How to Lay Out a Master Bedroom for Serenity
Promote relaxation where you need it most with this pro advice for arranging your master bedroom furniture
It might seem simple enough at first — what do you really need in your bedroom besides the bed? But a master bedroom can be as complicated as a living room or family room to plan and lay out, mainly because of precisely that one big feature: the bed. Make the process easier with these suggestions from design pros.
by Robin's Nest
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Placing the Bed
Deal with the bed first. "The bed is like a giant elephant that does not want to budge," says Minneapolis designer Lucy Penfield. Nashville designer Kippie Leland suggests trying to have the head of the bed on the wall opposite the bedroom's entrance. Don't worry too much if that means your headboard will be in front of windows — the positioning is more important. Leland also suggests avoiding having the side of the bed create a visual barrier when you're walking into the room (although it might be inevitable in some spaces).
Deal with the bed first. "The bed is like a giant elephant that does not want to budge," says Minneapolis designer Lucy Penfield. Nashville designer Kippie Leland suggests trying to have the head of the bed on the wall opposite the bedroom's entrance. Don't worry too much if that means your headboard will be in front of windows — the positioning is more important. Leland also suggests avoiding having the side of the bed create a visual barrier when you're walking into the room (although it might be inevitable in some spaces).
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| Austin, Texas, designer Allison Jaffe likes to place beds opposite the doorway but always makes sure that the bed isn't right up against a wall or on the diagonal. A diagonal position takes up unnecessary room, and it's hard to tuck sheets on a bed that's placed against the wall. Penfield suggests thinking about your bedroom priorities first. Do you like to look out a window? Or do you want to face the TV? How do you prefer to enter the room? Personal preference should, above all else, make the final call in the master bedroom. "This is your retreat and your feel-good everyday space," she says. "So often this is the last room we get asked to design — make it the first and spoil yourself." |
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| Buying Nightstands What size nightstand do you need? Easy — just figure out what you want to keep on top of it. Do you like to have a pile of books, a bottle of water and a reading lamp at hand? Pick a night table with a bigger surface. But if you prefer a more minimalist route, something smaller with drawers might suit you better. |
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by Kerrie L. Kelly
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| Jaffe likes to have nightstands that sit at the height of the mattress when the bed is fully assembled — about 27 to 28 inches high, or up to 30 inches for extra-fluffy beds. Stylewise, both she and Leland suggest thinking creatively. A nightstand is great to use as an accent of color or texture. "I think the room is more interesting when each nightstand has its own personality," says Jaffe. "As long as the nightstands talk to each other or relate to each other in the design, then you can be bold and choose something different for each side." If you opt for a wall-mounted light rather than a traditional table lamp, Penfield recommends waiting until you know the height of your headboard and mattress before hardwiring the fixture. How to Pull Off Mismatched Nightstands |
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| Traffic and Seating Areas It's tempting to get as big a bed as possible, but make sure that it doesn't feel overwhelming in your room. "Most master suites can handle a king-sized bed," says Jaffe. "But when in doubt, select a queen." Size and place your bed so there's space for other furniture. "A pair of nightstands and bed crammed wall to wall gives no visual relief," says Leland. Want an extra seating area in your bedroom? You don't need a ton of space. According to Leland, a seating area can be as small as 4 by 4 feet for a single chair and a small table. If you have the space, a loveseat and two end tables can usually fit in a 10- by 5-foot area. |
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| Jaffe suggests making sure you have at least 2 feet of walking room around the perimeter of the bed, especially if you're adding another seating area nearby. Don't cram in extra pieces if you don't have the space. Make sure you can get to the bed without maneuvering around a bunch of furniture or shimmying through a narrow walkway. "Negative space is just as important in a bedroom as it is in a painting," says Leland. "Your eyes need to rest every so often." |
Ideabook published on Jan. 6, 2013.
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I need a strong connection to the outdoors. My feet are directed towards operable floor-to-ceiling windows so I can watch squirrels and birds and the clouds in the sky when awake. Good conscience too - no bad dreams. ;-)
I'd never block a window, either.
When I was a child, I had very lucid dreams, often with my eyes open, and I had very similar experiences.
Because "style" is waaaaay more important than letting in some fresh air and natural light.
