What feels like 8 months ago, we were about to shoot the house for Real Simple magazine, but I didn’t know which rooms so I kinda had to prep for all of them, including the guest room. This room (the guest) was the first room ready after we moved in, actually, with furniture that we owned already except for a bed. You see, while we did plan for the windows to be far enough apart to fit a king bed, it really only fits a king mattress – not the side rails and headboard (as you can see below). So we knew/figured we’d have to customize the bed there to make sure that it doesn’t go in front of the windows.
First, here is what the bed looks like without a headboard.
As you can see if we had an upholstered bed with side rails and took the headboard straight up, it would be in front of both windows. A big deal? Not really but certainly not ideal. Around the same time, we started working with a local upholstery team that could turn things around quickly (which is dangerous/tempting for me). So something custom was around the same price as the bed I had my eye on (without our special fabric which you’ll see). We drew it up, with the bed gradually coming into an arch, thus not obstructing the view of the window at all. GREAT.
This was the general idea.
The Inspiration…
Now this bed (above) is from Lulu and Georgia (and comes in a lot of different colors) and the shape of it served as the inspiration that I thought could work between the two windows. Originally, I was just going to order it but I put it off and the lead time was too long. But the shape (a simple arch) is what we were going for, just in a more fun pattern. (P.S. I don’t typically like to just take a piece of furniture and make my own, but I don’t feel weird about this because it’s just an arch – which nobody has propriety ownership over, LOL, and I didn’t even really do the piping details). But if you are in the market for a bed like this, just order from L&G – their pieces IMO are well-priced for very high quality (and a lot of options). The overall dimensions would be 75″W x 87″D x 58”H (for a king).
The Fabric…
I had ordered a bunch of fabric samples from Rebecca Atwood and fell in love with this one in the guest room. The pinks and blues and the small print felt so appropriate in that room.
See the vision?
The week before the shoot we found out that the bed we were waiting on for our bedroom was delayed. We had ordered this one from Crate & Barrel (Jake Arnold’s collection is incredible). So then we had to make the decision – do we put this bed, designed for a different room, in here for the shoot just to have something more editorial? And if so, do we then move it afterward to the guest room?
That was the plan – to shoot it here and then move it. But then Ivan and the Raleigh Hills Upholstery team came to install the bed and we realized it was A REAL THING. It is extremely heavy, well-made, and doesn’t just slip together. It took two guys an hour to put it together.
So come back Monday to see how we made the whole room work together. It’s still a room I have some hesitations with but I LOVE being in it so much that it’s hard to motivate myself to change it. Let’s just say IT’S A CHOICE and not a super farm-oriented choice.
*Pretty Photos by Kaitlin Green
Hi– Beautiful bed. What can you tell us about that abstract art piece above it…that traveled with it to both rooms. Nice one!
It’s two different paintings. The one on the blue wall is by Melinda Forster (see it in this post: https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/living-room-update-ideas-2020)
It’s two different paintings. The painting on the pink wall is by Ninos Studio (see it in this post: https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/4-ways-to-style-a-credenza-for-real-life)
Oh! Awesome! I see the differences now. Thanks for the links.
Love this series of posts. Had actually checked for bed posts (no pun …) just before they started since we’re switching from a queen four-poster to a king platform and I’m considering prioritizing storage beds. Anyone have thoughts on this? We don’t need the storage now but it feels like a future-proofing decision for when we need / decide to downsize from the big house.
re the guest room bed blocking the windows, whoa, that hurts the eyes so moving the big bed to the master bedroom makes tons of sense, farmhouse vibe or not. Looking forward to the reveal!
LOVE this! How lucky for you to have found an upholsterer in Portland. I love the Rebecca Atwood fabric. I too drool over most of her fabrics. I would have never had the guts to do this. I can’t wait to see more.
Hi,
I ask this out of genuine curiosity, as I really enjoy hearing about the design process. I am a particular fan of the Mountain House and the coziness you created there (It matches my style/lifestyle, so it makes sense that project spoke to me). I also live in Vermont, so farmhouse style is a style you see here regularly. The beds and a lot of the furniture choices seem to be a more modern (mid-century, not sure)? non-farmhouse style while the architecture is. I am curious if this is an intentional choice to have an curvy chunky eclectic mix of non-farmhouse furniture (i.e., dining room chairs, side chairs, bed frames) vs having more farmhouse or Scandanavian style? I would love to hear more about this as it seemed like you were really excited to have a farmhouse originally. I imagine this evolved etc., and would love to hear about it. My favorite rooms are the kitchen and the den (love the coziness of the den).
Thank you!
Yes, as I referenced the shaker post and delft tile post for my kitchen remodel this week…so helpful. I have no idea but here’s my guess: She’s says she likes many styles…but at the end of the day she’s a stylist and seems to enjoy all the little quirky accessories first and foremost. Maybe those lend themselves to being paired with modern? She did hold back with accessories in the mt house but she doesn’t live there. Ok, she did during covid but that doesn’t count because everyone was overwhelmed to the max so minimialist felt like maximilist? haha. Thx for humoring me here. Just being playful. I have no idea.
My observation is this: while many styles speak to Emily, including historical ones, she ultimately is most drawn to things feeling fresh, youthful, cool, fun, and fashionable. It seems to me that she has to have those factors to feel good in a space. I have realized about myself — to my surprise — that I actually don’t care about any of these things when it comes to decor! I thought I did, but I genuinely don’t! At all! So I’ve ended up with a more modern-classic cottage feel, still contemporary, pretty, and light — but definitely not something anyone would describe as fun, youthful, cool, or fashionable. And I think that first atmosphere might be what some of us were expecting with this renovation, but that does not make Emily feel good in her spaces, yet I still find her reflections and dilemmas helpful and fascinating!
This sounds like a good assessment, the decor and furniture choices really surprised me on this one since they were going to such architectural lengths to have it a farmhouse vibe — much more eclectic than her prior projects. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Keep the bed in there! Happy accidents are the best.
And your experience with the delay of “your bed” pretty much sums up the last 3 years for me. 😳
Your room is looking amazing. Love the tones with the pattern of the bed fabric. Add to that a fireplace plastered in American Clay, and you’ll never want to leave!
It’s cool to see, how a small change, even in the bed, can make the entire room look different, love it.
This bed looks fabulous in the primary bedroom! I wonder if the spindle bed frame you had in the primary bedroom in Silver Lake would look good in the guest room? You could see through to any windows behind, and it wouldn’t take up as much space as a framed, upholstered bed…
Absolutely love the design choice for the primary bedroom bed! The spindle bed frame from the Silver Lake bedroom is indeed stunning, and I’m intrigued by the idea of using it in the guest room. The transparency it offers, allowing a view through to any windows behind, is a clever touch. Plus, the space-saving aspect compared to a framed, upholstered bed is a thoughtful consideration. Your design insights are always inspiring, and I’m eager to see how this potential change would enhance the guest room. Great aesthetic thinking!
ou see, while we did plan for the windows to be far enough apart to fit a king bed, it really only fits a king mattress – not the side rails and headboard (as you can see below). So we knew/figured we’d have to customize the bed there to make sure that it doesn’t go in front of the windows.