Sorry, I should have included some more questions with the above.

Do I need a headboard? Any ideas on cheap ways to source/make one?

Can I put a plush area rug around where we walk? There is charmless wall to wall gray carpet now - but it will stay till our geriatric cat is gone. If area rugs, can I put smaller ones around both sides instead of doing a large rug all across the bottom of the bed?

I was thinking of a wall hanging / tapestry or something to cover the little crawlspace door. Every time I see it I think of Being John Malkovich. ;)

How do I make this more like a nice cozy nest and less like a college students' drop zone?

i made the world's cheapest headboard once - I took a 2x4, cut it two pieces, drilled holes to bolt it to the metal bed frame, cut height to where I wanted it. Then nailed 2 pieces of 1x10 boards across the 2x4s sticking up. Stapled gunned some foam to it and some fabric. Done!

The door doesn't bother me - I think it's cute!

I think with your purple bedding you could go with a cool grey.

For some reason I'm thinking stripes:

[eclectic home office design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-home-office-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_732~s_2104) by vancouver media and blogs The Locker

stripe could be vertical, might make the room seem taller? Or just on one wall.

i dunno.

IMO, those colors all look too dark for the space (especially since the white looks dark already.) Do you like a particular color? You can use a very pale version of whatever you like... You could use one of those yellow colors, but cut them down with more white (The lighter yellow, but at 25% strength or 50% strength.) That would add a cheery, bright color to your space...... but just in a subtle way.

I am in no way a professional, but I feel like the ceiling and walls should be the same color. Otherwise, it will make the strange ceiling stand out even more.

I think a headboard would add some interest, but since your space is so limited, what about creating one with paint, wallpaper or decals? Not your colors, but just to give you ideas:

These are decals!

Leave the wall color selection until you decide on fabric to make a covered headboard.

Try to cut the foamboard/board (not quite sure about this building process) to fit the angle of the wall behind the bed to create a much taller look to the room. There are probably videos on YouTube and ideas around the blogosphere on headboard designs. Or try the HGTV site -- may be ideas from different shows on there.

As for the wall color -- perhaps keep it very close in shade and tone to the fabric on the new headboard.

Painting the ceiling -- well -- there are different design theories ... to paint the whole area of the walls and the ceiling (and the trim around the floor) in the same color. OR -- to paint the ceiling in fresh white -- but paint the lower wall/floor trim in the same shade as the walls.

Perhaps choose a basic soft neutral on the walls -- maybe a gray? -- and then add fresh white accessories for the summer -- and your wonderful plums (and add a green for a bit of punch of color?)

As for the door -- perhaps simply paint it (and the door hardware) out to match the new wall color.

Basic white sheers would work very nicely on the window for the summer months. If you can -- try to position the curtain rod as high as it will go on the wall above the trim.

OR -- create a window cornice or valance that would be tall enough to cover the top of the window trim -- a old design trick to fool the eye to see the window as much taller -- and therefore the ceiling will appear to be taller too!

I too think a very pale gray would be pretty with your purple quilt. Have you considered a white iron bed? I could really see it in that space and visually not take up much space. I also agree that sheers or very light panels would bring in light. I love your space and can see it being a very cozy space.

Can you show more photos of the room, or a floor plan? I am thinking the bed should be on the opposite wall!

i love the 'headboard' ideas that olychick provided you with!
as for paint, i love BM revere pewter as a light neutral-ceiling same color!! imo, it would look great with the colors described for bed!
with geriatric cat, i definitely wouldn't invest in any rugs that couldn't be thrown in washer...
i also like idea of a tapestry hanging over the crawlspace door!

On the Garnet Hill website, your bedcovers are matched with silvery grey- looks so lovely! I'd go with grey. Yellow or gold are complementary with the violet and would give more contrast and a different look.

Olychick, where did you get that third picture, the one with the blue and green bedroom? I WANT that fabric on the pillow.

While I think you've been given some great ideas, don't forget to check Craigslist and Goodwill. I got a beautiful queen headboard on CL for $25 just a few months ago. I had considered doing an upholstered one since I've done one before, but this was great to find, and no work! I'd watched CL for about a month and was surprised how many were on there--though of course, some were ghastly.

