Nightstand

A two-drawer nightstand in solid black walnut, with brass pulls. The drawer fronts are the standout: a black river of epoxy set into the wood, running in a wave across both drawers.

The wave lines up from the top drawer into the bottom one, so it reads as one continuous line down the face.

I started with rough black walnut and milled it flat and square, then glued up boards into wide panels for the top, sides, and back.

The corners are mitered: cut at 45 degrees and joined so the grain wraps around the top and sides in one unbroken line instead of stopping at each corner. Clamped up, the panels became the cabinet the drawers sit in.

Each drawer is a box joined at the corners with dovetails, the interlocking wedge-shaped joints you can see at every corner. I marked and cut them by hand with a saw and chisels.

Once each box slid smoothly into its opening, I moved on to the fronts.

The drawer fronts are the whole point. For each one I cut a wavy edge into two pieces of walnut, left a gap between them, and poured black epoxy into the gap to make the river. Once the epoxy hardened, I sanded the face down until the wood and the resin were level and smooth.

I laid out both fronts so the wave flows out of the top drawer and straight into the bottom one, reading as one line down the face. The brass pulls sit right where the river crosses each drawer.

Once everything was sanded smooth, the walnut went from flat and grey to deep brown, and the epoxy to a hard black. I put on the finish, added the brass pulls, and set the drawers in place.

The full build, from rough walnut through the pour and the finish. It opens on YouTube.