I'm not even a part of the "never paint wood" squad - leave it be, it looks lovely as is. Plus you already have a nice looking piece of painted wood in that room.

What about staining it dark to match the end table and desk? I think it would look nice to have some contrast between the headboard and wall behind. Nice job on the headboard!

I agree with Noelle153; it looks quite nice (and I'm impressed with your carpentry skills). I could also see painting it with one of those "washes", though, where you can kind of see the grain beneath (a kind of grey-ish one maybe?). Either way it will look good.

Stain it a dark Ebony!

I love it! Too pretty to paint!! The bedside tables would look nice in white to match your duvet and lamps.

I'm either or. It looks nice as it but would look good with colour.

Something you could consider might be Milk Paint. It can give a very nice feel to unfinished wood without being too much

http://www.milkpaint.com/index.html

Or... as an alternative to painting the headboard, leave it as it and paint the one wall behind it a darker colour. That way it doesn't just blend into the wall and it is more of a feature

I like it as is. However it would really pop if you painted that wall.

I love the Milk Paint idea. I'm all for painting it, myself.

Do a colored wood stain, you'd get the bright POC, yet still enjoy the wood grain.

I think it's pine, which will darken with time - not in a nice way- if you don't do something to it. Paint, stain or just polyurethane.

It needs to stand out from the wall - either by changing the wall color or the headboard color.

I'd paint it, but you could at least live with it for a while. You can always paint it later.

joining in with the stain it dark brigade.

I love the natural, but I think a simple stain would really give it a pop. Wonderful carpentry skills, by the way - well done!

I think it's lovely, but I also think maybe there could be a bit more contrast between the wall and the headboard. It sort of blends in a bit and I think there's room for improvement with that contrast, wether it's by changing the wall color or the headboard.

It looks like you did a great job with the project and it looks nice as is. I'd avoid a darker stain, but perhaps using something like Briwax can bring out the natural honey color in the pine and provide more depth and contrast? That said, I realize that a color change can also dictate a difference in style, so tread carefully when trying to decide what color to paint or stain the headboard, I'd say.

I'd paint the wall behind it instead, perhaps a grey colour or the duck egg blue that's featured on our cushion. The bedhead looks beautiful as is and a darker colour wall paint behind it would really help make a feature of the bed. At the moment the bed colour fades into the wall colour a bit (just my opinion). Great work on the bedhead!

I've been accused of being in the never paint wood crowd, but I would paint this in a heartbeat. It's just a cheap pine and it's not harming anything by painting it. If you like the look of it without paint, you should seal it with a polyurethane. I don't think a dark stain would take well on it and wouldn't look good...but if you want to try that route you can always paint it afterwards if you didn't like the stain.

oops, i meant *your* cushion, not our.

I had to see the effects of the suggested dark stain, so I photoshopped it so the headboard matches the end table. The end result might look something like this. Looks pretty good in my opinion, what do you think?

thin down some paint you have lying around and "wash" it. A yellow-leaning green would look great.

I think it would look nice in white or whitewash. I think a dark stain would look too matchy.

Either stain it to match your furniture or paint the wall to give contrast. :)

I would do one of the following:
1) Paint the headboard one of the other colors you find in the accessories in your room. For example, pick a color from your lampshades and they will compliment each other. Blue for example would go well with the curtains, lampshades and throw pillow on the bed.

2) Paint the wall, or entire bedroom. I think however this is the "tail wagging the dog" as they say, and may be more work than you'd want.

If it were me I would go with the first option. Good luck!

I would paint it out and agree with the previous post that you should look for colors in your lamp shade. My first thought was red which would pick up on the lampshades and throw pillow, and would be a nice warm contrast to the cooler walls and painted dresser. Good luck!

Ooooo! Steve2's pic of the dark stain looks much better. I like it now, but the room needs some punch.

Paint your room first.

I think you may have too many colours going on in this room. It looks haphazzard rather than eclectic.

Pull a colour (like the dark teal) from the lamp shades and paint the headboard. This will unify the room.

Buy some more stylish bedlinen in neutral shades so that it doesn't compete. Put those clashing pillows elsewhere, keeping only one on the bed at any time as a feature.

Get curtains that at least match each other.

please paint it any color.

dont. touch it! looks awesome....but tangerine would look cool if you HAVE to paint it.

I love the look of wood so I wouldn't paint personally. What if you aged it? I had this method pinned on Pinterest and thought I would share :) http://ouradventuresinhomeimprovement.blogspot.com/2011/04/i-love-old-windows.html

I love natural wood.. but sometimes paint is great. I would NOT do a stain, I think it would look very generic. Either leave it like this (or do a lime wash to prevent it from darkening) and paint the wall behind it or paint it bravely with opaque paint. I think bright red would look great :)

I agree with a color stain! I think that would be beautiful! Something in red family I think. Maybe a plum?

I'm not hugely against having different coloured woods in a room but in this case the light pine against the dark end tables isn't working for me. So either stain it dark (liked the photoshopped pic, its a bit solid, it will look even nicer in real life) OR keep it light, paint the end tables a creamy white and do something interesting with colour on the wall.

Either way, get an oversized quilt that drapes over the sides of the bed and covers the divan and it will look gorgeous.

I'm totally for painting wood, but I think it looks nice like this. If you do decide to paint it, I'm with stream13--milk paint would be a nice way to go.

You could also paint the wall behind it a bright color to make the headboard stand out (that is, if you're allowed to do so)

you should paint the wall instead, may be in a dark blue, that`s what i did and it looks great!

consider pickling it and allowing the wood grain to shine through

I'm just like you. I love the natural look, so my walls are natural, the wood is natural and the pieces on thier own are great! But when combined it lacks a visual interest. I agree with most the other reviews to either paint the walls something bolder-yet earthy, maybe burnt orange/chocoate or something. Problem with painting the walls is, none of your bedroom furniture is going to match. If you leave the walls, staining the headboard dark to match the other pieces of furniture, you now have a visually pleasing oasis that looks more purposeful. I think either way you choose, you'll be happier having changed something, than leaving the room in its "ok" state. Dont be afraid to leave that "safe zone" of beige-go for it! Cant wait to see the results!

The bed in this post so reminds me of your bed. Note the white side tables. Your blue dresser looks totally farmhouse, too.

<http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/rustic-farmhouse-style-in-5-steps-165061>

I'd stain it a bright color, and then treat it with a mixture of tung oil and mineral spirits to let the wood breathe.

Paint it, it looks unfinished, any colour is better than pine