Last time we introduced our new bed, Ed — the Edland four-poster bed from Ikea — he looked like this (we explained how we chose him here).
He’s since been assembled and even slept on for a night. With the Skorva steel support beam (also from Ikea and listed as a recommended accessory), Ed easily supports our very heavy mattress along with the two of us, our beefy chihuahua Hamburger, and our baby girl when she’s invited up for a morning cuddle.
Putting the bed together was easier than expected — I ignored Ikea’s suggestion to recruit a partner and did most of the work solo while Sherry was on baby duty. Because both my hands were busy, I didn’t take many progress photos, so I’ll rely on a few staged shots inspired by the instruction booklet.
At one point, I jokingly hollered, “Honey, fetch me my screwdrivers!” which earned me a glare and an invitation to retrieve them myself since Sherry was otherwise occupied with Clara.
There was also a brief moment where the partially assembled frame felt like a magic carpet ride — “A Whole New World” may or may not have been hummed as we moved pieces around the room.
And yes, I fantasized about ordering Swedish meatballs from Ikea mid-build, only to remember they don’t deliver meals with every furniture order. That disappointment aside, assembly progressed quickly.
Those playful moments aside, here’s the finished result.
I should note Sherry definitely helped when it came time to wrestle the mattress onto the frame — that nearly killed us — but we managed it, and the relief was immediate. Much better than the mattress-on-the-floor setup we had while settling in.
There’s still a lot to do in the bedroom, but having Ed in place marks a big step forward — and has ended our two-week stretch of sleeping on the floor.
We appreciate that the Edland raises the sleeping surface about a foot higher than our old Malm bed, which is a welcome change after four-plus years. It’s still easy for both Sherry (short) and me (tall) to get in and out of, and Burger can still leap up without using the bench we placed at the foot of the bed as improvised doggie steps. He prefers dramatic flying jumps that showcase his surprising agility.
Although we plan to replace the ceiling fan with a fixture that better complements the bed someday, there’s enough clearance for the fan for now. It might even be useful when we paint and need extra ventilation as things dry.
Next up for the bedroom: painting. We’re leaning toward a gray-blue with green undertones to harmonize with our teal-inspired mood board — a color that should make our white bed frame stand out. We also want a larger duvet to reduce nightly tug-of-war over covers; our current West Elm duvet will move to the guest room once we outfit that space with a full-size bed, which seems like the right fit for that duvet.
One step at a time, but Ed has already made a big improvement in our sleep life.
Psst — for anyone who missed our Nate Berkus appearance, it looks like there might be a rerun today. We’re equal parts excited and nervous all over again.