Four drawers in a small footprint

A nightstand is judged on two things: whether it sits at the right height, and whether it holds enough that the surface stays clear.

This one is built in solid Indian teak with four drawers stacked in a 50cm square footprint — more storage than the shape suggests, which is the point. The top stays free for a lamp and a book rather than becoming the place everything lands.

Height

At 50cm it sits level with the top of a standard mattress or just below. That is the height at which you can reach something in the dark without looking, and the reason a nightstand that is too tall always feels wrong however well it is made.

Solid teak, not veneer

Kiln-dried Indian teak throughout, including the drawer boxes. Teak carries its own oils, which is why it survives humidity that swells and jams drawers made from lesser timber — a detail you notice in a Kerala monsoon and nowhere else.

Specification

• Dimensions: 50cm W x 45cm D x 50cm H (19" x 17" x 19")
• Material: solid kiln-dried Indian teak
• Storage: four drawers

Making and delivery

• Handcrafted to order in Temple Town's own workshop in Thrissur, Kerala
• Dispatch in 4 to 8 weeks depending on availability
• Arrives assembled
• Slight variation in colour, grain and dimension is inherent to handmade work
• 1-year warranty against manufacturing defects, termite and borer. Normal wear, accidental damage, improper use or cleaning, and natural wood movement are excluded
• As each piece is made to order, cancellations and refunds cannot be accepted once the order is placed

Temple Town builds in the Heirloom Modernism idiom: Indian craft held to the standard of the world's finest furniture, made to be inherited rather than replaced.