How to Build a Nightstand Table

Turn a suitcase table into a nightstand that holds an alarm clock and lamp, and has a handy storage area for keeping other necessities at your finger tips. Choose a hard-sided suitcase with flat top to form the top of your table. Hardware and home stores sell both legs and the top plates they screw into. Try turned wood legs for a traditional look, or go for a midcentury-Modern aesthetic with hairpin legs. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Cut a piece of particle board to fit exactly inside a small suitcase. Trim the corners of the particle board to accommodate the corners of the suitcase if they are rounded.

2

Stack several hardcover books on your work surface, so the stack is taller than the depth of the bottom half of the suitcase. Lay the particle board on top of the books, and the suitcase bottom upside-down on top of the board. This pushes the board against the inside bottom of the suitcase. Attach an angled top plate to each corner of the suitcase bottom. The angled top plate is a metal square, held in place with four screws, with an angled hole in the center that the table legs screw into. Use screws that go through the suitcase bottom and half the thickness of the particle board (1 1/2-inch screws should be appropriate).

3

Screw a table leg into each of the top plates. Table legs in wood or metal are sturdy enough to hold the suitcase, plus any items you place in or on it. Turn the suitcase right-side up and latch it.