Planning A New Headboard

We’ve officially lived with the floored queen bed for one full month. And still love it. Somehow, even though it’s a bigger bed, moving it 3 feet to the left to rest beneath the window and allowing the boxspring to rest on the floor makes the room seem bigger. A lot bigger. After the great bed switcheroo, we weren’t sure whether or not it was going to be a keeper, but it’s sticking, and we’re happily adjusted.

Of course, lots of art is just propped around the room; we still haven’t gotten around to finding permanent homes for it, but it’s a real-life a work-in-progress. What can I say.

Moving the bed away from the doorway means that there’s more room to walk around, to sleep, and the lack of iron headboard (which is camping out in Cody’s room/guest room) fools us into thinking that we even jacked up the ceiling an extra foot. We didn’t, of course, but have thought about it, and will just have to settle on eye-tricks to fool ourselves into having taller second-story rooms.

The thing that has been entering my mind every day, however, is how to “permently” anchor the bed into the design of the room. I used quotes right there because by now you know that nothing’s permanent, but for as long as the bed is in this location, it should be made to feel right at home, even if it’s totally not feng shui according to home blogging sites circa 2008. Right? Right.

I’ve perused plenty of headboard images in my massive magazine archive, on pinterest, on other blogs, making notes of what would work best given the size and location of the window, and the low-height of the bed. Here are a few of the ones that I like best, although I’ll tell you upfront that I’m not exactly following any of these patterns exactly. Skip on down to see my plan of attack and some laser beams.

This 2008 shot from West Elm via a little dabble does wonders to highlight the beauty of the headboard they’re trying to sell, but also sells the idea of using a tree branch and curtain as a way to play up the headboard and incorporate the off-center window into the room layout. So homey.

Lots of images at Apartment Therapy caught my eye, but two stuck out. The first actually shows a headboard acting as a wall/bookshelf separating the bed from the wall with the window, but I love how the window still adds some visual complexity to the bed, making the room feel very layered, dimensional, and cozy. Cool, right?

The second room from Apartment Therapy that got me all excited was this multi-window room, which instead of being accented with heavy curtains or a headboard, was balanced out and anchored with a large piece of art.

While all great, inspiring, cozy and fun spaces, I had a different plan in mind. In sketch form, it’s pacing to look something like this over time. But more colorful. With straighter lines.

Maybe something a little more like this. Laser beams representing what’s to come.

Shout-out to Scott McGillivray’s Income Property laser beams and sophisticated graphics which forever help us to visualize the “after” in the properties he takes on. We love those flashy graphics and I thought it’d be fun to have Pete photoshop me somethin’-somethin’.

I’ll have more for you in the next few days, but I’ll leave you with this thought that totally doesn’t give away what I’m going to be doing: Do you have any idea how hard it is to find reclaimed clapboard siding?