Sara Jumps Into Bed

Hi everyone, it’s Sara here, back with another Makeover Takeover update about my bedroom makeover. I hope everyone is enjoying the brisker weather – perfect for cuddling, cozy fires, and naps (unless Emily is reading this, in which case we never nap and all we do is work really, really hard).

During LA’s “colder” months my bed becomes a little haven from the chilly weather. My body is trained to believe anything lower than 75 degrees calls for a sweater, so I pile on the blankets, set up my space heater, and spend as much time as possible in bed. Back when I was 21, and bought my first bed for myself, I couldn’t afford the $10, 000, memory foam, turbo twin engine, queen size mattress of my dreams, and settled instead for the cheapest option I could find. I’ve been sleeping on that mattress ever since. So when Sleep Innovations asked if  I’d be interested in trying out one of their memory foam mattresses, I was totally down.

Here’s the deal – They have a few different mattresses, so it’s not “one-size-fits-all, ” but they have a little quiz you can take online, which helps guide you towards the one that would work best for you. And once you’ve picked out your mattress (I choose the Marley 10″ Inch Gel Memory Foam Mattress),  you can order it on Amazon. Which means, if you have Amazon prime, you can have a new mattress delivered and unwrapped in your home in two days, with almost zero effort on your part. That is a big plus during the holiday season.

My “Marley” mattress was shipped to me, tightly vacuum packed in a cardboard box, and as soon as I had pulled it out of the box it started to take shape. It happened SO fast (see the gif at the bottom of the post), and it was completely flat and then ready to go in under 5 minutes. But the bigger questions was – how did it feel? It was a little firm at first, but then my body was just absorbed into this soft, cushion of memory foam. It’s pretty great (and if you’re into really cozy mattresses, keep reading for how you can win one at the bottom of the post).

See, I love it. And it loves me.

But what is a great mattress without an equally perfect bed frame, and accessories to go with it? It’s a good thing then, that I have some pretty intense feelings about my new bed frame. It’s a 1960s, vintage, Danish, teak frame from this amazingly wonderful vintage furniture store, appropriately named the Vintage Supply Store, and they’re just generally awesome people. It didn’t hurt that the frame went perfectly with my pair of Mid-Century style nightstands (which are currently out of stock, but keep checking! They were out of stock when I first looked too, and then magically came back).

Now that I had all the essentials, it was time to dress them up. I want to go in a clean, fresh, yet feminine direction with my room. My color palette is whites, woods, pastel pinks, and blues, with hints of brass and gold. But instead of trying to fit all of that into one set up, I decided to try out two different directions, and see what worked best in practice.

First up was a clean and bright bed, with a more mid-century and masculine tone.

I kept this set up limited to whites, blues, and golds, with not a hint of pink in sight (the plan would be to bring in pops of pastel pinks in other areas of my room). I love how fresh and happy this feels. It has clean lines, and minimal color, which makes for a very “zen” kind of vibe that I’m totally into. But that embroidered eye pillow, and the cute bud vase still keep it fun.

That brass lamp from Target is a favorite around the EHD office, and I know it’s been used over and over again (because it’s so good), so I had to try it out myself.

It’s a bit hard to see, but those sheets have the most delicate little navy dot pattern (peek the left side of that photo below), which is the type of tiny detail I’m a big fan of. And the texture from the raw edge quilt kept the bed from feeling “blah” (plus, no one would notice if Lady, my cat, decided to make biscuits on it, and pull up all the threads with her petit, yet destructive, claws).

There was a LOT I loved about this set up, but I also wanted to explore a more feminine direction, considering two girls live in this room. So next I tried out a softer, pinker direction (pink is my favorite color, and now you know everything about me).

This pretty lady was done up with classy whites, rosy hues, and hits of golds and yellows. I can imagine day dreaming here, and spending hours writing profound and romantic insights about modern life in my journal, while a soft summer breeze floats through my open window (but replace the profound writing with serious napping).

That fur pillow up there is cuddle buddy #1, although Lady doesn’t seem to be into the faux fur. The sheets and duvet are stone-washed linen, which evokes such a sense of timeless simplicity. Plus, they just feel like they make my life simpler (textured linens are supposed to be wrinkled, right?).

I love the idea of having a little display box next to my bed. I hate sleeping with jewelry on, but I always forget to take it off, and end up losing lots of cool things to the vacuum, once I’ve thrown them on the nightstand, and they accidentally fall under my bed. So, having a secure drop point for pretty “I-don’t-want-to-lose-these” things is a solid idea.

Lady is really happy here, I promise. She just has a serious case of “resting b*tch face.” She is in love with that little cat square, though. Wherever I set that thing down, it’s like a kitty magnet. Which works really well when I don’t want her sleeping on folded laundry, or my keyboard.

Overall, I’m drawn to the “clean & bright” bed, but there were elements of the “soft & feminine” that I ended up really liking. So here’s what I decided – I’m keeping the linen bedding, but going to lean towards blue bed accessories. I’m also pretty attached to the brass and marble lamp (versus the brass task lamp, which is probably a little too big in scale for this situation, but still such a winner). The flower print and the yellow accents from the second set up are leaning a little too girly for me, and I like the more mid-century vibe of the the “clean & bright” direction. That being said, I’m thinking that I do want to bring in a few more feminine, soft, and possibly even pink elements, because I ended up loving how dreamy they felt. Now I have to style out TWO nightstands, and find accessories for both of them, so expect to see some new items in the final reveal!

Which bed would you folks pick? Am I making the right choice?!

For now I’m in a serious relationship with my bed, and I’m pretty sure it’s the one. I have separation anxiety when I’m not in it, and I can’t wait to go home to it tonight (we’ve even already had the “exclusive” talk).

Here’s a little video of my bed transforming from a caterpillar to a butterfly (and you can see just how fast that mattress unfolded).

Oh, did you think I forgot about the mattress contest? Share a picture of your sleeping situation over the holidays using the hashtag #SInoplacelikehome via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, and you’ll be entered to win one of Sleep Innovations memory foam mattresses to help makeover your sleeping situation for the holidays! And, by using their hashtag, #SInoplacelikehome, you’ll be contributing $1 to Stand Up for Kids’ health and wellness program, which provides medical and well-being services to homeless youth across the country, which is pretty awesome.

And incase you want to go in one direction, or the other, yourself, here are “get-the-looks.”

See you all in 2016!

1. Eye Pillow | 2. Ikat Pillow | 3. Diamond Pillow | 4. Nightstand | 5. Drawer Knob | 6. Bud Vase | 7. Dotted Sheets | 8. Raw Edge Quilt | 9. Brass Task Lamp | 10. Decanter | 11. Glass | 12. Blue Throw | 13. Gold Notebook

1. Fur Pillow | 2. Yellow Stripe Pillow | 3. Nightstand | 4. Drawer Knob | 5. Lampshade | 6. Brass And Marble Lamp | 7. Washed Linen Duvet | 8. Washed Linen Sheets | 9. Journals | 10. Basket | 11. Pink Blanket | 12. Cat Square | 13. Heart Pin | 14. Glass Display Box