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Floating Box Nightstand[4/4 · 4ft · 5-Pack]
One pack. One build. All 5 boards used. • Makes 1 nightstand
Shop Black Walnut 4/4 · 4ft Pack Shop All Speciesselect 4' Lengths
How it goes together
Black Walnut
Hard Maple
Cherry
White Oak (QS)
Red Oak
Ash
Hickory
Ambrosia Maple
Sapele*
Padauk*
Purpleheart*
*Exotic — not available for shipment to US customers.
A wall-hung open box that works as a nightstand without legs to vacuum around. It holds a lamp, a phone and a book on top, with a cubby below. The four panels are glued up from the pack, the box is screwed together, and it hangs on a hidden French cleat screwed into two studs.
Quick Build — for experienced woodworkers
| Part | Qty | From | S4S size | S2S size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top and bottom pieces | 6 | Boards 1–3, two each | 18" × 4" × ¾" | 18" × 3½" × ⅞" |
| Side pieces | 6 | Boards 4–5 | 10" × 4" × ¾" | 10" × 3½" × ⅞" |
| French cleat blank → 2 halves | 1 | Board 5 | 26" × 4" × ¾", ripped at 45°; box half cut to 16½" | 26" × 3½" × ⅞", ripped at 45°; box half cut to 16¼" |
Panels: top and bottom 3 pieces each, grain left to right; sides 3 pieces each, grain up and down. All four panels move front to back together.
Box: sides between top and bottom, 3 counterbored #8 × 2" screws per joint, plugged. No glue (end grain).
Hanging: 45° French cleat; one half glued and screwed under the top inside the box, the other into 2 studs.
Finished size: S4S 18" W × 12" D × 11½" H · S2S 18" × 10½" × 11¾". The cubby opening is 16½" × 10" (S4S) or 16¼" × 10" (S2S).
Before You Start
Shopping List
- 1 lumber pack — 4/4 · 4ft (S4S or S2S)
- Wood glue (Titebond II or III)
- 12 × #8 × 2" flat-head screws for the box
- 3 × #8 flat-head screws for the cleat: 1¼" (S4S) or 1½" (S2S)
- 3–4 × #10 × 3" screws for the wall cleat
- 15 × ⅜" wood plugs
- Sandpaper 120 / 180 / 220
- Finish: wipe-on oil, hardwax oil or water-based poly
Tools
- Saw for crosscuts (mitre saw or circular saw with a speed square)
- Saw for rips (table saw, or circular/track saw with a guide) — with 45° bevel for the cleat
- Drill/driver, countersink bit, pilot bits
- ⅜" counterbore bit and flush-cut saw
- 6 bar clamps, 24" or longer
- Stud finder and level
- Random-orbit sander or sanding block
- S2S only: jointer, straight-line rip jig or hand plane
S4S or S2S? S4S boards arrive flat and square on all four sides — cut and build. S2S boards have rough edges you straighten first, and finish ⅞" thick instead of ¾". No jointer? Choose S4S.
Our sizing assumptions: ⅛" per saw cut · S4S boards 23½"/47½" long with ¼" to square an end, 4" wide, ¾" thick · S2S boards trimmed ½" each end and ¼" off each rough edge (3½" clean), ⅞" thick · sizes drawn for the narrowest board in the pack. Wider boards give you a bigger offcut or a wider part — never a shortage.
Step-by-Step
S4S Lumber Pack
Surfaced 4 sides — no jointing
- 1 Crosscut the parts. Cut boards 1–3 into two 18" pieces each. Cut board 4 into four 10" pieces, and board 5 into two 10" pieces plus a 26" cleat blank.
- 2 Glue up 4 panels. Edge-glue three 18" pieces into the top and three into the bottom — 18" × 12", grain running left to right. Edge-glue three 10" pieces into each side — 10" × 12", grain running up and down. Clamp, wipe the squeeze-out once rubbery, and leave them overnight.
- 3 Flatten and square. Sand the glue seams flush. Check all four panels are the same depth (12") and trim them together if one is proud.
- 4 Rip the cleat. Tilt the blade to 45° and rip the cleat blank down the middle of its face — two matching halves. Use a push stick and keep your hands clear. Cut one half to 16½" for the box; the other stays 26" long for the wall.
- 5 Sand before assembly. 120 → 180 → 220 on every face that will show, inside and out.
- 6 Assemble the box. Stand the sides between the top and bottom, flush at the front, back and outside. Drive 3 pre-drilled, counterbored #8 × 2" screws through the top and the bottom into each side — 12 screws. No glue on these joints: the side edges are end grain, which doesn't hold glue.
- 7 Check for square. Measure both diagonals of the front opening. If they differ, push the long corner until they match, then let it sit.
