apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Christina --

You could expand on what we did in our bedroom. We made a fabric-covered headboard from art canvases we found at a local craft store. You could cover an entire wall in these with any fabric of your choice. You could even use some batting to make them padded.

Here's a link: http://prettybirdpress.blogspot.com/2008/02/its-inevitable-when-you-own-your-first.html

Sarah

i would check out brocade homes clearance and sale section online.

also check out thrift stores, they might have vintage pieces that you could paint to freshen up- antique dressers, mirrors, a chandelier, etc.

I like beds like this. It would be fun to have in a midcentury modern home... mix it up a bit, but give the bed the rockstar treatment. Anything to make the bed a little more sexy and glam.

for the bed: brocade home and pbteen http://www.pbteen.com/products/p2043/index.cfm?pkey=cfurbed


for the wall: choose a paint and look at patterns at rollerwall.com or see anthropologie.com's clearance (they have a great chocolate with hot pink here: http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/category.jsp?popId=DECORATING&navAction=poppushpush&navCount=5&pushId=DECOR_SALE&id=DECOR_SALE_WALL_DECOR

don't forget companystore.com and garnethill.com when looking at bedding. they have great sales.

I think craigslist (depending on where you live) and ebay will be your best bets here. Search for "Louis bed" -- painting the frame white and reupholstering the head and footboards are not too hard on that type of bed and you will get the same look. Shipping a big bed is really expensive so that piece you should look for on craigs or a local consignment store. For the acrylic nightstands, I believe CB2 has reasonable priced acrylic tables. You may be able to do a lot better on ebay, though, especially if you can find someone selling a pair of them in one auction. The painted wall is easy -- get someone to help you measure and tape it off.

I haven't seen the show, but I imagine watching the sales will help with bedding and pillows. For accessories, I'd again look to ebay.

Hope that helps!

Lady J...thanks for the rollerwall.com link! has anyone tried this....it looks a little too good to be true, but if it works - I'm in!

If you do find a vintage bed to upholster, you can use a jigsaw or an electric steak knife to cut out the shape of the upholstered insert from a piece of foamboard. If you can't find foamboard large enough, make two pieces and connect them with duct tape before wrapping the whole thing in batting, then fabric (use an iron to make the edges crisp) and glue the upholstered piece to the foot/headboard. You can use actual upholstery nails to finish it off or be creative and use buttons or shells or whatever (just remove button shanks) and gluegun them around the edges. It's time-consuming, but this way, you can make exactly what you want for a fraction of the cost.

what's your budget??

Anthropologie has some great frenchy femme headboards on sale right now, if you can't afford the whole fancy french bed. The great thing about upholstery is that you can change it out when you want to upgrade.

My advice:

Invest in your fantasy bed from an antique store or your favorite retailer and get yourself a high-quality mattress. Then go cheap / craigslist / salvation army / garage sale for everything else.

I am doing the very same thing, BTW. I inherited a clawfoot end-table and a clawfoot bombe chest. I've been hunting for just the right bed and linens *forever*. I finally found the headboard. I feel great about spending a little more on the exact right piece and building the room slowly as funds allow.

hanako66, i have a rollerwall (#5226) but haven't used it yet

Reference: set pics to "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" here: http://billiepiper.albumpost.com/album11?page=7

Nice choice!

make that rollerwall #2668, and somewhere around here someone was profiled for doing/selling drum lampshades using pattern #4111. so it must work fine...

if you're in the bay area, check out harvey clars monthly auctions in oakland. i've seen beds like this, but in need of rehab, there on occasion. the saturday warehouse auction is downright cheap. also, there is a junk auction at alameda on mondays or tuesdays (not the estate auction which is usually sunday) and you might luck into a bed if you check regularly. don't forget ebay, where i think bed frames, and great fabric, are quite affordable. this search may take months, but if you're willing to sleep on a comfortable mattress while waiting, you will find it.

this kind or upholstery project is probably easier then a chair of anything with angles and corners. i suspect it is a doable home project. luan plywood, foam, fabric, adhesive, tacks.

fabric via ebay, or locally i like sal beressi on potrero hill on bryant.

good luck.

Christina:
I just came across this bed at Z Gallerie on the clearance page: http://www.zgallerie.com/pc-3665-53-leslie-bed.aspx not quite what you were looking for, but I think that it definitely has potential, perhaps with a reupholstered headboard?

I'm back! I found something, by accident today, that seems a little more up your alley:

http://www.brocadehome.com/bh/catalog/category/category_w_products.jsp?selectedHowMany=20&categoryId=bh_cat104003&viewAll=true