design overdose

i spent the better part of my day reading design blogs today. i took one off my favorites toolbar, and added about eight more. i read making it lovely all the way back to the beginning, two years ago, and also discovered (as just about everyone in the developed world already has) decor8. i learned that anthropologie is offering craft classes at select stores, which i will be sure to find out all about at a fabulous dinner sunday night with a few former anthro coworkers. i also learned that shabby chic is filing chapter 11 bankruptcy. ryan said, "at least it's not chapter 7." i figured i'd email rachel ashwell and we'd reminisce about madre's.

the day wasn't totally unproductive, though. i did regain a strong desire to continue decorating our apartment. in particular, this time, ryan and my room. first up: a bed. we have a fantastic mattress (my first really expensive purchase), but no headboard. one that's stuck in my head for a couple years now is this:

i wasn't sure it was exactly what i wanted, but i honestly haven't seen any that are as versatile since. i also like metal-framed beds, like from restoration hardware, but sometimes they remind me of an orphanage. obviously a glamorized orphanage in annie the major motion picture, but still.
i like the idea of being able to read with my head against the cushy headboard, and the nailheads almost remind me of jewelry. and it goes with my anthro lamp, which looks like this one, except taller. (to be fair, the one below is in my living room)

the lampshade is blue/cream/brown printed, and this is very similar to our bedding (bed cut in half, and all):

we i also really want to paint our room. it is bad bad shiny crack den apartment white with popcorn ceilings right now. there's not a whole lot we can do about that, but it would be lovely to paint the bottom half of our room chocolate, and the top half an eggshell cream and white stripe, with some chair rail to divide the two. that's all! i really don't think that's too much to ask. and this picture in a coordinating robins' egg blue to hang above the bed:

currently, there are awesome patches of about six different colors in various places around the room that we painted a few months back just to see which we liked best, and about a 5 sq. ft. sweet untextured section of wall where a plasma was once hung. and then fell. and then the hole was patched. and then evan touched it while it was wet. you can imagine how that looks. you'll have to, because i refuse to post pictures of that embarrassment. and then we didn't know if we were moving, and we still don't really know how long we'll be here, but c'mon! this neither here nor there is driving me crazy! i just feel like i have such high standards to live up to after reading apartment therapy all afternoon.