On My Nightstand

It's been a little while since I've done a Home + Garden feature on the blog, so I thought I'd share this simple, everyday vignette. The nightstand is special because you see it every morning and evening. This unassuming little table can, in a way, set the tone for your day. If it's cluttered, you might feel anxious or overwhelmed just looking at it, and thus begin your day (or go to sleep) with a vaguely unsettled feeling. Luckily, a nightstand is small and manageable enough to be restyled in an hour or less.

My two main criteria for nightstand items are that they be useful and/or beautiful. If something is the least bit stressful *cough, cough PHONE* then it does not belong on this surface.

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful. ~ William Morris

Useful

• Glass of water. Usually, I take sips of water throughout the night, but if I find that the glass is full when I wake up, I make sure to drink the entire glass. I'm not the best at getting my quota of 8 glasses a day, so this at least takes care of one!

• Alarm clock. After years of using my phone for an alarm clock, I've switched to using an actual clock that I set each evening. While a phone works well as an alarm, it also works too well as a web browser. It's far too easy to get drawn in to checking social media before bed. Even something as benign as browsing online stores can nevertheless take up time that should be spent sleeping. Now my phone sits across the room, where I can't reach it to "check one more time."

• Chapstick. Spearmint is my favorite flavor of chapstick. And gum, coincidentally.

Beautiful

• Flowers or greenery. I enjoy fresh flowers when they're available; otherwise, a faux arrangement will suffice in the winter months. Speaking of winter months, I have a darling miniature Christmas tree that resides on my nightstand during the holiday season. I'll be certain to share that in a post closer to Christmas!

• Cards or pictures. Like the floral arrangements, I change out cards with the seasons and holidays. My dear friend Anna has a knack for picking out the most beautiful cards. They're so pretty I can't just tuck them away in a box, so I display them on my nightstand.

Both

• Jewelry dish. I'm a bit of a crow - I like shiny things. :) Also, this makes my favorite jewelry pieces easy to grab as I'm getting ready in the morning.

• Doily - I know it's a bit old fashioned, but we always use doilies on top of our wood furniture. Then we don't have to be so paranoid about scratching the finish. Doilies also add a nice feminine touch.

'Til next time,

Eva