My first thought from the get go was that the headboard was off with the quilt, but with those pillows it makes 100% difference. Looks really nice.

I think the gold headboard is lovely, but just not for what you are trying to do. I think painting the headboard grey or even making a slipcover for your headboard and getting a grey bed skirt will look really nice. Love your new lamp shades and your new spread. I would put drapes on the windows that are more solid grey then....let your pillows and bed spread be the non-plain things in your room.

I think you will sigh with great relief if you paint that headboard! It will end so much of the "trying to work around it" you are doing. The palette is then wide open for aqua and turquoise or other colors.

Wait...the headboard isn't upholstered?

Painting that headboard would totally open up your options and (IMO) create a much more serene and soothing palette in your room.

I still think that the headboard is the elephant in the room and everything else you do is either trying to compensate for it or distract you from seeing it.

But I don't understand how you can paint a tufted headboard without it looking, well, awful.

How large is the window behind the bed?

There are a lot of affordable "grey headboards"...google and check them out. Assuming you are open to a replacing your headboard.

That's right. This one, for example, from Overstock - California king for $194.49 with free shipping.

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Christopher-Knight-Home-Jezebel-Adjustable-King-California-King-Button-Tufted-Fabric-Headboard/10522409/product.html?recset=5fbfc893-3972-4f10-9cf4-3969ac895784&refccid=JLXQ5LOCSIZZLCKDZMKSBNW5MU&searchidx=2&recalg=63&recidx=2

Or ... getting away from tufting, $285:

http://www.wayfair.com/Skyline-Furniture-Linen-Nail-Button-Upholstered-Headboard-SKY11665.html?piid%5B0%5D=14097947

Ingrid, are you planning on a winter look? You should post those items so colors can be considered. Not like you want to store aqua chairs all winter.

I'm God smacked at how cheap the bed heads are in the USA!

Lol. Trying to picture god smacked :-). There were links in her older thread on how to paint an upholstered headboard. You can google it. Yes, there are affordable new ones but if the gold one is better quality, it might be worth it to put a little effort into at least trying to paint it.

Teehee! God-smacked:

The window behind the bed is about 24 inches high and about 50 inches wide. Still agonizing about getting a new headboard. Kippy, I hadn't even thought about a winter look, maybe something more neutral in chairs might be a good idea. I just ordered drapes; they're striped in white and light blue because the gray striped looked depressing. We'll see how well it works. They're only for the French door because I've decided not to have drapes behind the bed, just a shade, and there's already a short, sheer curtain as you can see in one of the pictures. The tufted headboard below has a lined look, not the more shiny look like mine and in the reviews people said it is not nearly as tall as it looks and sticks out about 2 inches on each side, and some people had problems with installation. By the way, I don't buy from Walmart.

Turquoise, thank you for the mock-up, which I just now spotted. It made me realize that I'm not the serene type. I thrive on color, even in the bedroom, although not screaming orange or red. The mock-up really helped, although I'm afraid not quite in the way that you envisioned!

No problem at all, Ingrid! I had fun putting a "room" together! :-)

Ingrid. What about looking for a nice throw in a color you like and pinning it on the back of the headboard.

It is such a pretty shape and even if the gold is not hot this season, who know what it hot next, you may be ahead of the deaign curve. In a year or two gray may be the dusty rose of the 80's

if you lived closer, I would make you a slip cover for it

Well, I'm done for the day. (And besides, my new summer dining room rug came in and must do something with that.) Thinking and rethinking about the headboard and the various ramifications of each decision burned out my cylinders. Here are a few pictures of what I ended up with. I still need a shade for the window, chairs, rug and who knows what else. I wonder what it would look like if we painted only the headboard wall a soft gray.

Before you go, you don't have to get rid of the headboard. Here's one that looks fabulous:

Eclectic Bedroom · More Info

Dear FinallyHome, how very nice of you post this. It pretty well duplicates my colors and, my goodness, even a bed skirt! I like the solid gray pillows and the gray, gold and white ones very much. Wish I could have the ceiling too. Thanks so much; I've looked and looked and never found anything this close.

Wow, I really like what you did with the curtains! I like the gold brought over to the doors, the light ones above the bed, too. The comforter looks better positioned as it is and the sconces sans ivy look great.

You're welcome Ingrid. I think if you want a more casual look, you can pull this off with a white quilt. Good luck.

Really like the curtains at the French doors----maybe there was just too much of a concentration of gold at the head of the bed. It looks comlletely different and great with the headboard and curtains separated.

