DIY Wood iPhone Stand / Nightstand Valet

I didn’t know what to call this – technically it’s a nightstand valet – but how many of you would look that up on Pinterest?

Not many I’m guessing.

It is actually an iPhone stand / iPhone charging station if that’s a better term – and it’s really easy to make, and you still have time to whip one or two out before Christmas!

I made a mistake in making mine (yes, all four of them) but I have a correction that fixed them – so I’ll give you both the correct way to make it AND the way to fix it if you make yours incorrectly as well.

DIY Wood iPhone Stand

1×6 board of wood – 3 feet is more than enough for one stand.
mitre saw
drill
3/4″ spade bit
1/2″ or 9/16″ spade bit
sander and sandpaper
wood glue
stain and varnish or paint.

First up you will need wood – I went with 1 x 6 red oak so that my DIY wood iPhone stand was really sharp looking – if you’re not a wood connoisseur, pine is perfect.

Cut three pieces of your 1×6 wood to 9″ lengths (15cm).

Find the centre point on one of these boards – 4 1/2″ in from the short side and about 2 1/4″ down from the widest edge and mark this spot. We’ll call this board 1.

On the second board mark at 4 1/2″ from the short side and 1 1/2″ down from the widest edge (this is where I went wrong and marked both boards on the centre point. It will work, but it will need the “fix” I detail later). This will be board 2

On the third board place a mark 4 1/2″ in from the short side and 2″ down from the long side. This is board 3.

Using a 3/4″ spade bit on your electric drill, drill a hole at the points you’ve marked on board 1 and board 2.

From here, you can use a jig saw, your Bladerunner X2, or if you’re very careful, your mitre saw to cut from the outer edge of the board in to meet the top and bottom of the drilled holes.

We’re going to do the same thing on board 3, except you will use a 1/2″ or 9/16″ spade bit for your hole – this is narrower to hold watches and bracelets etc. Cut in to create a slot with your jigsaw or mitre saw as above.

Now you’re going to add some wood glue to the edge of board 1 and glue it to board 3. Clamp tightly until dry.

Sand your pieces smooth. I tricked out my drill to help me sand in the notched sections:

Attach a piece of sandpaper to a very large drill bit with a bit of painters tape. When you turn your drill on, the sandpaper tightens itself up and you can use it to smooth out the rounded edges of you DIY wood iPhone stand.

Slide board 2 into board 1 and you have your basic stand!

Mark where you will be charging your iPhone and then drill two holes, side by side, to allow the charging cable to fit through.

Where I went wrong – while my watch and iPhone are standing perfectly in this photo, any added weight on the watch arm would cause my DIY iPhone stand to topple over. This is because I cut the notch in board 2 at 4 1/2″ by 2 1/4″. If you followed the cuts above, you should be okay because the back section of your base (board 2) will be wider than the front and will counterbalance things nicely.

IF you screwed up, like me, and spend $32 a board on red oak – you’ll want to make this easy fix to balance out your iPhone stand better.

Cut another piece of wood 9″ wide by 1 1/2″ tall – cut one long edge at a 27 degree angle on the mitre saw.

It’s a bit tough to see here, but adding this last narrow piece underneath the back of board 2 with wood glue and a couple of finishing nails will keep your DIY wood iPhone stand upright even with a heavy iPad and a few watches on it.

Isn’t this sharp?! My front shelf will be a bit deeper than yours (because of my mis-cut), but yours will still be deep enough to hold your glasses on.

The watch / bracelet arm on your DIY wood iPhone stand is more than long enough for a few men’s watches or several bracelets.

The size of your finished project is 9″ tall by 9″ wide by 6″ deep – so small enough to fit on any nightstand or dresser.

With a small footprint and using up vertical space, you can hold so many things in one spot with plenty of room leftover for whatever else you house on your bedside table.

Drill out two openings for lightning cables and you can keep this by the front door to charge his and hers iPhones.

Add hooks above or below to hang keys.

Even with my screw up, the total time needed to make my DIY wood iPhone stand was about 45 minutes and that included figuring it all out and staining it. If you started now, you could have a few whipped out tonight, leave the stain to dry overnight, then have the varnish all dry by tomorrow night. Plenty of time for Christmas delivery!