NewlyWoodwards

an unconventional home

Settling for “better” over “perfect” | a mattress-on-the-floor manifesto

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For six months, Ryan and I have been sleeping on a mattress on the floor.

I know. It’s shameful.

At first, we convinced ourselves it was temporary. We didn’t bother bringing our old DIY wooden platform bed (built in 2009) upstairs and assembling it again because I wanted something different.

We had big plans to build something epic. (Well. I had big plans.)

And then, after a while, we stopped talking about the bed. Sleeping on the floor became normal. There were plenty of other projects on our mile-long to-do list and a bed frame wasn’t even landing in the top 10.

Heck. The dog’s sleeping area was higher on the list. And yet, we still slept on a mattress on the floor.

Friends, we are supposed to be grown ups. We own a house that we built. We have a child and two dogs. Then I woke up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and had to lumber myself out of the (crack house) mattress-on-the-floor. And with that, I thought, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.”

The next morning, while coffee-ing, I ordered this super simple metal bed frame on Hayneedle that doesn’t require a box spring (which we don’t have). It showed up at my door two days later and I had it totally installed by myself in less than 15 minutes.

master-bedroom-update1

The hardest part was getting the bed skirt on. (WHY CAN’T SOMEONE COME UP WITH SOMETHING BETTER THAN A BEDSKIRT?)

So the big question is …

WHY DID WE WAIT THIS LONG?

Why did we sleep on the floor for six months? I don’t have the answer. But I think I have an idea.

I was waiting for perfection. When we had the time and money and energy to do it just exactly right. In the only way that was perfect. So this room would one day grace the cover of Country Living.

(Snort.)

Do you have projects around your home that you are letting go … just because you are waiting for perfect?

master-bedroom-update3

Getting that mattress off the floor was the first step to work toward something better.

This is not perfect. But it’s better.

And better is better than nothing, am I right?

This was a great jump-start to creating a beautiful master bedroom space for Ryan and I. In fact, I may just get started with this now.

Next up, getting some of those walls filled up. And attaching the headboard to the frame with some sort of bracket that I also need to order online. (Because the headboard doesn’t fit the bed frame. Naturally.) I’ll keep you updated as always.

master-bedroom-update2

But … I did manage to get my dresser organized again, too. I found the arrow at Urban Farmhouse locally and added ‘s’ hooks from IKEA. So easy and the perfect way to keep necklaces accessible.

jewelry-storage-idea2

 

Do you wait for perfection in your home, too?

Could you settle for better?

If you like it, put a pin on it.

Don't let perfect keep you from better

Comments

  2. I like that headboard! I’ve been putting off painting our downstairs bathroom for almost 5 years now because it has textured walls that I want to sand down first. But I’m over it; slapping some paint over the ugly faux finish is first on our 2017 project list! Actually sanding down the walls remains on the “maybe we’ll get around to that someday….or maybe someday we’ll be able to afford to pay someone else to do it because it sounds like hell” list.

  3. Haha we’re on month 3 of mattress on box spring on floor sleeping. I’m sure we’ll get to purchasing a bed frame…someday.

    • Well, this headboard is what I wanted, but I wanted something with wood for a frame – sans bedskirt. But this works fine and I’ll probably never change it. 😉

  5. Honey, right now we are living out of boxes, so even an upgrade in cardboard would look good.
    Love your bedspread! Just keep moving forward, girl.
    Enjoy your weekend!

  7. Perfectionism and procrastination often go hand in hand. I’m guilty of that quite regularly, but I’m getting better! I’ve been a list making fool lately. I make a list of simple things to do that are stressing me out, and take a whole day to just knock out everything that would normally take me months to get around to. It’s been amazing! I love black metal headboards by the way, looks great!

  8. We have a similar bed frame that we ordered from Amazon when we lived in our tiny downtown San Fransciso studio. We had to opt for something simple out of necessity, but we liked it so much we kept it once we moved to our new house (and even bought a second one for the spare bedroom!).

  10. I love your bedroom! It could totally grace the cover of Country Living just the way it is now. That headboard is perfectly farmhouse! Simple but gorgeous!