About a year and a half ago, I set out to transform my master bedroom. This was the first big room transformation I took on and my mid-century modern nightstands were the first big DIY project I took on. Yes, it was only 1 room, and only 1 project. I didn't do an entire renovation, I didn't knock down walls, but building the perfect nightstands for my husband and I to be able to fit all our things (and hide the junk) was the first step in making the room feel more practical, more calm, and more us. 

I originally posted about it right after the initial build, but I have learned so much since then and have also been getting lots of questions on some of the details so I thought I'd revamp this tutorial and give you the complete step by step guide. 

Here's what you'll need:

SUPPLIES:

• 3/4" Wood Screws - 4 bags, 10 per pack
• Wire Nails - 1 Pack
• Wood Stain​

   TOOLS:

• Kreg Jig - see Pocket Hole post for more details
• Saw - if you have a table saw already, that is great too (also you can rent a circular saw from Home Depot, it's the best thing ever!)
• Hammer 
• Electric Sander - you can hand sand as well, but an electric sander will save you TONS of time. 
• Power Drill 

    HARDWARE

• Table Legs - You can choose legs to fit your style, these were the ones I got 
• Handles - Again, choose for your style. There are so many great options at Anthropologie and CB2
• Drawer Slides - These ones are soft close but if you want to save, you can get the plain ones.

WOOD:
Below is what you need for 1 nightstand with all the cuts and dimensions, double it for 2. 

• 2 pieces of 20″ x 20″ , 3/4″ Birch plywood
• 2 pieces of 15″ x 19.25″ , 3/4″ Birch plywood
• 1 piece of 15″ x 20″ , 3/4″ Birch plywood
• 4 pieces of 17.50″ x 3″, 3/4″ Birch plywood
• 1 piece of 20″ x 5″ x 3/4″ SOLID Birch Wood (This will be used for the drawer front so solid looks better for the side cuts
• 2 pieces of 17″ x 1/4″ x 1/4″ Birch plywood 
• 2 pieces of 15.50″ x 1/4″ x 1/4″ Birch plywood 
• 1 pieces of 17.50″ x 16″ x 1/4″ Birch underlayment 
• 1 roll of Birch edge finish adhesive​

Next, utilize the pocket hole technique for creating your joins on the 15" x 19.25" boards. You will need to make pocket holes on 3 of the sides of these pieces so don't attach until all holes are drilled. For the first connection point, you will want to drill your wholes about 6.5" apart and 4.5" from the edges. 

Repeat the pocket hole joineries on the back edge and upper edge to attach the beck and top of the nightstand. Keep the holes roughly a third apart. 

The next step is to make the drawer. Use the 17.5" x 3" pieces and connect them utilizing pocket holes on the side pieces that are spaced 1" apart and about 1/2" from the edge of the piece.

​***Don't connect the pieces just yet, we will be hammering the drawer base prior to connecting.

Next use the 1/4" pieces to create the drawer of your base. on the sides of the drawer, use 3-4 wire nails to connect the 17.5" pieces and on the front and back side of the drawer, use the 15.5" pieces. 

Once you have hammered in the nails, you can use the screws to connect the edges of the drawer at the pre-drilled pocket holes.

Next, wedge the 17.50" x 16" underlayment into the drawer. It should be a snug fit and rest on the ledge created by the 1/4" strips. Gravity will secure this one for you so no joineries needed! 

Attach the front face of the drawer to the drawer by screwing through the back side of the drawer. Screw as close to the edges as possible so you leave plenty of space to choose what ever handle in the center you would like. 

Now, it's time to put it together. Use the drawer slides installation instructions to attache the slides both to the drawer and the cabinet. I placed mine about 2" down from the top of the cabinet  to the center of the slide. Once the screws are in, you can just slide the drawer into place. 

Once you have all the pieces in place you can add your finish. Use a stain or sealer to get your wood to the ideal color. I stained and sanded twice to get the color I wanted. 

Then attach the legs of your choice with screws at the base and you are finished! 

I would say this DIY is intermediate to advanced. I did it as a total beginner though and with some persistence, it came together and turned out fantastically. They are still standing strong in our room 1.5 years later! ​

I love building with all of you in this community and seeing you create things that make your home and work space feel fresh, fun, and YOU! Use the hashtag #beyondtheclock to share how you are making your home (and life) dreams happen today by taking action (no matter how small) and  make sure to  click here so you never miss a post or giveaway! ​​ (I promise, no spam and only the good stuff).

Thanks for being here and following along! 

