Clearly you WANT a king bed. Why compromise? Plus, if you can't return the king mattress you'll take a big $$ hit by downsizing. What is the STYLE of this "dream bedroom set?" If you know what bedroom set you want, ask a furniture-maker what it would cost to either ADD TO or MODIFY a QUEEN HEADBOARD so it's king-bed friendly. ALSO ask what the cost would be to dismantle and rebuild the king headboard - so that it can make its way in the door. Anything that can be built can be un-built and rebuilt!! Face it - if you wanted a piano in that room, any reputable piano mover would be able to make it happen. Lastly, I too have my "dream bedroom set," but my bed is a DUX Bed, and they have their own uniquely styled headboards which attach directly to the bed itself - not to the wall. I suggest you may not yet have explored all available options! (And I believe there are a good many...)

I would keep the king size bed. Pull it out a bit from the windows and then layer your windows like this to "frame" the bed with out the headboard.

Posting this picture for the window treatment I am suggesting and not the position of the bed.

Your window treatment suggestion is great one, JudyG, and I think, a vital part of their solution - especially as it pulls the bed into the room enough that it's not right up against the radiator. It creates space behind the bed for extra storage, too. It is, however, NICE to have something against which to lean one's back for reading etc. A headboard is still needed...

You could use a headboard but you would need to pull away from the window and into the room as seen in the ref pic

My girlfriend bought 2 twin antique headboards and put them together it looks great

Great idea Joann!

Yes! Great idea, Joann. And it's nice now that suggestions are moving into new, more creative territory! ;-D

I'M BACKPEDALING!!! This particular bed, in my opinion, should NOT be placed in the window alcove at all... It needs to be on a side wall. 1) The original poster's dream set has a bed which has its greatest appeal in side profile. 2) If the matching headboard IS used in the window alcove, at nearly 55 inches (almost six feet) high and 81 inches (almost seven feet) wide, the headboard will block nearly all light coming into the room, 3) as well as any view to the outside. 4) There are no twin headboards in this style which can be fused. The ONE solution I'd recommend which MIGHT change my mind would be to purchase the bed WITHOUT a headboard - using the FOOTBOARD for a HEADBOARD, and having no footboard at all. (It IS AVAILABLE without a footboard...) Otherwise, side wall placement - seemingly awkward now - would be perfectly comfortable once the room was fleshed out with other matching elements of the set. But the dimensions of ALL pieces in this set are quite LARGE! Be AWARE!!!

An upholsterer can fabricate a headboard for you. They can build it in any size and design and upholster it in fabric of your choice. Would send picture of our's , but am not home. We love the one we had custom built.

Another good idea!! And hopefully one less than 5.5 feet high!! ALSO, I suppose there is the option of having the standard headboard reduced by a plank or two!! lolol ;- )

Pardon the low quality photographs, we faced a similar situation. Our staircase is so narrow in our townhouse nothing larger than a full-size headboard will fit up the stairs. Since king beds are a marriage saver, we knew we had to have a king size bed. I really wanted the architect bed from Room and Board, but it's welded steel frame would never have fit up the stairs. We bought this unfinished oak bed kit, which we stained and finished ourselves, then added the custom upholstered panel to the back. Worked like a charm.

I would keep the king...I'm sorry that I didn't purchase a king mattress...when the kids and animals came into the picture...that was when I knew we had errored. A wrought iron headboad will not detrack from the light/windows, or distrupt heating from the radiator and it will suit your historic home. Add mismatched pieces of furniture for interest and so that you can select the right proportions, vs purchasing a set of pieces that may be too large. [houzz=];[houzz=];

I like Anne Dee's suggestion and ref pic. That is so cool! You could also place a nice palm on the radiator behind the the headboard for drama. Keep the bed.

I wouldn't be overly excited to saw my brand new RH Printmakers set in half but that's probably exactly what I would do in your position. If I had my heart set on that piece I'd higher a carpenter to cut it in half and fabricate a matching centre or off centre joint (see pics) and reassemble it on site. Do the same for the footboard and voilà.

No way would I give up my King bed in favour of a Queen.

'Hire' not higher... Sorry for the very bad spelling!

