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Seems like a waste of the space to each side of the bed. If you can afford to bring the bed out a couple of feet from the wall in the first place, consider going with built-ins along the whole wall (or if that is too pricey, the faux built-ins they show you how to do on the diy shows).

Regan

I haven't seen that exact item, but I am exploring the same issue...i don't have any suggestions if you are dead set on having an official headboard partition; however, there are a lot of gorgeous partitions out there that could serve the purpose and also be very design conscious. i love the wavy wood one (designer escapes me at the moment)...but you can see a nice and affordable replica on white on white's website...

here is one thing to consider: to have your clothes out in the open in a nyc apt may make them dusty...inevitably, i find that nothing is safe from nyc apt dust...have you considered simply dividing the closet space with a ceiling to floor curtain parition? see the winner of the 2006 smallest cutest apt contest....i am considering doing something like this, but i think my new space is too small for something that dramatic....

have you considered a wall unit folding bed with closets built out to the side? the designs by clei are attractive and vary in price, from affordable to notso affordable. you can check out the various designs/exmples at the link through my name....design & comfort on madison and i think 30th distributes them and handles domestic orders...i have a few of the units priced and am kind of excited....however, august is vacation time in europe so an 8 week order/turnaround time can easily become 12 weeks this time of year...

good luck.

Honey, if you need to brace yourself for the "transition from walk-in closets back to reach-in closets," you don't need ApartmentTherapy... you just need therapy.

Do you really want your clothing visible around the headboard?

A wall of tall door-front cabinets would look like a built-in, hide your stuff, and not require any of the difficulties of building in. Both Target and IKEA do that sort of thing.

If you're committed to the headboard partition, ultra-tall headboards were violently "in" this year, so you should be able to find a regular headboard in an ordinaire store.

to piggy back on wende's suggestion, check out the PAX line at ikea....you can even plan ahead on their website (see what it will actually look like with your choice of shelves, rods, doors, etc)- then print out the shopping list (very handy and efficient way to go about it if you like the idea) and know exactly how much it will cost you...

I guess we need to know why a closet behind a bed is the (I presume) only workable solution.

Is it because the opposite wall has a window so you cannot put a closet there and that the sill is too low to put the head of the bed there? Maybe there is an AC or heating unit there that you cannot block with a bed.

Then is the room too narrow to have the bed length going along the width of the room?

I guess you could do the off the shelf closet thing and the Pax Stordal doors look great as can be seen in the pics that Karen once posted:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/open-threads/open-thread-146-006621
Go to the end.
They are for a custom closet but the pictures give you an idea of how nice the Stordal doors are.

You would lose space by having to place the bed a couple feet in front of the closet though but if you did do a closet behind a head board or wall then that space inside would also have to be deep enough for you to walk in. So the place where the bed head ends up may turn out to be the same in the end for both options.

My suggestion is a simple one.

1) Hang curtains from the ceiling to block off your closet area. That will take care of a lot of the dust problems.

2) The headboard you so admire is really just a partition with some sort of wood finish -- possibly just a veneer. You can easily build this yourself (or have it built) and place it in front of the curtains.

3) Best thing: cost effective and easy.

I'd flip the headboard so the shelves are behind the bed and install 4-part shoji blinds from floor to ceiling on rollers so you can close off and then access the closet. you can install small shelves on the headboard for alarm clocks and sconced lamps above them.

Oh, man. Thanks SO much for all the suggestions. All good ideas, and y'all have really made me rethink my attraction to this setup. We're talking about a c. 9 ft. by 12 ft. room, so doing the partition/headboard would suck up a lot of the space. I'm now leaning toward wende and BK's suggestion of the non-built storage with the built-in look, but all the ideas are really helping me to visualize the space differently in my head. Thanks, again!

TO LUCY:

You mentioned installing Shoji screens on rollers to form a partition - I've been wanting to do the same thing but don't know how. Can you email me a description of how I would go about it, if I could do it myself (being a VERY unhandy girl), or if I would have to hire someone? And what about really high ceilings (12' ceilings) - most shoji screens are much shorter (6' or 7'). Do you have pictures or know someone who's done something similar I could see? I'm in DC, so we don't have as much access to these kinds of home improvement items as you would in NYC.

email is: asianjones AT gmail.com

thank!

To Lucy or Pari-
I'd love this information too if you happen to still have it.

Thanks,

MJC

I'm not crazy about the wasted space either. I would try a modular closet system that has some flexibility. There is a site called speedy closets that offers pre-assembled systems they deliver to you.