that would make it easy to attach paint sticks. It was a simple solution. Below you’ll find some sketches that helped me figure out how I wanted to put this together and how I wanted to fashion it decoratively.

I really wanted to make it so that light would shine up, down, and out of small punctures or openings in the sides for maximum luminosity, but figuring out how to construct it in that way with only a limited number of ideas and resources was becoming frustrating. So for now I may simply settle for cutting a hole in the bottom of the box that is small enough to allow my plug in pendant cord through and allow the constructed shade to simply rest as the base of the bulb casing.

Basically, it’s simple, it uses the concept of the original idea, and inexpensive. I plan to construct it for this month’s project so be on the look-out for the project completion post!

Happy Tuesday!