Agree that you should keep the king mattress! There is a significant difference in size between a king and queen mattress. My daughter who is a college student sleeps comfortably in a queen by herself, but my husband and I love having a king. Once upon a time, a queen was suitable, but not anymore. I'm sure you can find a low profile headboard that will work in you beautiful bedroom. The focus needs to be those gorgeous bay windows. Layer the windows with beautiful window treatments as suggested by Judy G Designs, and have someone built you a simple upholstered headboard.Good luck!

Thanks everyone!! I am sincerely grateful for the help. My husband and I have the bed on a metal frame from the mattress store and I'd love to do something grown up. The ideas are great. Now i need to know where in NJ to find some help! I turned it on the side wall and took these photos...dunno if I love the outcome.

Looks pretty good. What's on the wall opposite the windows?

Yes, looks great on that wall.

The wall opposite the windows is a very large closet (which I love and stores all my clothing for summer and winter!) that is hidden behind white sliding doors that make it nearly invisible (but unusable for furniture). The wall opposite the new placement of the bed has a wall-mounted tv and window.

Sorry for the mess...we are without any furniture right now!! But here is the other wall...

If anyone can help me with where else I can look for furniture, I'm all ears! I've only ever liked restoration hardware. I love industrial with some warmth... Thanks!!!!!

Ardorart yes yes keep the bed against the wall. Have you ever considered getting a pocket door installed to free up some of that wall space?

Could be an idea to give you that tad bid of extra space you need for night stands. Sorry I can't help with where to shop in NJ.

I'm sorry, but the bed looks awkward on that wall especially from the access door.
How will you hide the radiator under the windows an make use of the available space.
Your original plan to place the bed under the windows appears to be the best approach
for furniture placement in this not very large (I am assuming) space.

Furniture of your dreams? Ez answer get the queen, be happy :) beautiful room.

Get two twin size headboards and attach them,you can bring them in separately

The room looks too small for a king size bed. If you are willing to put the bed in front of the bay window then why don't you try to move it to the wall with the single window? Put 2 end tables on each side (if there is room) and of course some nice lamps and a headboard. Then on the opposite wall find a nice dresser or hutch and put the tv above it. Won't know if this will work unless you try.

That set of windows sorta IS the headboard of -my- dreams, haha. Sunshine, light, fresh air, birds, trees (it looks like, anyway .. I'm on a tiny screen phone right now so it's hard to tell).
I'm not a headboard person, generally, and AM a lots-of-windows person (our 60s era LR/DR/kitchen great room literally has 1 10' wall that isn't almost floor to ceiling windows or 8' sliders).

That said, I'd try to figure out some way to make the bay window an even more intentional- looking & striking focal point.
Also, since the room is smallish (and older), and the bed is nice & big (modern) , it won't feel so overwhelmingly monolithic. (Our old house is small too: when we bought it i had to downsize both my bed and my fridge, both of which blocked walkways in their respective rooms. )

Tastes differ, but you've gotta work with what you've got, architecturally, and make it amazing in its own right.

The bed does work on the side wall now. I did not know you had it in front of the radiator before. That is not the best idea.
If you can live with just one bedside table, I would put it on the bedroom door side of bed and try to get the bed closer to the window.
I am sorry, but the TV in there looks awful. Is there no other place for it in your home. Bedrooms are for sleeping and... Well you know.
I think for a smaller room with a king bed, the side wall is better than in the bay window. Once you get the headboard on and start decorating, it will be fine. I have friends with same dilemma do they put the bed the same way and love it.

Kinda confused...you can get the king mattress in room, but not headboard...is this because the mattress bends? Why not take materials up and build a covered/upholstered headboard in the room and then mount it to your frame?

Lib mom, I think it is beac

It because, the headboard would be so big...blocking the window. Also usually the Kings have two box springs, but maybe the headboard is just too big in front of window.