I'm thinking your bed should be on the peaked wall....I would like to see the far wall...if not possible, not enough width? How often do you get into the storage under the peak? Could you have a headboard on your bed that covers the door to the storage area? Put your bed on sliders when you need to get in the storage area. Seems like you would have more room at the foot of your bed.

In a small room with little natural light, a very light paint tone just won't look it's best. They end up going 'dingy and depressing'. It's amazing what a deeper paint tone can do in those situations -- REALLY! Have you ever been in a dramatically dark powder room? A rich jewel-tone? Very elegant and cozy...

I'd look for a color that you LOVE that works well with your deep-toned comforter. Paint all of the walls AND the ceiling that color, with a lighter (but NOT too light) tone on the trim and on the little door. Add a few elegant pillows and accessories in light colors that tie everything together, and make sure you have enough accent lighting to make your bedroom into a cozy and romantic retreat.

It's important to have a paint color that you LOVE if you're going to go this route. Grey could be very elegant, but could also be cold and a bit depressing if the color's not spot-on. A deep warm yellow would be nice if you want something happy, or even a muted chartreuse that makes your plum pop. A smokey aqua might work well. Or a greyed plum in the same color family as your quilt, but just a few shades lighter.

I just love attic bedrooms!

birdgardner it was here:

Here is a link that might be useful: Wallpaper headboard

I agree with sweeby...I was just reading an article on colors in HB and they said the same thing ...a low light room never looks good with a very light/white color on the walls. Instead pick a rich saturated color. I think her suggestions were perfect. Can someone try to photo shop it ???? c

I painted a small, low light room master bedroom a charcoal grey and it sucked every bit of light up in it and made it feel cave-like. It was not soothing at all and I recently re-painted it a very light grey and it opened the room up and made it feel much more airy. YMMV, but that was my experience.

It seems like some experimentation is going to be needed here! FWIW I've painted patches on my wall this week of Wish, Stonington Gray, Fusion, Metropolitan, Nightingale, Classic Gray and Intense White (all BM). The clear winners are Stonington Gray and Wish, with Wish being slightly warmer and Stonington Gray being more silvery. Intense White and Classic Gray read as nearly pure white in the daytime - they are just swallowed up by the lack of light in the room.

Both look slightly too dark for the room - amazing as when I just tried to PS Stonington onto my photo it looks very pale, but in my room it's just not.

I think, with my bedding being plums, wine-raspberry, and whites, I may go with Wish as the slightly warmer tone will support the warmer shades in the bedding.

I am debating having the Wish cut back to 75% intensity or using it straight up...?

Wish is nice. I tested that and Stonington Gray (too dark and blue-ish) in my bedroom. I noticed that Wish has some red/pink-ish undertones, which may work with your plum/raspberry bedding.

I ultimately went with Nimbus at 75%, which turned out great. It doesn't seem to have any undertones in it.

The room is far from a blank slate because you have committed to using purple or raspberry on the bed. I don't think a light yellow is going to compliment either of those colors, especially since you describe the purple as "smokey".

I'd be looking for a wall color that really makes me happy, because the walls are right on top of you.

I saw a picture of a room done with lavender walls and a light blue ceiling. The combination was stunning. Both colors were so pretty to look at, and yet there was not too much of either color, as there might be if the entire room was done in one of them. I think your room calls for two colors.

I would not put anything over the little door. You are not trying to draw attention downward and anything decorative hung so low, will do that.

Thank you Olychick!

grandmaof3 - the wall with the storage door is too short to put the bed on - we'd bang our heads trying to sit up in bed and we'd have to hang the lights at the level of our hips. LOL. This room is shoooort ceilinged. As in, if DH or I were over 5'8", we probably would not have been comfortable buying this house. :)

Cindylou, I call it a blank slate because there's nothing in it except a bed and 2 lamps (nightstands could be replaced, and we do not need dressers). True, we have bedding, and for the first time in my life I was able to choose bedding that I loved and purchase it. But it's a new bed so I no longer have to work with the cherry wood spindles of the bed we had for our first 17 years of marriage, and I can headboard or not. So perhaps it's technically not blank but it feels like it to me. :)

My inspiration word here is "silvery" and both paint colors fit that bill, one warmer and one cooler. I will make a decision this weekend, I hope, and maybe do some painting next week.

Mary