Well, it took three years, but our room now boasts a legitimate, 100% finished bed frame and headboard.  I veered away from the original plan for a white painted bed, opting for a stain with a linseed oil finish.  If perhaps down the road we prefer a painted bed, it’s much easier to go from stained to painted than the other way around.

We followed a similar style to the Sierra bed from Crate and Barrel, replacing the angled wood headboard for a colorful upholstered head.

Because the bed sits directly beneath the window, I worried about the green velvet fading with sun exposure.  To prevent uneven coloring, I pitched the idea to Ben of wrapping the headboard with a wood band.

The headboard frame is the same width and thickness as the border around the bed base.

With the wider frame edge, we extended the headboard to the edges, leaving three inches exposed on either side.

Adding that dose of color to our otherwise neutral room is exactly what I was looking for.

 

Colorful, but not obnoxiously so and looks great against the white wall.

I’m working on the building plans and step by step process to share soon.  Meanwhile, I’m brainstorming bench options for the base of our bed.  With all the wood in here now, I’m leaning toward a metal base with an upholstered top.