I would build only as high as the pillow would lean against it...about half way on the bottom window...if upholster in light linen color would not overpower or block much of window...especially if pulled away from window as suggested...see pic above from Karen Dumont

Also, my DEAREST ardorart... (with apologies for so much verbiage...) I'd like to suggest that you don't really KNOW WHAT "the bedroom set of your dreams" actually is! I'm not being rude in the slightest, either - I'm just "listening" to YOU. "Printmakers" is very RUSTIC. Yet with your most recent photo post you said " I love industrial with some warmth..." NOT "Printmakers" at all. So BE OPEN!!! There's so much out there to discover... xox Hugs! ;- )

It's easy to get taken away into many different directions when it comes to furniture when you're in the showroom. Some of the most beautiful rooms are eclectic showcasing a person (or 2 people's) preferences. That's what makes this Houzz forum so much fun. Love the idea of covering the radiator, or at least painting it the color of the walls to minimize it's focus. The windows are the hero here. While the Printmaker's furniture is beautiful, it appears to be rather large, probably too large for your room. Consider a similar look for your headboard since that's the look you like. Now that you moved your bed, can you mount it on the wall in the corner between the window and closet? You can put a little plant or ottoman there. That would then free up that larger space (where your TV is now) for an armoire or taller piece of furniture for added storage. Not sure exactly how large your room is, but you might be able to add some smaller nightstands as well, but keep them light and airy, not boxy. Also keep in mind the warmth of your wood floor. You should keep whatever woods and paints you add in the warm tones, not cool tones.

If you or someone you know are handy, consider making something like this -

Barbara Almandarez - I LOVE your furniture showroom comment! Not only is the variety overwhelming, but the scale of the showroom spaces always make EVERY piece of furniture - regardless of how GIGANTIC - "appear" "Cottage Friendly..." They are "dangerous" places in which to shop - unless well armed! (I alway use my laptop.) But for CLIENTS? Tape measure, Scaled floor plan, Scaled graph paper, and Scotch tape - because nothing else makes it quite as real as "hands-on..."

When you had your bed placed in front of the window, your room did NOT look too small for the king sized mattress at all. It looked very cozy, and I loved that way it made the bay windows a focal point. I don't know why you can't find a someone to make you a not too tall headboard as in the pictures I posted earlier in the discussion. However, I'm not sure about the radiator situation......While I think the bed looks good in the new position in the room, I think it chops your room in half as mentioned by someone else.

Thanks again and again everyone!! We do have custom radiator covers (similar to the white ones posted). The issue there is that radiator covers significantly reduce efficiency. When we took the cover off the room was at least 30% warmer. We can always put it back on. We've always had the bed (even in the first picture) at least a foot off the radiator, so nothing has ever touched it. There's so many suggestions here...and I'm overwhelmed but I did return the furniture so I can start from scratch and put together an ensemble that works for the space and not for the furniture! Now I have to find where to start looking for furniture...

With respect to your radiator covers...As a veteran of old-house living, in order for those covers to work - especially in front of a window, they MUST have a solid back on them or all the heat goes out the windows. Also, it's smart to cut rectangular openings into the top sized to take a regular heating vent cover. That'll help prevent all your heat from going to the ceiling. Take care! ;- )

The head of a bed should be against a wall not a window IMHO. And blocking a radiator seems like a bad idea for heating efficiency and fire safety. Maybe picking a different lower profile headboard and no footboard would keep the bead from overwhelming the space.

I agree Kathleen it gets cold in NJ. Bed in front of the window blocking the radiator with even a small headboard doesn't seem like the best thing to do.

Ardorart maybe you can try to modify your rad covers as suggested or put them back on in the Spring and take them off again in Winter time. My advice is try not to get too overwhelmed with the process. Deciding on furniture you want, shopping for it and actually being able to get new stuff should be fun and exciting. Don't lose your energy now. But as said in a previous post walk with your tape measure. Measure your wall space and figure out in advance how wide you have for night tables etc.

Good luck and post pictures of the finished space later if you can. I'd love to see how it turns out.

Thanks all!! I'll post pictures when I get the space done. I appreciate it!!

OK, read the whole thing and have to offer my opinion. I don't think the bed looks good on the wall, and especially the wall right next to the door.. Radiator or no, it looks better and less cramped in the bay. I would keep it there without a headboard.

Here are a couple of beds in bays with no or low headboards:

Thanks for the great ideas!!

Ardorart I'm sure you are well on your way with this project and probably don't need any more comments. But I just saw some pics on Houzz and thought of a comment Barbara A made awhile back.
Have you considered switching places by moving the bed to the tv wall with the single window? You could do a wall of drapes behind the bed to camouflage the asymmetrical window placement and add drama.

Here are some of the photos I found for inspiration.

Re: King size bed. Keep the bed, scrap the headbosrd idea and decorate
with "minimalism" decor.