by Robin Roenker
No room of your house says more about your individual style than your bedroom. It’s the most intimate, personal space of your home, where you go to rest and rejuvenate for tomorrow. The look you choose for your bedroom speaks volumes about your personal aesthetic. Are you a traditionalist? Do you prefer a modern style? Or, is a romantic look what you’re after?
Here are a few simple strategies for achieving several timeless bedroom styles infused with your personality, so bedroom will always be inviting to the person who matters most — you!
Classic and Traditional
A traditional bedroom is typically anchored by rich, dark wood furnishings with ornate finishes, with luxurious linens and draperies. Here’s how to get the look:
Furniture. Choose a bed that dominates the room and makes a bold statement — whether a sleigh bed, a four-poster bed or simply a traditional-style bed with an oversized, decorative wooden headboard.
Don’t mix furniture styles. Instead, select bedside tables, armoires, chests of drawers or dressers in the same style as the bed itself. In a traditional room, uniformity is key.
Turn one corner of the room into a reading nook by pairing a simple wingback chair or club chair and ottoman with a small side table and lamp.
Bedding and window treatments. Opt for timeless, classic linens. Select bedspreads, pillow shams and bed skirts in bold solids or rich floral or striped patterns. Frame windows with long sheathes of draperies in silk or linen. Use the same or similar colors or patterns; as with furnishings, uniformity is essential to the look.
Walls. Paint walls a neutral white, gray or taupe, or a deep green or red. Accentuate walls with groupings of prints in gilded or dark wood frames.
Modern and Contemporary
A modern, contemporary bedroom is clutter-free, streamlined and inviting. For this style, take a minimalist approach.
Furniture. Select a simple, platform bed with a no-fuss, rectangular silhouette. Opt for a black or white lacquer finish or a warm, medium-tone wood — like rosewood or teak — popular in Scandinavian modern design.
Go bold with geometric shapes. Choose armoires, end tables and shelving that are rectangular or cubic. Echo the geometric, cubic shapes of your large furnishings in side chairs and other tables. Or, bring in nodes of other modern design aesthetics by introducing a few pieces with a nod to space-age or industrial-inspired design such as the German Bauhaus School.
Abandon traditional table lamps and floor lamps and instead try Asian-inspired lantern wall sconces or funky, spherical pendulum lights.
Bedding and window treatments. Instead of draperies, stick with simple window treatments, like basic blinds or shades. Or leave your windows uncovered, if you don’t need privacy or to block the sun.
Walls. Choose a color scheme that allows the simplicity of the furnishings to pop, like whites, deep browns or bold, high-energy hues like tangerine orange or lime green.
Keep wall decor minimal. Instead of framed pieces, choose wrapped canvas art.
Shabby Chic
In a true “shabby chic” room, anything goes. It’s all about mixing and matching of pieces — from an array of styles and time periods- — that speak to you. So, have fun shopping at antiques malls and garage sales, but keep these basic principals in mind.
Furniture. Select a simple, country- or antique-inspired bed. A vintage, white-ironwork bed is a perfect choice.
Bedding and window treatments. Dress up windows with simple silk swag draperies or valances, or vintage curtains.
Walls. Paint walls a muted pastel color, like pink, lavender or light blue.
Have fun with the interplay of wallpapers, bedding and other decor in bold floral, stripes and toile patterns in all manner of styles and colors.
Introduce vintage decor throughout the room. Hang framed collages of heirloom postcards. Place fresh flowers in antique pitchers on the bedside table. Arrange magazine collections in well-worn baskets or old advertising crates.
Add a hint of silver somewhere in the room. Place a serving tray, complete with silver-plated tea service, on a bedside table or hang a silver-plated antique mirror over the bed.
Romantic
Want your bedroom to be a true romantic retreat? For a sophisticated, inviting look that brings home the feel of a luxury hotel, try these simple design tricks.
Furniture. Start with a lavish, even opulent, all-wood canopy bed in dark wood with an all-white linen, silk or muslin canopy. Echo the dark wood in the rest of the room’s furnishings — dressers, bedside tables and chests of drawers — for a crisp, coordinated look.
Hike TVs, DVD players and other electronic clutter in a stately entertainment armoire. Ban kid-clutter and toys to create a clean, attractive, adult-only space.
Bedding and window treatments. Opt for simple, monochromatic bedding — like whites, beiges or creams — that blends an array of fabrics and textures. Add a touch of color with a cashmere throw at the foot of the bed or a few throw pillows.
Choose elegant, all-white panel draperies to carry the look of your canopy bed to your windows.
Walls. To copy the feel of a romantic getaway, select wall prints and other decor with an Asian or tropical sensibility — think framed lithographs of tropical florals or palm trees.
Freelance writer Robin Roenker loves the look of a crisply made, all-white bed piled high with pillows, with a good book on the bedside table.