Love being able to see those corbels! You may want to look around for vases with some height to display on them. You can get clear museum putty to anchor your breakables on shelves and sconces to protect them. I knew a decorator in Florida who used to Velcro breakables on shelves in homes with boisterous children. Not saying you have that problem but I know we all worry about things getting broken.

I'm so glad you like this look better; I know I do. I'll have to get a shade for that window now before it gets a lot warmer. kswl2, I did put slightly larger objects on the corbels, but don't have anything really appropriate at the moment. Sometimes I do worry about things falling but I've been fortunate so far.

I splurged on a small but genuine Peshawar hand-tied rug for the foot of the bed because I felt the room lacked a certain something that I couldn't put my finger on. It's really difficult with rooms that have no architectural merit whatsoever to give them some character, especially when they have a bland wall color to boot. Does the idea of painting just the wall behind the bed a soft gray make sense to anyone?

Looks great your transformation. Good job!! My bedroom now is undergoing a big refurbishment. I want to change all the old furniture, such as my memory foam bed (already grabbed a new bed), my nightstand, bed frame and so on. Also I wanna grab a cabinet for storage. Spotted a cabinet on a home furnishing site, it's terribly good-looking. The cabinet has 1 full-length mirror, 2 drawers and big storage room for earrings or other bling things. Love it!! http://www.langria.com/jewelry-cabinet-armoire-with-drawers.html

I just can't stand keeping all those earrings and necklaces lying around on my desk!!

@FinallyHome It just looks fabs! Do you know where to buy this headboard?

Rather than putting a patterned or woven shade that shows thru your curtains behind the bed, might you try a white roller shade? It would provide a solid backdrop that would just make the curtains look more opaque when pulled down and would essentially disappear when up. I think texture or pattern is not what you want there as there is so much going on elsewhere in the room.

Agree that you shouldn't put anything with pattern or texture behind the sheers.

coming in at the end of this and love what it looks like now

Love the white shades, the headboard(please don't hit me. so yes, you can't use half of the colors out there with it. but you can use another half! that's, like, a ton)), and the art everywhere. I like the feel of the room, and how eclectic it is.

As for calm and restful..everyone and their calm and restful, so to say. I started with extremely calm and restful in my bedroom (not so keen on aqua since then lol, even though I still have a lot of it)..I got irritated more and more each day, until I brought in more colors, textures, I don't know what else. So personal, what's restful and what's not..

Kippy, that is so sweet of you. Is there anything you don't know how to do?

I agree, now a white shade in that window would be more appropriate (and probably cheaper too).

Yayagirl, thank you so very much!

april, thank you for liking the overall look, that pleases me so much. Glad you agree that restful can be, well, boring, for some of us. I thrive on having meaningful and beautiful things around me in every room. I like that I'm not the only one.

No one's responded to my question about painting the headboard wall another color, such as gray. Is that a really bad idea?

If you're going to add a white shade, I'd have molding put around the window so you can hang the shade inside the frame. Otherwise it has a bit of a basement window appearance, being a high window.

I'm usually not a fan of accent walls. Because they seldom are done well. Having said that-some are great(I especially like wallpapered ones). More than that-I recently did an accent wall myself:) (against all my rules lol) and I kinda like it.

No, I don't think it's a bad idea..the wall behind the bed usually makes sense more than just any other wall, to be accented..I guess you won't know whether you love it until you try.

I took a risk and I like it. But I could end up hating it.

Mine is kind of a separation wall though, in an open space..a bit easier maybe.

Also..we had painters, because the whole house was being painted..so it's easier when someone else does it. Physically. Psychologically it's harder because I was anxious the painters won't approve many of my choices:) Even though it's my house and all..

mayflowers, thank you for the excellent suggestion. That is the one window in the house we didn't have replaced (my fault) and it needs something done to it.

I think your're right april, I won't know until I do it. I keep wanting to make that room less bland, and somehow I have the idea that a darker wall will help. Of course it could be a mistake, but that might encourage us to paint the other walls too. I painted the walls to the left and right of my corner fireplace in the living room and that worked out really well, but there were very clear transition zones in every place that the darker paint ended.

I had an odd thought for you on chairs for the room. What about a pair of natural wicker colored ones with cushions you could swap with the season? They are light enough they should be easy for you to move and the right chairs are really comfortable. Plus they will add some subtitle gold tones in the room to balance the headboard and they can be found rather cheaply at a few stores.

