Bedside Storage Tables
These bedside storage tables span Georgian commodes to Art Deco walnut cabinets, offering compact places to keep your evening essentials close at hand.
Bedside Storage Tables
When you search for bedside storage tables, you encounter compact wooden cupboards, small chests of drawers, and night tables designed to stand beside a bed. The selection includes everything from Georgian mahogany commodes to Edwardian inlaid cabinets and Art Deco walnut pieces.
Victorian and Edwardian versions appear most frequently on this page, often formed as pairs of burr walnut or mahogany bedside chests. These vary from simple pot cupboards with single doors to taller multi-drawer units and open shelf designs.
Makers and craftsmen built these items using diverse timbers such as oak, pine, and flame mahogany veneer, occasionally incorporating marble tops or brass handles. Styles range from plain utilitarian timber to decorative Chinoiserie finishes and Gothic Revival details.
How they were made
Cabinet makers constructed these pieces primarily from solid hardwoods like mahogany, oak, and walnut, frequently applying burr walnut or flame mahogany veneers to visible surfaces. They utilised traditional joinery techniques to assemble frames, drawers, and cupboard doors designed for daily bedroom use.
Surface treatments vary widely across the periods, incorporating polished timber grains, dark stains, carved oak details, barley twist legs, and intricate inlaid stringing. Some specialised examples feature painted Chinoiserie decoration, applied marble tops, or brass hardware fixtures.
Bedside Storage Tables Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical asking prices for bedside storage tables among the pieces listed under this phrase on Sellingantiques today, from the lower quarter to the upper quarter. They describe what is for sale here now, not the wider market.
Listings feature periods spanning from the 18th century through Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, and Art Deco up to mid-century teak designs.
What varies in quality
The sophistication of the timber selection and veneer work largely distinguishes finer examples from simpler utilitarian pieces. Matched pairs utilising highly figured burr walnut or flame mahogany represent more ambitious workshop production than plain pine or stained oak.
Refinement in carving, cabinet joinery, and decorative additions such as brass handles or inlaid woodwork indicate higher craftsmanship. Superior pieces maintain crisp proportions and structural integrity across diverse forms like bow-fronted chests and serpentine commodes.
The Bedside Storage Tables Glossary
- Burr walnut
- A prized timber cut from the abnormal growth knots of walnut trees, producing swirling, highly decorative grain patterns. Cabinet makers frequently used burr walnut veneers on the main doors and drawer fronts of Victorian and Edwardian bedside furniture.
- Chinoiserie
- European decorative style imitating Chinese artistic traditions, typically featuring painted motifs on lacquered backgrounds. This style appears on specialised storage cabinets and cupboards.
- Bow front
- A convex, outwardly curved front profile seen on various chests of drawers and side cabinets. This shaping requires skilled woodworking to bend timbers or shape solid wood accurately.
- Pot cupboard
- A small enclosed bedside cabinet historically designed to house a chamber pot. These practical pieces usually feature a single cupboard door and occasionally a small internal shelf or drawer.
- Serpentine
- A gently undulating furniture front featuring a convex centre flanked by concave curves, or vice versa. This complex shape demands advanced carpentry techniques.
Bedside Storage Tables: Frequently Asked Questions
What is a bedside commode?
A bedside commode is an enclosed wooden cabinet historically designed to conceal a chamber pot behind a cupboard door. Many examples have evolved to function simply as small bedside storage cupboards.
These pieces usually feature a single hinged door and occasionally include a drawer or shelf above the main compartment.
How do I tell Victorian from Edwardian?
Victorian bedside tables often feature darker timbers like heavy mahogany and burr walnut with robust, formal proportions. Edwardian pieces frequently display lighter oak, mahogany with inlaid stringing, or cabriole legs.
Examining the handles, wood finish, and leg style helps distinguish the denser Victorian aesthetic from the lighter Edwardian designs.
Are pairs common in antique tables?
Matched pairs of bedside chests and cabinets appear frequently across nineteenth and early twentieth century listings. Workshops often produced dual units to flank larger double beds.
Finding matching pairs from the Victorian or Edwardian eras offers symmetrical placement for a bedroom layout.
What woods were used most?
Mahogany and walnut serve as the predominant hardwoods found across these tables, often enhanced with burr walnut or flame mahogany veneers. Oak and pine appear regularly in earlier Victorian and Arts and Crafts pieces.
Cabinet makers also utilised exotic touches like marble tops and brass handles to finish the timber structures.