You could find a place in your yard with nothing around it and bury the legs until the headboard sets just at ground level and do the same for the foot board. Make sure the two are planted the same length as a bed and then plant some white mums at area of the head board (like pillows) and then mix 2 or 4 colors of mums and place them along the rest of the bed to the foot board (like a quilt) and when people ask you about it you can tell them it is your flower bed. There is one in town that is done like that and it is the only thing in her yard, really neat actually.

I found the most expensive item needed to make a headboard was the foam. I made mine similar to NHB only we drilled holes in the plywood for buttons. Once is was upholstered, we decided not to use buttons but they can always be added. If you decided on buttons, I know there is a fabric store at the Berlin Mart in NJ that covers them reasonably. I also found their price the best for foam which they can custom cut. I know it's out of the way for you. Try 4th Street in Phila for materials. This is our Guest BR. We used a very tweedy fabric. Please ignore how the bed is made in this picture.

Lady Bug, did you see this post? There are pictures.(below) One tip I would pass along, when using the footboard for the arms, esp with queen or kings, is to figure out how deep you want the seat to be. Just cutting the footboard in half may make it a lot deeper than you'd want it. DH made one, and it's so deep it can be used for a daybed. Not good when you're looking for cushions. Of course you can MAKE a cushion if you're handy that way. Here is a link that might be useful: bed to bench

I'm also of the opinion that I would do something with the headboard before I would mess with the nightstands. I would paint the headboard the same color as the trim in the room (white?), so it would give the feel of blending in as a piece of architecture. With it white, it would be a blank canvas and maybe you could visualize it a pretty complementing color to the room later on. I think the color of the headboard wood looks a little dated, but the shape and form is simple and classic. That's my reasoning for painting. I would not paint the nightstands. I think the effect would be weird, and the shadows created would contrast too much right on the furniture. Nightstands would appear to be black and white because of the shadows created...they would not just look white (hope that makes sense). I like the nightstands, but they do have a complexity to them. I would be careful with adding cane or something on the doors. It wouldn't take much hacking to make them look like an overdone craft project. Also, I think the nightstands in their current color are great. With a white or very neutral blended headboard, you could really play off the darker wood nightstands with some decor pieces elsewhere in the room. Gayle