I think ink the gold curtains are perfect and would keep them over something with stripes

Honestly, I think you're done with the BR.

It looks light and relaxing. Some flowers or candles, good book. Lavender, glass of wine or champagne.

I wouldn't paint the headboard,. It might look ok but will feel creepy to touch.

Like I've said before, don't forget less can be more. You have to know when to stop. It's a calm, serene, and comfortable bedroom right now (assuming you will like the rug when it comes). Can you post a picture of it?

Along with not painting the headboard, I wouldn't paint a wall grey either, I think it'll reflect on the other walls and make the room look dull, I think the walls look wonderfully light and bright as they are. I agree with just a white shade on the window and if you're thinking of doing the summer/winter decor swap then I like the chair with removable pad idea above too.

You're probably sick and tired of this bedroom but I wanted to show
these two pictures because my husband somehow achieved a wider angle of
view which I thought was neat. I've been googling accent walls and like
many of the effects that have been achieved. I think I'm going to try
and find the right color of gray although I'm a complete neophyte when
it comes to paint colors. My only thought is that the effect will be
lost if the color is too light. If anyone has suggestions I'd love to
hear them.

I was posting these pictures and having problems, and so did not see any of the latest posts above. As far as moving the bed goes, the door into this room is just beyond the chair. Imagine walking into the room and, rather than seeing the bed as it is now, just seeing the side of it and hardly ever seeing it from the front. I'm puzzled why several people think this is a good idea. It will also cut the room in half and make it look smaller, not to mention that there isn't enough room for the bed and the lamp tables on either side, now that I'm thinking about it.

Sorry, hubby does not like rattan chairs, and I'm not sure that they would go with the feel of this room, somehow too beachy? The new chair or chairs are in the future anyway since I've bought so many things lately, and buying the rug has put us over the top.

Painting the wall so far is unanimously unpopular with you. I wasn't aware that the gray wall would affect the tint of the other walls negatively. I'm afraid I don't have a picture of the rug since I forgot to put it in the favorites list on the rug site. It's the only one of its kind so it won't be in the catalog area since it's no longer for sale. I'm hoping it will arrive soon.

Jumping in to say that your room is looking great! I like the way the gold curtains now at the doors seem to balance the gold headboard, and the light white above it is so airy.

I like the new photos! I don't think painting the wall is a bad idea. Why not try it?

Not a perfect match....but just a quick idea : )

The room has really transformed with the few changes you've made. I would not paint an accent wall and I'm not a fan of such dark wall art in the dark frames. It seems to conflict with the bright, fresh, sophisticated look of the room. I wouldn't know what to suggest in place of what you have, but for some reason it just doesn't feel right to me. I do really like everything else you've done though.

I think an accent wall, especially the one with the window in it, will mess up the flow you have going now. The current wall color is very nice with everything you have.

I think you last photos look very nice. Adding those curtains to the doors really helped balance the gold around the room nicely.

Is it passe' to paint one accent wall?

Not really. Maybe a bit.I'd put it like this: People are less into it than they were before, so we see less bad accent walls. But the ones that still do it do it with much more consideration, so we see few but good accent walls:)

But yes, one needs to be careful with these..

Ingrid, your bedroom looks really beautiful with the changes you've made. It looks totally different than what you started with. The gold headboard, that was the elephant in the room looks great now that you've tied it together with your new drapes.

I wouldn't do an accent wall especially not a grey one. I think grey is coming to the end of it's run also I think it would take your beautiful, bright new bedroom and make it look dull. If you can look at the first wider angled picture that your DH took with an unjaundiced eye I think you will agree that your room now looks totally updated and charming. I think the paint color has a warm candlelit glow to it and grey would muddy up the whole effect.

Arlene, I agree with you about the dark frames and so I lightened them, but then decided that I had painting overkill in this room and removed my husband's boat painting and the 1944 print of quail and grouse. Much better, in my opinion. I'll take additional photos after the area rug comes in. I won't make a decision about doing an accent wall until I see how the area rug affects the whole scheme. It seems to be gray and gold, although rug pictures are not great in color renditions, but it should be here soon. I'm taking your suggestions not to have an accent wall very seriously because your reasons make sense. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your interest in my little projects, which make them so much more exciting for me to implement, not to mention the inspiration you give me, even though I may, after due consideration, not follow all your suggestions.

It looks great as is, including the golden headboard.

What rug did you order?

nosoccermom, I've posted a separate thread for the rug. Of course there are problems....