Bedside Tables And Their Use Throughout American History
America, and for that matter the world, hasn't always had bedside tables
. These handy little objects were not part of the cave furnishings, or for one room with a loft cottages, either. But shortly after beds were removed to a separate room, and definitely after stairs became the elegant way to reach them, bedside 'stands' became popular.Think about it. If you sleep in the same room that you cook, eat, and sit in - for warmth or because its the only room you have - the light of the fire will get you safely to bed. If you are sleeping in a loft, you can't take anything with you that you can't carry in your teeth as you climb the ladder.
However, as soon as the house has separate rooms for sleeping, carrying a candle to light the way becomes necessary. And then what? Blow it out after you're I bed? The beds in Colonial times were way high off the floor, so you would need a good, strong puff to reach down that far.
Enter the need for bedside tables. Once someone made one, everyone realized how practical they were and wanted their own.
The handy homemaker who made that first American nightstand probably worked in pine. Pine was a valued wood for anything needing long-fibered strength, from ship masts to plank floors. Tall pines with branches mainly 70 feet in the air were everywhere, from New England to South Carolina, and the early settlers and later industrial entrepreneurs were eager to take advantage of this bounty from nature.
While building warehouses and laying floors, the workmen noticed the fine grain and clear color of the pine timber, and remembered the ease of working with this soft wood with hardwood characteristics. When they wanted to make home furniture, pine was added to oak and maple as the most widely used material. Pine bedside tables became common.
The small, useful tables began as simple plank tops with legs, and were later improved by a low shelf and a drawer. Soon there were stands with one drawer and an open storage space, small chests with three or more drawers, and tables with a cabinet underneath. European styles were remembered or copied from the elegant homes of Colonial towns and plantations.
Woods were polished, varnished, or stained, and legs were straight, tapered, or carved. French designs led to cabriolet, or curved legs, and painted finishes as well. The 1930 era ushered in round tables that had centered legs, and were often draped with a floor length cloth.
These days, it is hard to visualize a bedroom without one or more tables at bedside. The alarm clock, the reading lamp, the latest bestseller, the TV remote all need someplace to be close at hand. Popular styles include antique, vintage, reproduction, modern, designer, and crate. There are many outlets for this indispensable item, from thrift shops and antique shops to furniture showrooms, catalogs, and on line retailers. Prices vary from very reasonable for unfinished oak to astronomical for a true William and Mary collectible.
It is said that necessity is the mother of invention, and this holds true for bedside tables.
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