​This post has honestly been a long time coming! And the reason for that is the foundational mission of Beyond the Clock which is to style with time. I have had a vision for our master bedroom for probably almost 3 years. It took savings and slowly moving things around, upgrading furniture pieces and styling with the perfect details that I gathered throughout the years.
 
I know a lot of you followed along the way as I put these together and now is the big reveal of the full master bedroom transformation!
 
The thing is, as much as we would all love to click our heels together and transform a room instantly, one of the best things about styling a room is seeing how things come together. It helps both on a budget perspective, but also as an organic way for things to fit together and evolve as your day to day changes as well.
 
When I first began getting inspiration for the room, we had an office. Shortly into starting the room, we changed that into a guest room and had to find a place for some of the office furniture. With a bit of rearranging, we brought the bookshelf into our room since we don’t really watch TV there and then moved the TV stand to the living room. It ended up being a great way to refresh all 3 rooms and make good use of the space for how we were using it.
 
So here is the big reveal, all items and DIY upgraded projects linked. My curtains and rug are family heirlooms but I linked similar ones for you guys. 

Thank you for stopping by the blog today! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Make sure to CLICK HERE and subscribe so you never miss a post or giveaway!

UPDATED: Style with Time - Bedroom, the complete guide for styling a room overtime to fit your style and budget. 

Do you ever walk into a room with the intention to sit down and get something done, only to be met with eight thousand distractions? It’s truly amazing how fasts our minds work, sometimes to our own demise. There are so many times I walk into my kitchen, which I use as my office, to knock things off my to-do list, but instead I end up wiping down the counters, making my shopping list, taking things back to their rightful homes or worse, find a magazine I left in the corner last week and flip through my favorite articles. Ahhh the distractions are so real!
 
I’ve been really trying to make a conscious effort lately to find focus during the dedicated moments and keep my space and mind in a place that allow for productivity rather than floating to the next fancy thing in my line of sight.
 
Here’s what’s been working for me:

1. Whether you go into an office or have a space at home, make sure you have a designated location for “focus time”. If you online shop in the same place you need to be paying bills, your brain will naturally pick the fun stuff first.
2. If you are like me and don't have a dedicated space (I use my kitchen counter) then find focus by mixing up your posture or direction when it's time to hammer things out.  Whether it be standing vs. sitting or facing the center of the room vs the wall, switch up your body and view for doing things that require less focus. If you chat in the office, see if you can stand for the social times and sit for the focus times, or even walk over and socialize near the coffee pot instead of right at your desk
   

​Scientifically speaking, our brains actually get trained through association and repetition, if you can help train your brain to have a certain place and position for focus, the likelihood of you sticking to your productive tasks in that space drastically increases.

I don’t know why this is so much easier said than done, but it is. As hard as it is to keep that designated space clean…DO IT. Before you leave for the day, put everything back in it’s place, take the dishes away, maybe even wipe it down with a Clorox wipe. A clean space helps keep the distractions to a minimum. You may still have the virtual ones, but at least by doing this, you are eliminating the physical ones as best as possible.

Not only does it look super cute, but it’s been proven that plants help with stress relief. Keeping something low maintenance like an air plant or succulent can help both you and your co-workers find a little comfort and channel the right side of your brain.

I like to use the Reminders app on my phone that integrates with my computer for this. The purpose of a hot list is to help prioritize things you must get done TODAY.

I generally keep 3 or 4 to-do lists for key areas of my life. Home, Work, Little Foodie, and Beyond the Clock. I found myself getting super overwhelmed about all the things on my list. Most days it felt like it was growing exponentially, and I was only getting 1 or 2 things off my list. I started to take the top 3 things off of each list and prioritizing those, but even that seemed like a tall task. I was getting more disheartened that I couldn’t get 3 from each list off a day.

That’s when I tried the hot-list. Each evening, I go through the lists and prioritize something that absolutely must get off the list from each category. Normally it’s 3 items from my work list and 1 item from each of my other lists. Best of all, with the reminder’s app, you can right click and move the task over to the hot list so after I have done my prioritization, I only see those 6 things in the morning.

​The list is much less overwhelming looking at 6 rather than 16 per list. My mind is able to mentally prepare and commit to accomplishing them that day which keeps all aspects of my life moving forward.

I’ve spoken to so many of you who have big dreams whether it be for a specific project, your career or next big purchase. I know from my own experience, staying committed to them can be hard, especially with the ten million other things going on and/or a day filled with Netflix and cookies only. I’m right there with you. The good thing about us as humans though, is we are able to form habits that can enable big things to happen.

​I’d love to hear some helpful habits that are helping you guys stay productive and focused? Drop a comment for your favorite tool, app, desk décor or other that keeps you going strong.