DIY nightstand pads

You don’t see it, do you? Well, that’s kind of the point. The foam pad is white to match our white Ikea nightstands. Why, you ask? Let me give you the background.

I have a metal bottle of water on my nightstand every night so I can take a sip of water when my throat gets dry. But I want to protect the surface of the nightstand in the case of dribbles.

The problem is, trying to aim for a coaster in the dark when you’re half awake is difficult. I solved that problem for a while with an elephant-themed Ikea melamine tray that was a big enough target to hit from a lying position with one eye closed.

Then I got married and redecorated. The elephant trays got moved to the guest room. So, I tried ceramic coasters with cork in the middle (too loud if I missed the bullseye — and I always missed), round Ikea cork trivets (not pretty and had the potential for the bottle to fall off if I placed it precariously on the edge).

My next idea was to paint a roll of cork white and cover the entire surface of the nightstands. But as my husband and I were strolling through Micheals looking for cork, we stumbled upon rolls of EVA foam. It was already white — no painting needed. Eureka!

Covering nightstands with EVA foam eliminates the need for coasters, protects the finish from spills, and dulls the sound of clinking water bottles. All you have to do is cut it to size. The easiest way to do that is with a rotary cutter, metal straight edge, and cutting mat.

And then I felt kind of stupid. I have a desk pad at work and a desk pad in my home office. Why not put a “desk” pad on a nightstand? Duh. That’s what these essentially are.

The EVA foam comes in white or black, so if you have a white or black nightstand, you’re in luck.

If your nightstand is any other color, you still have options. Cork or leather would work nicely. As does practically any neoprene desk pad — just cut it down to size.

Below are some gorgeous marble designs that my favorite desk-pad seller (No Bad Mondays) makes. You could really have fun with this!