That's beautiful! I love how you used the spindles to make the arm rests! And the decorative one on the bottom front of it. That's just absolutely charming! Perfect spot for it,the table and bench just go together. And great job on the stenciling,too.

Still there? 2 tips: FIrst, I don't think you really just want to prop it up against the wall. It's going to shift, wobble and just won't look "right." There are pieces of hardware you can get to adhere it to the wall that won't leave huge holes in the wall (in case you are a renter or tend to change your mind). Go to the website www.hangmanproducts.com and look for the hardware that's 2 pieces for hanging mirrors; one piece goes on the wall, the other on the headboard, and they fit together (you "hook" the one on the headboard over the one you put on the wall). A brilliant invention! (No, I didn't invent it! Nor do I have a financial role in it.) Second, the HGTV show "Myles of Style" -- episode about a "Boutique Bedroom" -- showed a very cool, simple upholstered (yes, padded--that's impt for the luxurious, not skimpy, feel!) headboard. She used 3 horizontal panels of a beautiful upholstery fabric in complimentary colors--really beautiful and a simple look. The HGTV site for her specific show has a video of the room (and probably a rerun date for the show itself).

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

Hey walkin -- I'm *far* from an expert on this--people here helped me on the one I've done. I bought a kit of the precut wood and MDF parts, complete with screws and such, truth be told, just because I didn't want to have to do all the measuring and cutting--sometimes I hit "tilt" and have to take the easy way out. The kit was from eBay. We did buy better foam, however, than the kit came with. And we also wrapped it. Probably way overdoing it. It wasn't hard at all, in fact rather enjoyable in an instant-gratification kind of way (esp. since I didn't have to do the cutting :))--we did do two rows of staples, alternating spaces kind of like sewing stitches, because the fabric seemed to pull between the stitches so I wanted it anchored completely. We didn't edge it with wood, but we could--we just did a simple rectangle which extends 24" above the surface of the mattress (we have a high mattress--if you were to purchase the same set and not have as high a mattress setup, it would be taller unless you cut it down). We love the simple lines. It would be easy to put wood around this if we chose to, or to make a slipcover for it down the line.