On top of the cherry chest is a TV with a built in DVD player. All are in cherry and are Ethan Allen shaker style. The nightstands both have glass lamps on them and the shelve under the nightstand contains books – lots of books, favorite novels by A.S. Byatt and Jane Austen, books on raising children, books about historical events.

The bed is a slatted sleigh bed, with graceful curves. I fell in love with the bed the first time I saw it, and my admiration of its lines has never diminished. Above the bed is a hand dyed silk wall hanging.

The bed room is sage green, the bedspread grey with purple orchid blossoms on it. And from out my window you can see the river. The reason I have this furniture is that when I first got married, my husband took up playing Magic: The Gathering.

Over six months he collected thousands of dollars in cards. One day I looked at him and pointed out that he’d managed to spend as much money as I wanted to spend on a bedroom set on Magic cards.

And that, in exchange I wanted a moratorium on Magic cards, and new furniture. That was almost fifteen years ago now. He no longer plays Magic, but I still have my bedroom set.

One of the nightstands was damaged when my son was small – two year old boys should not be permitted to play with rocks on nightstands. And frequently the furniture can only be glimpsed from under piles of clothes, novels in process, stray jewelry and scarves.

I didn’t choose my bedroom furniture but I’m happy with it, despite all the dark furniture, the room is always full of light.

My bed room windows is on the side of the sunrise, its very cool some times. I like my room because it have plenty of space for me, that’s why I don’t have much furniture, just the basic, but I would welcome a couch or a puff, as long it comes in black.

The only thing that’s not dark brown or black, is my working table, its more modern style, because I need something more comfortable to work on as I spent most of the day in there.

If I could change my bedroom it probably would end up the same, I like the way it is, but if I should change, and some times a change of environment is good, I would buy a dark bed, those lower then usual Japanese style or something, and the rest of the furniture must be black too.

Door and drawers handles would be silver, that’s the only two colors I want in my room black and silver, because its modern and kind of could, but my bed would have silk sheets, it would be awesome in the summer, fresh and soft, for the winter cold some cotton sheets and a blank and no more cold, at least where i live.

I would buy some couch too, in black of course, and my working table would be in glass with all the metallic parts in silver, the color not the metal. And that’s my bedroom, and my dreams perfect room.

I wanted a lot if space so I didn’t have to constantly move things about when working on a project.

I also purchased a four-drawer (HON) gray filing cabinet that had been discounted over 70% due to dents at the top edge during shipment.

My chair is a swivel receptionist chair that does not stay lifted to the correct height and I’m waiting to find a better one at a thrift store or one that is deeply discounted at any local store that I happen to wander in.

I am therefore constantly sinking on a dinky little secretary office chair lower and lower at my great 8′ executive style desk.

The shelving I have was purchased at an auction and it is a four shelf open standing about 3′ long and approximately 9.5″ deep which is great for stacking computer paper, large mailing envelopes and instructional booklets I need from time to time.

I would prefer an executive style swivel chair with arm rests as I do a lot of thinking and searching on-line at my desk.

The walls are white, and there is not much furniture. There is a large mural on one wall, but the others are bare.

There are three couches, that are all white. The main theme of my living room, I suppose, is white and wood. There are several large wooden sculptures, some of which are from Africa, and some African instruments near the fireplace.

The fireplace is my favorite part of the room. It has painted white molding and a green marble base. In front of the fireplace is my favorite place to curl up in the winter and read a good book.

The front of the room has two large windows, and the back of the room has a large French door which opens up to the sunroom.

My living room is always full of light and a great place to relax. I think living rooms should be designed not only for beauty but for comfort as well, because they are one of the main rooms in a house.

My bed is queen size with a raud iron frame, located in the far corner and taking up an entire wall. I have pink sheets, but not flannel because the heat in my apartment is overwhelming, and a reversible pink and burgundy comforter.

Rather than a desk, I have a pub table and one chair, which takes up less space, has more character, and feels less rigid and studious. The table is home to my laptop, speakers, and post it notes.

My window has blinds and a single swaged blue shabby chic curtain. I also have one long dresser on the short wall opposite my bed.

The dresser came with the apartment. Some of the drawers require an extra tug to open, but it works fine.

On top of the dresser I have a raud iron mirror, a leafy green plant, a few photos, and my TV. Overall it is a very cozy bedroom, made up of mismatched furniture but very functional.

The frame has plastic steel looking poles at the top. A nice design.

Next to both sides of my bed I have two night stands.

Across the room, I have my computer table with chair.

That’s it, no TV in my room.

I choose this furniture because it was free. I had a $745 furniture voucher from the state.

No I will choose a higher grade of furniture, real wood.

Our bed does not have a frame, rather it is a full sized box spring and mattress on the floor. These were gotten from an overflow that the local Habitat For Humanity group had. They’d received them from a local hotel and sanitized them.

