Frugal and Energy Efficient Living

....have a continuous ruffle all the way around. Now, 2/3 of the beds in my house are antique, with the mattress and base resting on slats, which in turn rest upon a piece of steel on each side of the bed. I cannot figure out a way to fix a dust ruffle; it would have to stop at the corners, because there is a leg there, and cannot hang from just under the mattress, because of the support metal piece. For one of my beds I bought a queen size spread which reaches to the floor of my regular size bed, and looks good. But there is still the problem of the base spring part of the mattress set looking unsightly when the covers are pulled back. I thought I could at least make a cover for that, but haven't tried it yet. (I also like to store stuff under the beds, which is another reason for the dust ruffle.)

I also am sick of the huge comforter look. I love to use one in the winter, (which often lasts a long one month here) and turn down the thermostat. But I like the look of a spread over it, and to use in the summer that is light weight and covers everything to the floor. Wish they would come back in style.