By Jennifer Shapira
Calm, relaxed, tranquil, serene. Those bedroom buzzwords should encourage us to unplug from busy daily lives and allow us to retreat to a beautiful, restful atmosphere that welcomes deep sleep. Thoughtful, enveloping surroundings should provide the backdrop for night after night of good rest.
Experts say it’s not about spending big bucks for bedroom beauty; it’s about adding decorative touches to comfortable furnishings. Often, designers repurpose existing furniture in new ways. A chest of drawers could serve as a multipurpose bedside table. Two cushy living room chairs paired with a coffee table could turn a bedroom niche into a comfy sitting area or reading nook. A sleek writing desk could be just the right antidote for completing correspondence or putting on makeup.
An uncluttered space is paramount in bedroom design. Designers say that has to do with the popular boutique hotel concept, where spa-feel bedrooms are turned out in cool colors, clean lines and crisp linens, and the desire to recreate that at home.
Today’s bedrooms are all about neutral, subdued palettes: soft grays, watery blues and fresh whites. They are well-appointed, uncluttered havens of comfort. Pops of color surface in surprises—a single flower in a bud vase, a chic table lamp, a couple of patterned throw pillows.
The bedroom should be “a place you can come home to at the end of the day, but the space isn’t hectic,” says Cathy Haskell, co-owner of The Suite Shoppe Interiors based in Leesburg. “What we try to do is declutter so there aren’t a lot of knickknacks,” she says. Haskell says her team redoes rooms, hiding away books and jewelry in creative storage spaces, “so that everything is very clean, and there isn’t a lot of color.”
Haskell likes to add graphic print rugs to complement neutral bedding and window coverings “so that everything stays monochromatic and simple and clean.” But such a color scheme depends on the client, she says; some prefer their bedrooms to be high on color.
Haskell says when a bedroom is painted a neutral hue, it’s easy to add colorful touches. As the seasons change or when a change in color mood strikes, make the bed with a striking duvet cover. Introduce color by the season, says Haskell. “You can bring in a red one or a brown one or rust-colored one in the fall,” she says, or choose greens and blues in spring and summer and “change the whole look of the room.”
Do mix-and-match patterns in bedding for an easy and affordable way to swap out color. Stay current with trends and accessorize with of-the-moment color pops and in-season accent pillows or decorative vases. Add a toasty throw blanket in a deep hue. Haskell also loves a tufted bench at the foot of the bed; it can be decorative and functional: Use it to fold laundry, set out tomorrow’s clothes or sit down to change out of shoes and into slippers.
Consider your needs for bedside tables. Think outside the classic night table box. Choose a pair of utilitarian chests that perform triple duty: thanks to the drawers, you can hide and store items in a piece of furniture that commands a stronger presence, says Haskell.
Think about a bedside table’s height and surface area. Do you want drawers or shelves? Or both? Are you messy or organized? These are important questions Bethesda, Maryland-based interior designer Kelley Proxmire discusses with clients. Bedside tables are easy magnets for clutter; for the undisciplined, they tend to serve as drop zones. Instead, their surfaces should be carefully curated, topped with only the barest essentials—a useful combination of lamp, clock, book, vase, candle and picture frame.
Swing-out arm lamps mounted beside the bed are a must, says Proxmire. Otherwise, choose a statement-making lamp that throws the right amount of reading light, and place it where the on/off switch is easily accessed to eliminate any contortionist stretches when powering down at night.
For a glamorous touch to ambient lighting, Haskell likes to hang pretty chandeliers and put them on dimmers. Although she feels a chandelier contributes to a relaxing atmosphere, and wives usually agree, Haskell says husbands always want ceiling fans. That’s a designer’s constant lament, she says of tracking down attractive ceiling fans that provide good light.
Proxmire recalls a recent master bedroom renovation for a home in McLean. She worked with some of the owner’s existing furnishings, adding draperies and carpets, two upholstered chairs and a quilted headboard. She painted the ceiling blue for the eye to enjoy above.
The owner is in love with it, all “cushy and quiet and serene,” says Proxmire.
And that’s just as it should be.
(June 2015)
