One of the ongoing projects we’ve had on our list to complete is to sort out the bedrooms in our new build, and it’s something that’s getting closer to being ticked off the list. And there’s been a whole lot of change since we moved in - including the ‘great bed swap around’ - which came about when we bought ourselves a new bed, but I’ll leave that post for another day.

However the new bed arriving meant that we had surplus beds, one had to go - and of course it wasn’t that simple. We had our old bed, a metal framed bed, which we wanted to keep, a divan bed which gives great storage, and a futon which we bought just before we got married in 2007.

The futon was a heavy one, and while we’d had it a while, it hadn’t had a huge amount of use. But it was this one that was on the hit list, and so I tried to give it away in a local Facebook group with no joy. After a pause over summer, and while the spare bedroom was temporarily repurposed as a huge clothes store while we had inners fitted to our built in wardrobes (there’s another post to come), I was back on the case.

This time though I had some unexpected Facebook success. In another local Facebook group thoughts were clearly turning to Christmas and sleeping arrangements for those hosting, and someone asked if anyone was selling a sofa bed or futon.

Well, hello.

Our futon is now in its new home just up the road, and what’s better I sold it rather than gave it away - its new owner is happy with their bargain for the snug and their kids were glad not to sleep on an air mattress. Everyone’s happy!

But of course that left me with no excuses for getting our spare bedrooms straight - so the final parts of the ‘great bed swap around’ were implemented. Our old bed, which had been stored dismantled in the third bedroom, is now in our guest room, and the divan is now in the spare bedroom.

Yes it would have been easier to assemble our old bed in the spare room, but the room shape is narrower/longer than the guest room and I thought that the bed with both a head and foot board would make the room look smaller. The guest bedroom is squarer and there is more space to navigate around the bed, so it really was a no brainer.

Searching for new bedside tables

For years we’d had some old Ikea units alongside the divan as bedside tables, but these really didn’t work with the metal framed bed, and were much larger than we needed. So the hunt for new bedside tables began in earnest.

I wanted something that would have room for a lamp, and a glass of water or cup of tea that wasn’t too large, or too small. I didn’t need a drawer, but I was keen on having a shelf of some description. And with these criteria I wasn’t that hopeful if I’m honest, but I struck gold at M&S, and two arrived and were assembled by MOH at the start of December.

Step forward the Salcombe side table

They are M&S’ Salcombe Side tables - the top is 35cm x 35cm which is plenty big enough for a lamp, a drink and a book and even a pair of glasses or a make-up bag. There’s no drawer - so none of our junk can creep into there, and hopefully that means no forgotten items either. And there is a shelf - so everything on my list. What’s better is that they were only £49 each.

They may not be billed as bedside tables on their website - my search reached the creative thinking stage before I was successful. You can imagine I was keen to try them out in both bedrooms - and if they worked order some more quickly before they sold out! I’m so glad I didn’t wait, as I’ve just checked while writing this post and this colour is no longer on their site, the lighter grey is still available.

They worked, I ordered some more which arrived the following week, and were just as quickly assembled by MOH.