You haven’t seen our bedroom in a while (aside from small peeks on Instagram) because we owed you a curtain-related confession. But first: many of you have asked about our new bed and why we replaced the old Ikea frame, so it’s time to properly introduce the beauty we bought almost a year ago.

Why a new bed? At first glance our new upholstered bed isn’t wildly different from the previous headboard you remember. Both are a light wheat-colored linen that suits the calm, low-contrast bedroom palette we’ve been working toward. The real difference is that this is a complete upholstered bed—headboard plus matching side and footboards—rather than a metal frame with a separate headboard.

We’ve experimented a lot over the years: attaching our DIY headboard to different frames, chopping bed posts, swapping beds between rooms, and trying bedskirts to ground the look. Eventually we realized we wanted the finished, tailored appearance of a fully upholstered bed and also preferred a boxspring setup for our mattress instead of having it sit directly on slats.

After five years of swapping frames and tweaking the headboard, we finally ordered a fully upholstered bed following many hours of research. The upgrade felt like a small but satisfying act of adulting—one that makes the room feel more polished without being fussy.

The best part of this purchase was that it allowed us to move our old headboard back to the beach house and keep the new bed for our main bedroom. So instead of buying a separate beach-house bed, we upgraded our bedroom and reused the older setup where it fit perfectly.

Our trusty Ikea frame, nicknamed Ed, has moved with us through several homes and versions of the headboard. It’s been with us for nearly eight years, while the DIY headboard has lasted more than six. Those pieces have earned their keep, but the new upholstered bed gives our main room a cleaner, more timeless look.

I love this bed so much I’ve thought about buying a second one for the beach house. It’s called the Sanford Linen Upholstered Panel Bed and we ordered it from Wayfair last November. It comes in multiple sizes and a neutral linen color that reads warm and slightly greige—an easy fit for rooms with either gray or tan walls. The textured linen-look fabric and the subtle vertical panels on the headboard add interest and a cozy, refined feel.

The bed requires a boxspring, which we prefer for both comfort and mattress support. One thing to note: if your mattress is thinner than ours (we use a 12″ mattress), you may see a small gap between the top of the mattress and the headboard. That’s easily solved with a mattress topper or arranging pillows to hide the gap.

Now, about curtains—because curtains are hard. Our previous panels were wheat-colored finds from HomeGoods, but after installing white curtains throughout the beach house, I developed an urge to bring crisp white panels into our bedroom too. We picked up Ikea’s Lenda curtains: heavy, affordable white panels that can look clean and elevated when finished properly.

We bought three sets of Lenda panels, but the reason you haven’t seen a full “before-and-after” post is that it took almost a year to finish the curtain project. We lived with unpressed, tab-topped panels for months before tackling the final steps. In short, Ikea’s Lenda panels are inexpensive and washable, but they require some prep to look their best.

Here’s the process we use to transform the Lenda panels from basic to polished:

Step 1: Pre-shrink. Wash on warm and dry on high so the panels don’t shrink after you hang them later.

Step 2: Remove the tabs. Cut them off above the sewn line with sharp scissors.

Step 3: Fold the top edge over once toward the back so the cut edge is hidden and the top looks like a clean seam.

Step 4: Attach ring clips along the folded top. We use about six clips per panel: one at each end and then spaced evenly across the width.

Step 5: Hang the panels on a rod placed high and wide so the curtains add height and fullness; we typically extend the rod 8″ beyond the window trim on each side and hang a few inches below the ceiling if possible.

Step 6: Iron or steam. We steamed some panels while they hung and ironed others flat for the best finish. Two people make steaming easier—one to hold the fabric taut, one to steam—but ironing works well if you’re working solo.

Step 7: Hem if necessary. After pre-shrinking, fold the fabric at the top clips until the panels hit the floor with a slight “kiss” and reclip. This no-sew approach is adjustable if you want to change the length after future washes.

These curtains aren’t the most luxurious option, but they cost very little, are washable, and add softness and height to the room. We completed the whole bedroom curtain update for about $75 for six panels, which is far less than custom curtains and easier to live with when you have kids or pets.

Maybe someday we’ll splurge on custom curtains for a truly luxe finish; they look beautiful in showhouse projects and often arrive ready to hang. But for now, this affordable, washable solution fits our lifestyle and budget—and the adjustable no-sew approach keeps things simple.

Also, dogs don’t have to adult. I want to be Burger.

For reference, the paint color in this room is our go-to grige: Edgecomb Gray, which pairs nicely with the warm linen tones of the bed and the crisp white curtains.

If you want other curtain tips or DIY projects we’ve tried, here are some past ideas and tutorials from our archives:

• Using iron-tape to hem Lenda curtains
• How to make no-sew curtains from any fabric
• 15-minute blackout curtains for a small budget
• Tips for picking the right curtains

Overall, the upholstered bed and refreshed white curtains made the bedroom feel complete. It was worth the time and elbow grease to find an affordable, washable window treatment that looks intentional and adds softness and height to the room.