Leaning over to switch off your reading light, your bedside table is likely to be the last thing you see at night. Piled up with books, cosmetics, maybe jewellery and a clock, the bedside table is an absolute stable in our lives. But beyond its contents, the furniture itself will speak volumes about your taste. What might we glean from these bedside table scenarios...?
The no-nonsense minimalist
Anna is not one for too much indulgence, she likes to keep things simple with a practical Anglepoise lamp and a hard wearing reclaimed metal bedside table. Her taste for raw industrial edge shows she'll take no prisoners in the boardroom but the cosy wool throw reveals she's also a cuddly mummy in the homestead.
Product: Kiehl's Creme de Corps
Read: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying
The retired boy racer
Clive goes to sleep dreaming about the next Goodwood Revival Weekend. His bedside table, modelled on a traveller's trunk, hints at his love of a good old fashioned cruise holiday and is stacked full of back issues of classic car magazines.
Product: Old Spice Original
Book: The life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel
The colour co-ordinator
Coffee shop owner Angie believes that colour can inject as much energy as caffeine itself. Bedding down at 1am after a hectic day serving non-stop flat whites for entrepreneur whippersnappers, she thinks about how she can bring more colour and iconic design (such as her Kartell bedside table) to her shop.
Product: Optrex Intensive Eye Drops
Book: Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk
The whacky choice
Nigel is the absolute lynchpin of his friendship group and spends hours in bed on a Saturday morning counselling them over the phone after the traumas of Friday night. More concerned with style over substance, his tassled bedside table indicates his devil-may-care fun-loving personality. Achieve the look by substituting the traditional bedside table with a sheepskin pouffe.
Book: One Day
Product: Elemis Time For Men Daily
Eclectic fantastic
Gallery owner Justine isn't afraid to make bold choices and has just spent a fraught hour convincing one of New York City's latest enfant terrible artists to exhibit in her show. She works hard and deserves the best so no expense is spared when it comes to her bed. Her bedside table, however offers a practical contrast to her extravagant baroque tastes and has sentimental value as she has owned it since her flat share on the Kings Road in the '60s.
Book: Wagstaff:Before And After Mapplethorpe - A Biography
Product: Estee Lauder Perfectionist
What does your bedside table say about you?
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