Thanks for the replies!

Debbie, I never thought of it looking like a motel. I'll point that out to Grant. As it is now, he's leaning toward no footboard because of Nicki. He wants to make sure she can get in and out of bed without too much problem. Her bed is right in front of the balcony door, so without the footboard she can jump from our bed into her own. I love that he's so worried about her sore joints!

Lori, you and I are cut from the same klutz cloth! Whenever I have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, I must trip over twenty things and bump into at least one wall!

I like the footboard because it completes the bed. I hate the idea of having it and not using it, but I also feel it clutters things, and Lord knows I have enough clutter in my room without any help.

To make matters all the more confusing, we have a really nice bedroom dresser set in the guest room which I could switch out into my bedroom. I HATE the ivory color, so I'd have to refinish it (not to mention the kids stuck stickers up and down the sides of it... and they are NOT peeling off.) I wouldn't look forward to stripping, sanding and refinishing them, but they are GOOD pieces of fruniture (dove tailed joints and all) and I think the style of them would look nice with the bed --- what do you all think? Here's a picture of it in the guest room: