I often meet with clients and they talk about their master bedroom needing work, but many times it is the last room that actually gets worked on. We hear things like, “When I do it, I want it to be peaceful, restful, serene, a get away and so on. So the big question then is, “Why do we hold off doing this room?” It seems pretty important based on the descriptions. Everyone deserves a room that they can retreat to at the end of the day and recharge their batteries. When will you make your bedroom a priority?
Once you have made the decision to redo your master bedroom, where do you start? You start with an inspiration and the good news is that since this is not part of the common spaces that generally flow together, you can really make it any color or style you want it to be that will give you the sense of comfort.
The inspiration for this room was the Vaseline glass lamp and the curved lovers chairs. The design challenge was the size of the room, wanting to upgrade to a king size bed, incorporating some very traditional items they had but making it feel a little more contemporary and up to date.
To make this room or any room look and feel pulled together, you need to look at the scale of all furniture pieces being added. A focal point in the room other than the wall of windows to the backyard was needed. We started by positioning the king bed but as you can see from the “before,” just adding a king bed, it still seemed lost. So a large-scale headboard was designed, which is now a great focal point in the room and very comfortable for those that like to sit in bed and read. We also created a secondary focal point using the lovers’ chairs and the Vaseline glass lamp. Larger scale bedside tables were used to balance out the large headboard and the large wall they are positioned on.
Once we had the focal point and the layout, we moved on to the finishes. Soothing grey walls with ivory trim and light grey carpeting set the stage. The beautiful Ikat fabric was complemented with the silk grey and citron drapes for the full wall of windows as well as the smaller windows. We lined them in room darkening which helps with a restful night and keeps the morning sunrise out. Since the wall of windows face east, the room darkening was really needed especially for those that are light sleepers. The lovers’ chairs got a face-lift with black lacquer paint and an updated grey & white dandelion fabric that really shows off their beauty and updates them considerably.
So what are some of the things we did that makes this room work so well?
- Proper scale furniture.
- Floating the seating area to make it feel more intimate and cozy. If we put the chairs against the wall it would have felt like two completely separate areas.
- A nice mixture of fabrics. You want to use different fabrics both in scale as well as the textures. Mixing silks with chenille’s and cottons keeps things from feeling too flat.
- A good balance of traditional items and transitional items really give the room the updated feel.
- Mixed wood tones. We have things painted in black, lighter cherry and darker woods. Mixing the woods makes the room far more interesting than going out and buying the full set of furniture that all matches.
- Updates bedside tables. We had standard table and had granite cut to fit which give a higher end look and makes them more functional if you put a glass of water or a cup of coffee down. Don’t hesitate to buy something as you see it and update to what you need it to be. You may never find the perfect item otherwise.
Hopefully this beautiful and restful master bedroom will give you the inspiration you need to create a relaxing space for yourself. You deserve it.
This article was first published in Montgomery News and you can read it online here.
Let Kathy work her magic on your Master Bedroom. Call (215) 412-9942 today or contact her here.
