Chicago-area homeowners Sarah and Ben had always loved the bones of their 120sqm suburban home. Built in 2005, the house sat in a quiet neighborhood near MIDHILL, where neighbors knew each other but shared little about interior design. For years, the master bedroom felt… adequate, not special. The walls were off-white, the furniture was functional but dated, and the bed—a standard queen size from IKEA—never felt grand enough for their growing family's dreams.
"We moved here in 2018, and the bedroom was the last room we tackled," Sarah explains. "Ben works long hours, and I wanted a space where we could unwind. But nothing felt quite right. The apartment-sized furniture felt cramped, and the finishes were too generic for our taste."
Sarah had long admired French neoclassical style. She sketched ideas, measuring the room carefully: 240cm wide by 320cm deep. "I imagined something elegant, something with presence," she says. "Something that would make us stop and say, 'Wow, this is a bedroom.’"
The problem was budget. A custom bed from a local Chicago artisan would have cost them $2,500 and a 6-month lead time. "We love craftsmanship, but as first-time homeowners, that wasn’t realistic," Ben says. "We could afford $1,000, maybe $1,200—nothing more.’
Wood finish became their focus. Sarah researched finishes that would stand up to Midwest humidity—nothing too delicate for their climate. "We visited a few local furniture stores, but the finishes felt either too heavy or too thin," she recalls. "Then we found an online retailer specializing in wood finishes. They had samples of everything from matte to high-gloss, and we were able to see how they aged in their Chicago home’s conditions.’
The Crown Medallion Bed appeared in their search results. The ivory and champagne gold frame immediately caught their eye. Sarah fell in love with the diamond tufted headboard, noting that similar designs ran $3,000 at high-end furniture stores. The French neoclassical crest above the headboard became their selling point. "It’s the kind of detail that makes a room feel truly special," Sarah says.
The price tag of $1,110 per bed seemed reasonable until they measured. "The dimensions were listed as 200cm wide by 210cm high," Ben says. "But when we put it in our space, it felt enormous. We had to move the nightstands closer to the bed.’
Sarah researched apartment sizes in their neighborhood. The average bedroom in nearby MIDHILL was 135sqm, but they’d lucked out with their 120sqm room. "Still, the bed took up almost half the space," she admits. "We considered a smaller model, but the design just wasn’t the same.’
One concern was the fabric. The bed came with a soft, button-tufted upholstery in ivory and champagne gold. "We worried about stains," Sarah says. "With young kids running around, we needed something durable.’
The retailer provided fabric care instructions: "Dry clean only, no bleach, spot clean with mild soap and water.’ Sarah tested the fabric in her kitchen. A small spill of juice wiped out in seconds. "That was a relief," she says. "We didn’t want to live in constant fear of spilling something.’
The bed arrived in a huge box in November 2022. Assembly took them about 3 hours using the included instructions and a rubber mallet. "We were surprised how well it went together," Ben says. "Most furniture these days seem to require a degree in engineering.’
Once assembled, they made final adjustments. The headboard height seemed perfect, the footboard’s diamond tufting adding exactly the right texture. "We added a tufted velvet throw in champagne gold to coordinate," Sarah says. "The bed immediately felt more inviting.’
Before the Crown Bed, the bedroom felt functional but uninspiring. Now, it’s the most-used room in the house. "We actually make the bed every morning," Sarah laughs. "Before, it was too much effort.’
The neighbors in their MIDHILL neighborhood have noticed. "One of them stopped by for coffee and was immediately impressed with the bedroom," Sarah says. "She asked where we got the bed, and I told her. She said it made her want to redecorate her own home.’
"It solved our problem," Ben sums up. "We wanted a bed that would last, that would make us feel at home, and that would still look good in 10 years. This bed does all that. It’s not just furniture—it’s an investment in our home.’