New bedside table

I have had this blog for a few months now, and honestly I feel like I have done very little DIY for you guys. Yes, I painted, but otherwise I am not really stepping outside my comfort zone. Well no more!! Today I am sharing a project I just completed, which I have been planning for a long time- my bedside table!

Now, a normal person has a table beside their bed on which to store their alarm clock, lamp, book, whatever. But my bed has to sit lengthwise along the wall- so I can't have a table to my side. When I first moved in, my dad found a tall shelf thing that I was able to use, but I couldn't fit a garbage can under it, which led to a cluttered look (I have no photo). It was also plastic, and kinda looked cheap (sorry Dad- it WAS a good find). Then I moved onto this system:

Haha, just a total mismash of junk to support my alarm clock! The issue with this set up is that that is my AC unit! There are vents down there that need airflow and this was not conducive to flow. But then those boxes had to be put back to use as boot boxes in the front hall closet, and now I had this:

I took away the laundry hamper and moved the bed so you can see what I am really working with:

Oh my. This will never do! See the problem is also that a standard height bedside table is too short to see over my pillows and I wanted something that my garbage can could go under, so I had to get creative. I decided to create a floating shelf! I picked up some brackets at Ikea, and my dad magically found the perfect sized piece of wood for the shelf.

First thing to do was mark off the height of the box (it was a decent height for what I needed, so I used it as my guide).

I then double checked for studs. I am working under the assumption that a builder would frame out around the air ducts and machinery in here and then drywall over the frame work. At least I hope so!

Who knew I had been sleeping next to a stud all these nights? ;)

Then I held up my first bracket to match up the top of the shelf with my mark and use a pencil to show where I needed to drill. I then drilled 'er in and screwed in over that! I used 1 5/8" screws that were made for wood behind drywall. I kept the first screw somewhat loose so that I could move the bracket after.

After that I shifted around the bracket to get it nice and level before screwing in the bottom screw.

Once that bracket was secured, I held the second bracket while leaving the shelf on them, so that I could get the overall shelf level as well.

And yes, I took photos while holding this all up!! I marked off where my screw needed to go and then repeated all these steps with the second bracket.

And then I was done!! I did not attach the shelf to the brackets, because once or twice a year the building performs maintenance on this unit and need access to the panel. The panel lifts up and out, so I do not think the brackets will be in the way (I hope!).

There is lots of room for airflow now! I know my alarm clock looks way to big for this (it is) but I actually intend to sell this system and get a smaller alarm clock. I rarely ever plug my ipod into this sucker, so I don't think I need such a big alarm clock. It also has a really bright light, which drives me nuts!

So after about 5 minutes, the unfinished look of that shelf started to drive me nuts. I do plan on eventually painting and finishing the whole thing, but until then I needed to prettify it a bit. And what do I do to prettify things? I GIFT WRAP IT! :D

Happy newbedsidetable to me!

And now that I had more shelf space, I decided to bring some light into the space! I used to have a light hung from the ceiling, but I haven't reinstalled it since painting and I now I am walking back and forth to the main light, and that switch is by the hallway, so it is annoying. I do read by Ipad at night, so I don't need a reading light, but for finding pajamas and stuff it is handy.

Ta-da! I left the lamp cord in front so that I can reach the switch easily. I hate lamps with cord switches. So annoying.

And what happened to the little red table? Well, it went back to where it originally lived when I moved in:

Oh ya! Now I have a place to keep my traffic-watching snacks. I have actually been using my patio more this summer, but more often than not I will be found on the rooftop patio, working on my tan (ok, I wear sunscreen, but a girl can dream, right?).

I hope you all liked my new project! This was my first time using a drill by myself and not screwing up!! And it is MY new-to-me drill! I always wanted a drill, so I was very excited when my dad gave me his old one. At first it didn't run well, and I charged the battery and it STILL didn't run well...but then I charged the 2nd battery and she purred like a tiger! yay!!