The Things To Add and Remove From Your Nightstand This Summer

Bedroom with green wallpapered striped walls, an antique wooden headboard, white frilly bedding, green throw cushions, and two wooden nightstands with pleated sconces above. — (Image credit: Future)

While nothing aids a good night's rest like some organic sheets and a comfy mattress, bedding isn't the only component that comes to the rescue during the warmer months. In fact, your nightstand (and what you put on it) plays a big part in how your bedroom looks and feels come summertime.

While the exact way to style a nightstand is always going to be personal, there are things best removed from your bedside if you want to sleep through the night this summer. It's easy to treat your nightstand as an opportunity to display all your favorite things, but the subtle art of paring things back will keep your bedroom free of clutter and ultimately relaxing.

These are the three things to remove from your nightstand, and the one thing to add for a restful summer night that lasts the entire season.

Remove: Charging Stations

Bedroom with blue painted walls, a dark wood mahogany four-poster bed, white bedding, a wooden nightstand, and a cream armchair with a cream linen footstool. — Keep your nightstand free of clutter by ensuring cables and charging stations are tucked away.

Whether your bedside stores all your practical necessities or it's more of a charming vignette, the best nightstand styling formulas leave out unsightly charging cables, plug sockets, and, most importantly, mobile phones.

Interiors therapist Suzanne Roynon explains, 'Aside from emitting an electromagnetic field which can interfere with sleep, and the temptation to check it if you wake in the night, the blue light can start the brain waking up much earlier than necessary. Also, the charger and the phone become warm during the charge. On warm summer nights, the last thing you need next to your head is a heated phone.'

'Since summer is a hot, fiery time of year, in Feng Shui we see this as the fire element,' says Feng Shui expert Anjie Cho. 'When it's so fiery, it's helpful to offer balance to cool and invite restfulness, especially when we're sleeping. I would recommend readers remove anything that's overly fiery: the color red and triangular shapes. Electronic devices are also considered the fire element, so if you can, place them away from the bed to support your rest.'

Remove: Books 'You'll Get To'

Traditional bedroom with canopy bed, upholstered floral headboard, a mahogany chest of drawers with a white ceramic table lamp on top, and a vase — Keep your nightstand reading rotation limited to one or two books at most to avoid an overly chaotic bedside.

Books on a nightstand are just as important as a good table lamp or a carafe of water, but that doesn't mean you need to overdo it. Keep your current reading rotation by your bedside, and leave out any editions you've not yet got around to.

Suzanne says to 'remove that large pile of books you'll 'get to'. It’s great to read, but only keep the active one beside you; put the rest in another room. Not only will you be more focused, but you’ll remove the sense of pressure which comes with things waiting to be done, or in this case, read.'

The aim is to create a chaos-free, serene bedroom that aids a good night's rest, and stopping your nightstand from becoming a catchall will help you achieve this.

Remove: Excessive Decorations

A traditional bedroom with blue stripped wallpaper and a carved wooden headboard bed. — Be intentional when styling your nightstand by choosing only a handful of decorations you truly love.

A summer bedroom isn't complete without some chic bedside decor, but instead of filling out your nightstands as much as you can, pare things back a little to keep things stylish and serene.

'For a relaxed bedtime experience during warmer months, I start by removing items from the nightstand that add visual weight and are not functionally necessary,' says interior designer Barrett Oswald. 'Heavy charging stations, piles of books, and excessive decor may make your nightstand look messy, even if everything is neatly arranged.'

Treat your nightstand as an opportunity to show off only your most prized pieces. Your favorite vase, a treasured painting, or a sentimental trinket are best shown off in smaller doses. 'Instead, we opt for a streamlined approach,' adds Barrett. 'The goal of summer is to maintain lightness and simplicity in your surroundings.'

Add: Fresh Seasonal Florals

bedroom with four poster bed, nighstand and patterned wallpaper — A bunch of seasonal stems will inject vitality and freshness into your bedroom.

Seasonal stems will make your home feel like summer, and your sleep space feel calmer. Warmer nights call for a fresh breeze, meaning handpicked flowers will waft throughout your bedroom.

'I would always recommend picking flowers to make your nightstand feel summery and purposeful,' says Barrett. 'Even a thin vase with a single floral can create a welcoming and lighter atmosphere around the bed. And although we all wish to get rid of chargers on our nightstands, it may be unrealistic. I like to use a cute catch-all to place my phone instead. We also enjoy putting summer-scented candles on the nightstand as a seasonal touch.'

Summery Nightstand Shopping

While layering your bed for summer will aid a good night's rest, stripping back your bedside will create a sense of tranquillity that only improves your sleep.

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