They couldn’t use them, but were giving them away. We took one. We’ve got a very tiny, beat up, wooden dresser from my mother in law. The dark stain on it is flaking and rubbing away, and although it isn’t pretty, it serves it’s purpose, and one day I will re-finish it or paint it.

I’m very much a do-it-yourself kind of person, and I’d love the challenge. I just don’t want to paint or re-finish it in winter! Next on the list of items is a large steamer trunk. This is a relic from my short lived attempt at living in the dormitories at a local college.

It’s black with brass findings, and looks very much like a throw-back to the Victorian era. I believe it’s the only piece of furniture in the bedroom that was bought new.

Our bedside table is really just a small coffee or end table that sits low to the ground. It was a gift from friends, and while I like the style, the finish is, again, wearing off and ruined. It’s double decked, with a large first layer and tiny shelf on top of the back of that layer. It’s a bit hard to describe.

Then there are some miscellaneous items - a step ladder that was left in the apartment by the landlady which now houses stuffed animals and houseplants, “kitty condos”, which are pieces of cat furniture that they can climb on and sleep in, and a few miscellaneous Tupperware bins that contain clothing and shoes for easier storage.

For the most part, these items were not gotten out of choice, but rather necessity. They were free and my husband and I were poor. We don’t have the money to replace them at the moment, so for now we try to do the best we can with them by picking out colorful sheets and refinishing the items one by one as the spare time arises.

If I would furnish my room again and I could afford it, I would find a bed frame to rest the mattress on. I miss having a REAL bed. I would get a larger sized mattress and box spring, queen or king sized.

I would love a more elegant Victorian inspired theme to the room, and the furniture would hopefully reflect that. As I mentioned, I love doing art and craft projects - I just recently re-upholstered a couch that was in the bedroom for the longest time.

I managed to misuse the staple gun several times, ending up in the emergency room on at least one occasion. It’s tough, but I enjoy it, and I don’t ever think I will buy brand name or brand new furniture.

I will buy new bedding and some accessories if I must, but the furniture itself is always fixable and always has much more character if it comes secondhand than if it were brand new.

I must admit, though, Ikea has some pretty nifty designs, but I consider them far too expensive for me. My next investment will be a book case to house my collection of novels.

This is where the entertainment center with kid stuff is located. It has the couch with a cover, lots of chairs, including child size chairs.

There are two toy boxes and a kid play table. It is ideal for everyone, since it is right next to our front door. Playmates who come to visit thus don’t have to run through the house to go play.

The carpet is brown and the rest of the room is tile, minimizing clean up for the inevitable messes. This is kid play room crossed with a living room, and it is a room that is very lived in.

We don’t worry about appearance accept to minimize the “hurricane that ripped through” look. The bigger priority is preventing trip hazards.

If buying furniture for this kind of “lived in” room, choose durable, expendable, and easily cleanable. Neutral colors that don’t show stains are a must.

Our other living room is a mix of formal and family friendly. Our satellite dish and more fancy entertainment equipment are hooked in here. It has two couches with covers that are more presentable for company, but only for adults.

The image is clean and comfortable. The thought is that it should be a comfortable lounge, where the kids can watch TV with the parents, but it is a one stop entertainment retreat for grown ups.

The parents can see TV during dinner or adults can watch a movie after the children have gone to bed.

My father built some drawers into the closet. I’d definitely change my furniture if I could.

One time my lamp fell onto my mattress (lamp was on) and it burnt a big whole out of my mattress and started a fire but my dog smelt the fire so it was easy to put out.

I had to flip the mattress over and the lamp still works even though it was lit on fire.

The dominant piece of furniture in the room is a queen size bed with a brass headboard and foot board.

After too many years of being scrunched up and uncomfortable on small, hard and narrow European beds, I vowed that I would get a soft and comfortable bed as soon as I moved back to the states.

The rest of the furniture in the bedroom is more practical, although definitely not as soft. In the last six months, I have accumulated more than my fair share of bruises on my shins after bumping myself on my glass cube night stand.

I keep telling my husband that the bruises and the night stand could be saved, if we would just invest in a nice night light. Unfortunately, we have not been able to agree on one and we are also still waiting to find the ‘perfect’ dresser that will satisfy the clothes fiend in me and my husband’s practical soul.

In addition to the pieces of furniture and the throw pillows scattered around the floor, we also have a large television on the wall. I am not sure how I feel about televisions in the bedroom, but I guess I am getting used to it slowly but surely.

I guess that it is easier to get used to some nights when there are great old movies on cable, rather than the nights when I am forced to endure watching 4 different sporting events on different channels as I am nodding off to sleep.

By the way, speaking of sleep, we have lovely down comforters to stay warm at night (I usually sleep with two in the winter months) and heaps of soft down pillows in the room.

Quite honestly, although I am comfortable with the furniture, I am not sure what I would opt for if I got a do-over — maybe a four poster bed with pretty pink linens and an airy cottage feel to it, maybe a dark and serious oak sleigh bed.

Don’t worry, honey, I promise no more furniture shopping … at least for the next month or two.