Mid-Century Modern Live Edge Nightstands

The customer requested a Mid-Century style set of nightstands for a home in Michigan. They really liked the two-tier style from the 1960's but wanted to vary the design in some ways. After sharing a few ideas and pictures, we settled on a pair of live edge nightstands with gold accented legs.

Based on online research, I figured that the whole project needed to be scaled down by about 15% to accent the room and not cause a shin wrecking situation in the middle of the night. The final dimensions ended up being 24"L x 15" W x 23" H. The base tier came in about 14" in height and the risers to the second tier were 7" in height. 

The stock used was 5/4 Silver Maple. I diluted and used a whitewash pickling stain to lighten up the grain further for a stark white coloring which would still accent the grain character. The legs and risers were sprayed with a gold metallic paint, then finished with semi-gloss polyurethane. The Silver Maple was finished with matte polyurethane to give it a natural, minimalistic style. 

It was challenging to accept the natural characteristics of the live edge design when trying to achieve the Mid-Century look. Typically, these are very precise designs and geometry is key, but in this one I had to work with the natural edges and lines while still making sure it looked symmetrical and correct overall. I was happy with the overall result and the customers loved the style. I look forward to seeing them within their final home in Michigan.