d*s reader recs! [neil needs our help!]
d*s reader neil has an upholstered bed quest he needs our help ending. here's the skinny from neil himself:
"Hi. I'm looking for an upholstered bed (that I can get in under three months). The specs are: something simple, classic, upholstered headboard and footboard (see photo below for direction); could also go for headboard only if fabric and timing are right. color: neutral. ideally it would be slipcovered for easy cleaning and color change. size: full (my room is small), therefore: budget: +/-$1,500."so, do you guys have any ideas? thanks! [thanks to 2modern for sponsoring friday's column!]
posted by design*sponge @ 17.3.06
17 Comments:
It would be nice if you picked out your own fabric from a local fabric store and got a local seamstress or reupholster to do it for you. I am sure the people at the store would point you in the right direction.
My friend's mother is a seamstress/designer and she designed a bed that looks just like the one in the picture.
have you ever looked at ballard designs? you can have any of the beds upholstered in their fabrics or you can supply your own. i think it takes 10-12 weeks.
http://www.ballarddesigns.com/jump.jsp?itemID=1077&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1%2C2%2C5%2C34%2C217&iProductID=1077
the fabric they have on the image here definitely doesn't achieve your look, but if you click on the zoom/more views button, you can try out lots of fabrics.
you can also check out calico corners ... http://www.calicocorners.com/bedding_headboard.asp
This is something they do on those TV home makeover shows all the time-- they choose a substrate (just plywood, a plywood 3 sided 'box', or whatever) and just bolt/affix a headboard to the wall, either painted, upholstered, whatever. I'm not the "do it yourself" type when it comes to the powertools necessary to cut up something to fit the wallspace behind my bed, but I'm sure you could find someone to pay to do it really easy, then you'd have EXACTLY what you want!
If you want to go less expensive--incase your style changes in a year or tw--you could try the Vaughn headboard from Pier 1 Imports. It comes in chocolate, black, or tan. At $400-500 it's not a bad deal.
I went through this very problem.
I had a hellava time finding a suitable fully-upholstered bed (headboard, running boards and footboard.)
I started with trying to hire my handyman to make the headboard, and then hiring a seamstress to cover the headboard. After all that, it was going to cost me a fortune and wouldn't really give me a fully-upholstered piece.
I am not sure where you are, but check out this one: http://www.eq3.com/cat-eq3/30018-50.html (the queen upholstered bed.) They have a HUGE variety of fabrics to chose from, but will only upholster the bed with their own fabric.
In Los Angeles, I found one at Blueprint Furniture on Beverly: http://www.blueprintfurniture.com/bed.htm.
I purchased high-end fabric from Diamond Foam and Fabric on La Brea in Los Angeles-- and Blueprint upholstered the bed through their vendor in Downtown Los Angeles. It cost just a bit more for the customization, but the bed is so much more beautiful with my custom fabric. Also be very careful with fabrics that have running patterns as "railroading" may be required and there is an additional charge for this. Get all costs up-front and in writing.
I think in the end, my bed cost about $1300.00-- a really good price and took about four weeks to get the bed, maybe a week more.
However, one issue happened: their service was really spotty and they couldn't deliver the piece for two weeks after arrival. When I picked it up myself, the pieces would not fit together-- and the store would not believe me. Finally, someone came out for free to repair.
The last thing is that my bed frame (the piece that holds the matress) sits independently of the bed itself. The whole set up make the piece less sturdy than you think. I have plans to bolt the bed frame together.
I am beginning to believe that you get what you pay for. I would plan on paying your full amount to get the most value.
I would lie down on your bed-of-choice, and roll around, sit on the backrest, on the edge, etc. to check the quality.
These are all great suggestions! Thank you.
i bought a morkedal bed from ikea a few months ago but DIDn't buy their slipcovers (only 3 options anyway)...i just actually pinned fabric around it and it looks GREAT. you need about 4-5 yards of fabric. I'm actually going to sew velcro onto it but the pinning is fine for now.
plus the morkedal is really cheap. i got the fabric from ikea. what was really expensive was the new mattress (sigh)
oh, and the total cost for the morkedal bed and fabric (sans mattress) was $275.
You can look at www.roomandboard.com also, they have a few styles.
zarin fabrics on grand street has one of the best selections of fabric in the city and makes custom furniture. I have to say i'm not sure of there prices though.
what about the lewis bed from pottery barn? i went through a similar process of looking for a white quilted upholstered bed (i wanted footboard to be low, and the sides to be upholstered as well) but was really unable to find what i wanted, so i ultimately purchased the quadrille bed from CB. I considered going with ballard, but they charge for fabric samples and that really turned me off (you would think they could afford to send a few swatches if you spend $1k) the only other issue was that upholstered beds get VERY dusty and are hard to clean.
Another vote for Roomandboard. Great store, good quality, excellent service.
Also http://www.cb2.com
Smith & Noble has an amazing selection of fabrics for their upholstered headboard, and the whole thing is under $400 I think.
But if you're into DIY, this tutorial is pretty simple, and it actually has you atach the headboard to your bed, not just to the wall: http://magazines.ivillage.com/countryliving/decorate/projects/articles/0,,284635_416506,00.html
westelm.com
DWR is has some beds on sale that are on sale and in your price range:
http://www.dwr.com/category.cfm?subc=1850
i just bought a similar bed from zgallerie for about $1200 - king. Box spring sits down inside side rails. It comes in several neutral colors but NOT slipcovered. It will take about 4-6 weeks to get to the east coast.
karen
thank you all for your suggestions. john reminded me of a great place in LA on le brea that can make anything you can imagine at a great price: landon cole. i encourage you all to check out landon's site: landoncole.com (currently under construction). if you do, you'll find a great upholstered bed called, #29, that will be in my bedroom in 3 weeks...covered with a rafia from diamond foam and fabric.
Post a Comment
<< Home