thanks for the feedback on the bed post below. i still haven't made any decisions, but hopefully i'll come up with something soon!

on to issue number 2... lighting. we currently have a ceiling fan light but need to come up with something different for bedside lighting. we have 2 paper lamps that i got from ikea years ago that have worked fine, except that the cat has decided that he likes to eat the paper so they are pretty much ruined at this point. and our new nightstand and dresser (that is being used as the other nightstand) are different heights. i don't think this would bother me as much if the bedside lights were at least at the same height. so i've been looking at wall mounted swing arm lamps. i think this is a great solution, esp. since i like to read at night before bed... and then i found this:
the tolomeo wall mount lamp - love it. really love it. really want it. don't love the price ($320 each is way out of my budget!)

so i kept looking, and found this one:
the reading room wall lamp - not at all the same, but for $80 each, it's getting closer to what i can afford. i'm going to keep looking, but anyone have any other suggestions?