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How to Build a Floating Nightstand

Home/Resources/Furniture & Decor/Building a Floating Nightstand
DH
Written & researched by Derek Holt Home & Appliances Editor
Updated August 2026
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Building a floating nightstand is an intermediate weekend project, about 4 to 8 hours plus finish time, at a materials cost of $30 to $80. You need a saw, a drill and, for a drawer, a pair of slides; no permit or pro is involved. Like any floating piece, the one part that must be right is the wall mount: it cantilevers out and holds weight, so the hidden cleat has to reach a stud. Do that and you get a clean, space-saving nightstand set at exactly the height you want.

How to Build a Set of DIY Floating Nightstands — Osborne Wood Products

Step-by-step: a cleat-mounted nightstand with a drawer

  1. Size the box. A nightstand around 16 to 18 inches wide and 12 to 14 inches deep suits most beds. Write a cut list for a 3/4-inch plywood box.
  2. Cut and assemble the box. Cut the top, bottom, sides and back, then glue and screw or pocket-screw them into a rigid open-front box. Confirm it is square.
  3. Build the cleat. Rip a 2x3 or thick hardwood strip to fit hidden inside the top of the box. This cleat carries the load into the wall.
  4. Fit drawer slides. Mount side-mount ball-bearing slides to the inside walls, then build a drawer box to the slide clearance, usually 1/2 inch per side.
  5. Find and mark the stud. At bed-side height, locate a stud with a finder and confirm with a nail. Mark the center.
  6. Mount the wall cleat. Level the cleat and drive two 3-inch screws into the stud, one high and one low, so it cannot rotate.
  7. Hang the box. Slide the box over the cleat and screw up through the box top into the cleat to lock it, and add fasteners into the stud through the back for extra hold.
  8. Add the drawer front and finish. Attach the drawer front, adjust for even gaps, then sand and finish the piece before loading.
Over-the-shoulder view of a person arranging cushions on a sofa in a styled living room, in warm late-afternoon light

Tools and materials

You need a saw, drill/driver, pocket-hole jig or screws, drawer slides, clamps and finish. A floating nightstand is part of a bedroom you are styling as a whole, so it coordinates naturally with the seating and reading corner elsewhere in the room, such as a chair from our accent chair picks. The same cleat-and-stud method underpins the wall-mounted storage in our bookshelf and shelving roundup, which is worth a look if you want matching floating shelves above the bed.

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Mistakes that cause a sag or drop

Overhead view of a person arranging cushions on a sofa in a styled living room, in warm late-afternoon light

Safety notes

This is DIY woodworking plus a wall mount. Treat the mount seriously, since a loaded cantilevered piece that pulls loose beside a bed is a hazard, especially in a child's room. If the wall is plaster, masonry or you cannot find framing, match the anchor to the substrate rather than trusting a plastic plug, and never drive long screws blindly near suspected wiring. No permit governs a nightstand, but the same tip-over and pull-out physics as any wall-mounted furniture apply.

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More from this hub: Furniture & Decor · Build a floating shelf · Build a console table · Build a coffee table · Best bookshelves · How we rank

Straight Answers

Frequently Asked

How high should a floating nightstand be beside a bed?

Set the top of the nightstand level with or slightly above the top of the mattress, which for most beds means mounting it so the surface lands around 24 to 28 inches from the floor. That puts a glass of water, a phone or a lamp within easy reach without leaning down. Measure your mattress height first, since a tall pillow-top or a platform bed changes the number. A floating design lets you place it at the exact perfect height rather than being stuck with whatever a store nightstand happens to be.

How much weight can a floating nightstand hold?

Mounted on a solid cleat screwed into at least one stud, a well-built floating nightstand easily holds 30 to 50 pounds, far more than a lamp, books and a phone charger require. As with any floating piece, the limit is the wall connection, not the box, so hitting a stud is what matters. A nightstand cantilevers out from the wall, so the outward leverage on the mounting screws is real, which is why long screws into framing and a beefy cleat matter more than the thickness of the box itself.

Do floating nightstands need to be mounted into a stud?

For a piece that holds weight and cantilevers off the wall, yes. A stud gives the mounting screws the deep, strong bite needed to resist the outward leverage of a loaded nightstand. Locate a stud with a stud finder and confirm with a small test hole. If no stud lands where you want the nightstand, use heavy-duty toggle bolts rated well above the load, but keep the load modest, or shift the nightstand a few inches to catch a stud. Plastic anchors alone are not adequate for a cantilevered piece.

How do you add a drawer to a floating nightstand?

Build the box with an open front, mount drawer slides to the inside walls, and build a drawer box sized to the slides' clearance, typically leaving 1/2 inch on each side for standard side-mount slides. A single shallow drawer, about 3 to 4 inches tall, is plenty for a nightstand and keeps the piece looking light. Undermount slides give a cleaner look but demand precise clearances. For a first build, side-mount ball-bearing slides are the forgiving choice and hide behind a simple drawer front.

What wood should you use for a floating nightstand?

Three-quarter-inch plywood, ideally cabinet-grade birch or maple ply with an edge band, is the best all-round choice: stable, strong, and light enough not to overload the cleat. Solid hardwood looks great for the drawer front and top but adds weight and can move seasonally on a wide panel. Avoid MDF for the load-bearing back and cleat area, since it holds screws poorly and sags over time. A plywood box with a solid-wood front gives you the durability of ply and the look of solid wood.