- 8 Fit the box cleat. Glue one cleat half under the top, tight to the back edge and between the sides, bevel pointing down and toward the wall. Grain runs the same way as the top, so glue is fine. Add 3 pre-drilled #8 × 1¼" screws down through the top, counterbored.
- 9 Plug and finish. Glue wood plugs into the counterbores, trim and sand flush. Apply 2–3 coats of wipe-on oil or water-based poly.
- 10 Hang it. Level the wall half of the cleat at the height you want the underside of the top, bevel up and pointing at the wall. Screw it into two studs with #10 × 3" screws — at 26" long it reaches two studs at 16" centres with room to centre the box. Lower the box onto it.
S2S Lumber Pack
Surfaced 2 sides — straighten edges first
- 1 Prep the boards. Trim ½" off each end to remove any end checks. Joint one edge straight, then rip the other edge parallel (¼" off each rough edge is our planning allowance). S2S boards finish ⅞" thick, so screws and some sizes change — use the sizes in this column.
- 2 Crosscut the parts. Cut boards 1–3 into two 18" pieces each. Cut board 4 into four 10" pieces, and board 5 into two 10" pieces plus a 26" cleat blank.
- 3 Glue up 4 panels. Edge-glue three 18" pieces into the top and three into the bottom — 18" × 10½", grain running left to right. Edge-glue three 10" pieces into each side — 10" × 10½", grain running up and down. Clamp, wipe the squeeze-out once rubbery, and leave them overnight.
- 4 Flatten and square. Sand the glue seams flush. Check all four panels are the same depth (10½") and trim them together if one is proud.
- 5 Rip the cleat. Tilt the blade to 45° and rip the cleat blank down the middle of its face — two matching halves. Use a push stick and keep your hands clear. Cut one half to 16¼" for the box; the other stays 26" long for the wall.
- 6 Sand before assembly. 120 → 180 → 220 on every face that will show, inside and out.
- 7 Assemble the box. Stand the sides between the top and bottom, flush at the front, back and outside. Drive 3 pre-drilled, counterbored #8 × 2" screws through the top and the bottom into each side — 12 screws. No glue on these joints: the side edges are end grain, which doesn't hold glue.
- 8 Check for square. Measure both diagonals of the front opening. If they differ, push the long corner until they match, then let it sit.
- 9 Fit the box cleat. Glue one cleat half under the top, tight to the back edge and between the sides, bevel pointing down and toward the wall. Grain runs the same way as the top, so glue is fine. Add 3 pre-drilled #8 × 1½" screws down through the top, counterbored.
- 10 Plug and finish. Glue wood plugs into the counterbores, trim and sand flush. Apply 2–3 coats of wipe-on oil or water-based poly.
- 11 Hang it. Level the wall half of the cleat at the height you want the underside of the top, bevel up and pointing at the wall. Screw it into two studs with #10 × 3" screws — at 26" long it reaches two studs at 16" centres with room to centre the box. Lower the box onto it.
Why does the side grain run up and down? Wood moves across its grain. With the top and bottom grain left to right and the side grain up and down, every panel swells and shrinks front to back — the same direction. The corners never fight each other.
Why a French cleat? The cleat is hidden under the top inside the box. The 45° bevels pull the box tight to the wall, and you can lift it off to paint or move it.
Why pre-drill? Maple, oak and hickory split if you drive a screw without a pilot hole. Pre-drill every screw and countersink so the heads sit flush.
Make It Yours
- Drawer look: add a thin back panel and a small shelf inside the cubby.
- Two-tone: walnut top and bottom with maple sides.
- Make a pair: one pack per nightstand — two packs for both sides of the bed.
Safety and Care
- Wear eye and hearing protection. Use a push stick for every rip under 4" wide.
- Rip the 45° cleat with the blade tilted away from the fence and use a push stick.
- Pre-drill every screw — hardwoods split without a pilot hole.
- Mount into wall studs (or rated anchors sized for the load). Check for wires and pipes before drilling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not for S4S boards — they arrive flat and square on all four sides. S2S boards need their edges straightened: a jointer, a table saw with a straight-line jig, or a hand plane all work. No jointer? Choose the S4S pack.
About 15 lb — a lamp, a phone, a book and a glass of water. The box corners are screwed into end grain, so don't sit on it or use it as a shelf for heavy books.
Line the top up with your mattress top or an inch or two above it, usually 22–26" off the floor. Measure your bed first.
The wall half of the cleat is 26" long, so it reaches two studs (16" centres) and the box can slide a few inches either way along it. Find your studs first; if one end can't land on a stud, use a rated heavy-duty anchor there.
Planned offcuts only: about 11" off the end of boards 1–3, about 6" off board 4 and about 10" off board 5. All 5 boards go into the nightstand.
No. The top and bottom pieces are 18" and the plan cuts two per board, so it needs the 4ft pack.
