Dreaming of a Statement Bed

First let me give you some background.... my darling husband is a lot of things - romantic, kind, funny, handsome (you get the idea) but one thing he is Not is decisive. Sometimes when we decide to go out to dinner we actually never make it out the door due to the indecisiveness that goes on in our household which is why I was completely blown away on Saturday when we were in and out of the mattress store within an hour with a brand-new king bed!

We'd been talking about getting a new bed for a while but with the wedding and everything we figured we would have to wait until Christmas but that timeline got accelerated when Mike started waking up at night with horrible back pain that wasn't there at all during the day. Combine that with one very fidgety 12-pound dog, and we have all been sleeping terribly.

Our new Tempurpedic got delivered on Sunday and wow, it is amazing even in all it's firmness (they take a few weeks to soften up). Just the real estate on a king sized bed is enough to make me giddy. I mean, Goose still insists on snuggling next to me but at least I can stretch my arms and legs out without throwing an elbow into Mike's side. Although we are all sleeping much better, having the mattress on the ground is a little too "college house" for me.

I was browsing for a new bed frame and when I was trying to define what I want, all I kept thinking was I wanted a "statement bed." I mean, there are statement necklaces / purses / shoes so why not a bed? I love looking at rooms that are verily neutral aside from one great piece of furniture and since our bedroom has beautiful lofted ceilings, I say why not? Mike might not be totally on board (yet) but he will come around.

So far, at the top of my list is this beauty from West Elm. I've always wanted a wingback headboard and those cute little legs put the finishing touch on it.

Next up is the Architecture Bed from Room and Board. A modern twist on the four-poster bed that would fit nicely with our tall ceilings. The only thing I am worried about with this one is its lack of a head board.

And finally, there is this tufted, wingback bed from All Modern. At $836 it is the best price and comes in a few different colors. Since Mike's main complaint with the West Elm one is that he doesn't like having a footboard, this could be a great option for us.

What do you guys think? Am I the only one that is seriously crushing on an upholstered sleigh bed with a mid-century modern twist?

Exterior Updates

This is the current view from the entrance to our complex. Please do not zoom in to look closer at that sign - the peeling paint and rotting wood might make you a little queasy.

Mike and I attended our first ever HOA meeting last night and I am so inspired by the projects that we have lined up. Sometimes HOA's can be a real pain but since our complex has just eight units, it's much easier to get things done and feel like your input is heard.

The first on the list is addressing this stucco wall. That little building you see is a 'clubhouse' that is actually pretty nice inside (minus the fact that it gets used about once a quarter). The wall is in badly need of repair or replacement but to rebuild it is very expensive. This issue has been on the docket for almost a year and we finally voted on it last night. Here is what we came up with (the new wall is photoshopped):

Huge improvement, no? We are lucky that our neighbors are young and share the same love for clean and modern lines. The only argument against it is that it may clash against the rest of the complex which has a different vibe with shingle siding and a maroon/light yellow color scheme.

However, replacing the siding/trim and painting are also on our to-do list which means that, although major renovations are out of our budget, we could get our complex heading in the right direction. In fact, a little search on pinterest, and I ended up finding a ton of modern houses that have shingles.

I would be in favor of replacing the siding with new redwood shingles but if we decide that is too costly, I think our best bet would to repaint with a dark grey and black color scheme. Painting the exterior dark is not intuitive but has been gaining momentum lately and really does 'modernize' even traditional looking houses. Another one of my favorite tricks is painting the siding and trim the same color. Again, not intuitive but very modern and beautiful.

I'm an {Art} Committment-Phobe

If your house is anything like mine, you have tons of frames and nothing to fill them with. Art is that one aspect of decor that stumps me yet I don't feel like a room is complete without it. I'm drawn most towards art with simplistic shapes and words but feel like those options are very 'safe'.

I want to be adventurous in design decisions but the price tag of most pieces leave me paralyzed. Questions like, "What if I don't like it three years" or "What if it doesn't mesh well with what I already have" make pulling the trigger near impossible.

As I was staring at the bare frames on my picture rails I just installed in the master bedroom, I started to brainstorm how I could expand my collection and develop an eye for what I like. The best option I could come up with is I need to start exposing myself to more art. I have an idea of what speaks to me, now I just need to expand on it.

These three are currently in my collection and make me smile or inspire me in one way or another everyday. Do you have any tips on how to curate a collection you are proud of or secret sources of affordable art? Please share.

WRDBNR // Andrew Miller // Three of the Possessed