DIY Chelsea Nightstands

Hello and happy Wednesday! I’ve got quite a treat for you today! I teamed up with my friend (and fellow military spouse!) Chelsea from Making Home Base to bring you the free building plans and tutorial for this beautiful DIY Pottery Barn-inspired nightstand. Can you believe that’s a DIY project? So beautiful!

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Chelsea has been hard at work with her master bedroom makeover and she fell in love with these nightstands. Chelsea knew she could build them for so much less so she asked me to draw up the plans for her and I’m so happy that she did because they turned out so gorgeous!

Be sure to head over to Making Home Base for more photos and details on how Chelsea built her nightstands!

Are you ready to build your own? Let’s do this.

DOWNLOAD THE PDF PLANS FOR THE CHELSEA NIGHTSTAND.
*Note: The plans are for one nightstand.

MATERIALS:

• 1 – 2x2x8′
• 1 – Half Sheet of 3/4″ Plywood
• 3 – 1x2x8′
• 2 – 1x4x8′
• 25-1/4″ of 1×6′
• 1 – Half Sheet of 1/4″ Plywood
• 6′ of 3/4″ Cove Moulding
• 4 – Furniture Feet
• 4 – Metal Corner Brackets
• 2 – Drawer Knobs
• 1 – Set of 14″ Drawer Slides
• 1-1/4″ Pocket Hole Screws
• 1-1/4″ Wood Screws
• 1″ Brad Nails
• Wood Glue
• Iron-On 3/4″ Edge Banding

TOOLS:

• Tape Measure
• Speed Square
• Pencil
• Drill with Countersink Drill Bit
• Table Saw or Router
• Miter Saw
• Kreg Jig
• Brad Nailer
• Clamps
• Safety Glasses
• Hearing Protection

CUT LIST:

• 4 – 2×2 @ 24-1/4″ (legs)
• 2 – 3/4″ plywood @ 13-1/2″ x 5-3/4″ (side panels)
• 6 – 1×2 @ 13-1/2″ (rails)
• 1 – 3/4″ plywood @ 25-1/2″ x 5-3/4″ (back panel)
• 6 – 1×2 @ 25-1/2″ (rails)
• 1 – 3/4″ plywood @ 28-1/2″ x 16-1/2″ (bottom shelf)
• 1 – 3/4″ plywood @ 30″ x 18″ (top)
• 1 – 3/4″ cove moulding @ 30″
• 2 – 3/4″ cove moulding @ 17-1/4″

Drawer:

• 2 – 1×4 @ 23″ (front/back)
• 2 – 1×4 @ 14-1/4″ (sides)
• 1 – 1/4″ plywood @ 24-1/2″ x 14-1/4″ (bottom)
• 1 – 1×6 @ 25-1/4″ (face)

STEP 1:
Build the sides. Drill ¾” pocket holes as shown and construct with 1 ¼” pocket hole screws and wood glue. Notice that the plywood side panels are flush to the interior.

STEP 2:
Build the back panel. Drill ¾” pocket holes as shown and attach 1×2 rails with 1 ¼” pocket hole screws and wood glue. Next, construct carcass by attaching back panel to sides with 1 ¼” pocket hole screws and wood glue.

STEP 3:
Drill ¾” pocket holes into 1×2 rails as shown and attach to carcass with 1 ¼” pocket hole screws and wood glue. Pre-drill pilot holes into the bottom rails to attach the bottom shelf in the next step.

STEP 4:
Notch out the corners of the ¾” plywood bottom panel and drop into place. Attach to the bottom rails with 1 ¼” countersunk wood screws driven from underneath. You may want to iron on ¾” veneer edge banding to conceal raw plywood edges.

STEP 5:
Attach metal corner brackets and screw in furniture feet. Depending on what feet you choose, you may need to attach an additional scrap block to attach the brackets to the carcass.

STEP 6:
Measure, mark, and cut cove moulding to fit and attach to carcass with 1” brad nails and wood glue.

STEP 7:
Pre-drill pilot holes into rails and attach top with 1 ¼” countersunk wood screws and wood glue, allowing for a ¾” overhang on all sides. Iron on ¾” veneer edge banding to conceal raw plywood edges.

STEP 8:
Drill ¾” pocket holes into 1×2 rail and attach to carcass with 1 ¼” pocket hole screws and wood glue.

STEP 9:
Build the drawer. Drill ¾” pocket holes on the outside of the drawer front and back (pocket holes will be hidden by drawer face in Step 11), then construct the drawer box with 1 ¼” pocket hole screws. Be sure to check for square. Additionally, drill ¾” pocket holes into the sides, facing towards the front to attach the drawer face (see Fig. 10).

STEP 10:
Attach the ¼” plywood bottom with 1” brad nails and wood glue.

STEP 11:
Find the mid-point in the 1×6 drawer front, then run the board through the table saw to cut a ¼” deep dado. This will mimic the look of two separate drawer fronts.

STEP 12:
Install drawer slides according to manufacturer’s directions, slide the drawer box into place, then position the drawer face with a 1/8” clearance around all sides. Clamp the drawer face onto drawer box, then attach it with 1 ¼” pocket hole screws. Attach drawer knobs to drawer face.

Finally, sand, stain or paint, and finish as desired.

PIN IT so you don’t forget it!

Like this post? Here are a few more nightstand plans to check out: