Last you saw our new bed Ed – aka, the Edland four-poster bed from Ikea – he looked like this (read more about how we chose him here).
He has since been assembled – and even slept on for one night. And thanks to the Skorva steel support beam (also from Ikea, which is mentioned as a must-have along with the bed in the “good to know” section) Ed can, in fact, hold the weight of 30 dead people (aka: our incredibly heavy mattress) plus the weight of two DIY enthusiasts, their beefy chihuahua named Hamburger, and their baby girl (when she’s in there for a morning snack).
Constructing the bed was a remarkably easy process, especially considering I defied Ikea’s instructions and did it all without a partner (she was on baby duty). But since all of my hands were occupied during the construction phase, I did very little in the way of photographing. Thankfully I can use the Ikea instruction booklet to help re-enact a few scenes.
Like this one, where I hollered “Honey, fetch me my screwdrivers!” – to which I got a glare and an invitation to get them myself, since she was otherwise occupied with Clara.
Or this one where I took my partially constructed bed frame on a magic carpet ride. “A Whole New World” may or may not have been sung as we soared through the clouds.
And of course this is a perfect depiction of the moment when I called Ikea to place an order of Swedish meatballs only to learn that they don’t employ a fleet of food delivery people. Boo.
Ok, so none of those really happened. But I thought it sounded more interesting than the whole “then I put in another screw” play by play. So let’s just fast forward to the after:
Although I should clarify that I definitely got Sherry’s help when it came to wrangling our mattress up onto the frame, which almost killed us- but it’s done and we’re euphoric. It’s a whole lot better than the whole mattress-on-the-floor look that we were rocking since moving in:
Clearly we still have some work to do in the bedroom, but we’re really happy to have Ed as our starting point (especially since he ended our over-two-week marathon of sleeping on the floor).
We love the fact that we’re sleeping higher than we have for the last 4+ years since the Edland is a good foot or so higher than the Malm that we had (and loved) in our old house. But it’s still comfortable to climb in and out of for Sherry (short) and me (tall) so that’s a good thing. And have no fear, Burger can still get into bed – even without the help of the bench that we placed at the foot of the bed as our version of Doggie Steps. Burgmeister doesn’t even need it and instead prefers to take flying leaps to demonstrate his Rottweiler-like agility.
And even though we have plans to change out the fan for a less conflicting ceiling fixture someday, at least we still have enough clearance to use it if we really needed to. You know for some reason in the middle of winter. Seriously, how funny is that perfect little fan facilitating pocket of space up there? Although it might come in handy after we’ve painted the walls and want to ventilate everything and help it dry faster.
Speaking of painting, our next step in the bedroom will probably be to get some color on the walls (we’re thinking a gray-ish blue with some green undertones to work with our whole teal vision from this mood board of yore) – which should make our new white bed frame, er Ed, really stand out. We also want to get a new duvet (not only to change things up a bit, but also because something a little bigger will cover the bedsides more and result in fewer sleep fights over who has more of the covers). And we’ll happily be able to reuse our beloved existing West Elm duvet in the guest room once we get a full sized bed in there (it’s a full/queen sized duvet, but we always thought it was better suited to a full sized bed, which is exactly what we have planned for that room). Slowly but surely…
Psst- To anyone who missed our Nate Berkus appearance, it seems as though it’s going to rerun today. Why are we nervous all over again? Gah.
I just missed it!! Apparently it is on at 9am here in Virginia Beach…I just flipped it on…only to see your segment ending. BOO!!
Hey Melissa,
Good news! We’re actually on intermittently for the whole house, so you might be able to catch us judging the contest throughout the show!
xo,
s
Is the frame wood or metal?
The four posters are wood along with the sides, headboard, and footboard – but the slats that the mattress rests on are metal beams that brace the whole frame. Very strong indeed.
xo,
s
I love the Ikea instructions. So entertaining! The bed is awesome! Absolutely cannot wait to see how you transform that room.
Can the Ikea beds support a Tempurpedic mattress and box spring.
I’d bet they could since our mattress is super heavy. Maybe call them to double check?
xo,
s
Boo for not having Nate’s show overseas!! Hopefully he’ll post it on his website soon?
Diggin’ the bed!
Hey Caitlin,
If you follow the link in that last sentence of this post we have posted a few clips of the show there. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Looks great, although I can’t wait to see it without that ceiling fan!
My boyfriend and I are currently sharing two (british) king size duvets and a mahoosive blanket because our bedroom is so freezing.
I think bigger covers look so much more luxurious because of the way they spill over the bed. Plus there’s more to go around.
He still accuses me of jeopardising the duvet though.
Your room is a perfect size for that bed(and Burger looks so regal on it too :))
I can’t wait to see what you do with the bedroom, there are so many great options! :)
I love the bed! I think it’s a great start for your new master bedroom!
Fans are helpful in cold winter months, too. Your fan probably has a switch on the base, and you can reverse the way the blades rotate for winter. It will force the warm air that rises down into the room. We use that feature
at our house. You two look great on Nate!
Hey Peggy,
We prefer a high powered table fan to a ceiling fan in the bedroom (and in Clara’s room as well). We made those switches in our last house and were really happy with how well table fans could cool and ventilate a room without feeling heavy and bulky like a ceiling fan can. But of course we know that there are many ceiling fan enthusiasts (and we happily had them in our sunroom and den, we just wanted our sleeping spaces to feel more open). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Love the bed! (And you reenactment was too funny!)
So funny that you mentioned the fan, I was wondering about that, even though I know you plan to remove it.
I’m just jealous you guys have the option of removing the ceiling fan. We’ve wanted a 4 poster bed for forever, but no ceiling fan in the middle of a Texas summer (even with the ac on!) is an absolute nightmare. I guess I’ll just have to live vicariously through you :) Looks great!
Oooh I spy some paint sample cards near the door! I like all 3 of those colours and am wondering if you’ll give us a hint to the one that you are drawn to most?
I can’t wait to see what you guys come up with for this room!
None of those won out, and we now have five more paint swatches on the wall. We’ll definitely post about the decision making process along with the before and after painting pics when we get there!
xo,
s
LOVE the bed!
ps. have our DVR set! Can’t wait to see it tonight when I get home!
Love the new house and the bed…once again, I’m reminded how much I miss Ikea…the closest one is a 6-hour drive. Re: Paint color…I wanted a blueish-grayish with green undertones for my dining room..similar to a Pottery Barn look that was going on at the time but not as dark. Also wanted no-VOC…found the color “Organic Garden” at Home Depot in their no-VOC line. Everyone who comes in wants to know the color.
Love the new bed!
That reenactment was too funny, you two crack me up… thanks for the laugh! This is my first day back in the office after Christmas and no one is here, so I needed that.
It looks so great!
It’s lovely, and I can’t wait to see how the whole room turns out! Oh, for having bought something more standard than a California King bed. I wish I could buy a standard frame and make it work.
For toddler-climbing-into-bed purposes, we like the Ikea Molger stool.
John you are such a Swedish craftsman. It looks great!
I will have you know that I now have Magic Carpet Ride stuck in my head. Excellent.
Did you guys see that the lamps from your original teal mood board are on sale for half of the original price?
Yes- love it!
xo,
s
Ugh, I forgot about the ceiling fan! When I saw the previous post, I fell in love with that bed and totally planned on getting it for myself. Thanks for posting this! I think I’ll be going with the Malm. Sigh, maybe one day I can get the four-poster.
Hi Sherry
I just wanted to let you know that West Elm is having a huge sale. I am in Florida and they are having an additional 20% off the already sale price. This is something to check out. Happy Shopping.
Sweet! Thanks for the heads up!
xo,
s
Swedish Meatballs from Ikea are divine!!! And I really like the bedframe, but I think it could use a good paint-job (just my personal preferences). I’m glad I’m not the only one who cracks up at goofy Swedish instructions!
Nice! (Does any decorating choice cause more controversary than a ceiling fan?? Yes, I love mine!) Broke the news to DH last night that I’m saving money for an organic mattress…hoping our backs will hold up until the bank account fills up!
I love the bed! This makes me totally jealous! I am also trying to set up the DVR from work so that I can see you guys when I get home today!
What will you be replacing the cieling fan with? I would love to replace ours but we live in Texas and we NEED a fan of some sort! The bed looks great and your master is so nice and big!
Hey Brandi,
We prefer a high powered table fan to a ceiling fan in the bedroom (and in Clara’s room as well). We made those switches in our last house and were really happy with how well table fans could cool and ventilate a room without feeling heavy and bulky like a ceiling fan can. But of course we know that there are many ceiling fan enthusiasts (and we happily had them in our sunroom and den, we just wanted our sleeping spaces to feel more open). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Looks great! I know exactly how heavy your mattress is. My SIL has one of those and I helped her move it in September. I will never do that again. I never even knew a mattress that heavy was possible.
simplify me!
we’re expecting in july so we will be simplifying our life by cleaning out an old storage/junk/tool room and converting it into a tiny cozy nursery. i can’t wait to go through that stuff and get rid of all the unnecessary goods.
Yay! Just set the DVR to record from my iPhone. I <3 you Direct Tv :)
So Bummed! As soon as I got to your whole segment where you talked about DIY’s, my cable FROZE!!!! I am so sad! maybe they’ll play it again sometime??? :)
Is that a new chair as well??
I LOVE the bed. I love that you are starting in the bedroom, as we have left ours for last and it bothers me every single night. Give me some good inspiration!
Hey Stephanie,
That’s the same leather chair from Target that we had in our last bedroom (it was on the wall opposite our bed, which wasn’t pictured much though).
xo,
s
Companies that sell duvet covers don’t get it. How can a size labeled as Full/Queen possible fit both size beds?
They are 2 different sizes!!
We have a queen bed up on risers so I ended up buying a King for a longer drape down the sides. But it’s still too short at the foot of the bed. I’ve decided to make a custom one. It’s just sewing straight seams…so easy!
Sherry, you need to learn how to sew.
Think of all the things you could make for your home & Clara.
I do love your bed but I love your floors even more – is that original tongue and groove wide pine planks?? I would love to get my hands on those and stain them up a slightly medium/dark brown color, so yummy. You are lucky.
Hey Jaime,
They’re reclaimed pine boards (extra wide) that were added in the 70’s. Love them! And of course we’d love to refinish them along with the hardwoods and the wood parquet flooring in other rooms of our house (all in the same rich tone) so they feel more cohesive. Someday…
xo,
s
Check out Silver Sage from Restoration Hardware. It is a great blue/silver with Green undertones. We have it in our house and it looks great with white. Also it is an excellent quality paint, so you dont need too much.
Hey Cher,
We love that color! It’s actually really similar to what we had in our old bedroom though, so we’re hoping to go with something a bit bolder and more saturated this time- to really make the bed pop.
xo,
s
Slowly but surely…
This is definitely my mantra in our ’77 brick rancher. We moved in Jan 2009 and are fixing it up…slowly buy surely :)
http://scgjmg.blogspot.com/2010/12/kitchen-redo.html
I love the way the bed looks in your room. What are the dimensions of your bedroom? It seems rather large, but sometimes photos are deceiving. I want a similar bed frame, but I think our bedroom is too small to pull it off.
Hey JAG,
It’s definitely a huuuge room to us (since we’re used to our 12 x 13′ bedroom from our last house). It’s 16 x 16′. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I think the new bed is fantastic! I was wondering if you would give Burger stairs or not…then you answered my question later in the post. I can’t wait for y’all to paint your bedroom…I hope this project is coming soon!
I’m watching the re-run of the Nate show this morning. I must say, so far I’m pretty disappointed with how these two rooms are shaping up. With all that ribbon I’m surprised they didn’t do a large graphic on that back wall or make some quick toilet paper stuffed pillows with all that material and a glue gun or even the staple gun.
You guys look great! Thanks for the heads up about the show. I missed it the first time around!
In the end they really start to perk up! All of us (Nate included) were cringing for a while… but they get there in the end! I guess it’s just like all other home improvement undertakings, nothing happens in a split second – so time really is the key for most projects.
xo,
s
Thanks for the heads up on the re-airing of the Nate Show episode. It was just in time for me to flip over to watch the entire episode.
I’ve always been fond of the IKEA Edland bed. It’s great that you guys have a large enough bedroom to pull it off! I can’t wait for more!
Man, those wide plank floors are beautiful!
Love the new bed! Are you still leaning towards the duvet in the mood board?
Nope, we’re interested in something with more color now. And with so many sales going on we might spring for something sooner rather than later!
xo,
s
Hey YHL,
I am going for the same color palette in our master bedroom. I am in love with this color from Benjamin Moore called Templeton Gray….
http://www.houzz.com/photos/41198/Our-Home-contemporary-bedroom-seattle
what do you think?
AMAZING! Looooove it!
xo,
s
What a difference! Love bed frame! Do you think you’ll hang anything from it? Or leave it as is?
We’re gonna leave it as is for now. We figure once we get some paint on the walls and a new duvet it’ll feel a lot more “filled in” and vibrant.
xo,
s
We’ve been looking at this bed for a while now too, but my Husband doesn’t think it’s sturdy enough…what do you guys think now that you own it and have slept on it and all?
It’s very very sturdy thanks to the steel support beams. We’d go as far as calling it crazy sturdy.
xo,
s
hahahaa! The IKEA instruction commentary was hi-larious! Did Burger have an Abu hat on while you were on your carpet ride? ;) You guys are so lucky to have an IKEA there, there isn’t one here in St. Louis. :(
LOVE those floors!
Dear Ed, You = Instand Drama. Luv, ruth
Dear Universe: why did my family have to bequeath me all these “valuable” (read: not my style) furniture pieces?
I never did get that run your fan in reverse to push down the warm air in the winter thing. Moving air still feels cool to me. Love the new bed. susan
Love the bed! But she looks more like an Edie than an Ed ;)
OMG… the “pictures” of you “working” are priceless with the comments. I was laughing out loud in my cube at work- so now I sound like I am the crazy one- ha ha. As for the idea of the Swedish meatball delivery- such a good idea! And oddly- the view from my office is of Ikea in the Chicagoland area. I have taken my lunch at times just to wander. Love the bed!