- sarcasm -
- eyeroll -
I had an iron/open headboard a long while ago, parked up against a big window. The light shone through, the breeze in spring with the new scent of fresh air and greenery was a zzzzzzzzzzzz inducing nirvana. I miss that room, still. Drum roll, eye roll : )
I'm wondering why...better TV viewing, space consideration, sophistication, photo angles or what? I don't get the sense of wanting to "hop into bed" or "snuggle" the same way you get from a four-poster. Serenity does come to mind but what about sweet dreams and passion?
I must admit I am predisposed to love poster beds because of years of antique furniture appraisal and watching gorgeous tall posts emerge from rough blocks of wood. Am I the only one?
LOVE!!!!!!!!! A sleek pencil post, have a very difficult "sell" to clients. Most even resist any type of footboard, despite many new beds will give you a nice below the mattress foot.. I think it is partlv the fact many do not want the enclosed feel.... and fear. But open, with no rails, no hangings,it is a fabulous , clean, crisp, traditional but modern presence in the room. So great..... the rest is "easy peasy"!!! Especially super in King, as it takes much of that square boat in the room feeling away!
My bed has to face my antique kimono, which can't receive any direct sunlight, so this is how I orient (ar ar) my bedroom.
Susan, You have great taste!!! Beautiful room.
Some of the photos of bedrooms here on Houzz show enormous bedrooms. While they look fabulous most people would find that there's "something not right" about the room even though they may not be able to consciously state what it is and would not feel comfortable sleeping in such a room. We humans actually like to feel snug and protected when we sleep but it's not a conscious thing.
I like keeping windows free if I can, but the may not be an option depending on the size of the room used as a bedroom. I lived in a place at one time where the length of my bed was just about the width of the room. Bed was 6 feet 6 inches (queen, or king, king single, or long single length here in Australia) and the room was 7 feet wide and about 20 feet in length. It was an old enclosed verandah. I placed my bed sideways so it fitted under the window at the end of the room like a window seat. It was great. I had windows on two sides and the wall behind me. I could see the door at the other end, had room for a desk, chest of drawers and wardrobe.
In the first photo shown here, the window behind the bed does not have a blind covering all of it. Light will still come in through the semi circular window at the top above the bed. We need as dark a room as possible for the best sleep.
Many of the bedroom photos here on Houzz show chairs, sofas, tables in a bedroom. Makes me wonder what's going on!! A bedroom is just that really. A room for sleeping in. Having said that there aren't any hard and fast rules.
We (husband & I) were possibly moving to the USA last year (it may still happen) and I wanted a 4 bedroom house with ceilings higher than 8 foot. I found many houses with each bedroom having its own bathroom therefore I would have been 'forced' to use the rooms designated as bedrooms as bedrooms. Firstly I thought I'm not cleaning all those bathrooms; secondly a bedroom really is just a place to sleep.
It is interesting how different cultures and trends dictate the 'bedroom'. "Parents retreats" used to be a popular item or selling point at one time (are they still?) hence the much larger main bedroom with the space for the chairs, sofa, tv, desk etc. One client I had was struggling where to make a study for their daughter who was just starting university (college). Australians don't go away to college after school (our tertiary institutions are not live-in, but you can if you want to - that's something that country (rural) & international students do - but I digress. I suggested swapping the bedrooms around. Let the daughter have the main bedroom with the 'parents retreat' as her study area and parents use a different room as their bedroom. The comment was 'why didn't we think of that'!! I involved the daughter in the design of her 'new' bedroom/study.
When I look at some of the bedrooms here on Houzz they look like hotel suites. In today's world where we are trying to reduce our ecological footprint, I think it is important to be able to have rooms that are multi use if possible and my design philosophy is to keep a bedroom purely as a place to sleep, but still to make it attractive to the user.
Also, I'm fascinated by the conversation around which direction to orient your bed...this is new to me. I find it a little strange...in an interesting way!
I turned the master bedroom into a second living area, partly opened up an adjacent storage room and put a queen size bed in. The bed is upholstered all around and fits exactly into the space, so I am 'tucked in' on three sides. The bed can't be seen from the former bedroom-now second living room. It's a bit of a hassle to get the fitted sheet onto the matress, but that space is womb-like cozy. Yet it is also open, as the fourth wall is floor-to-ceiling window overlooking our atrium garden.
I'm fully aware that this is a rather unusual setting - sleeping seperately (gasp!) and in a former storage room - but it is what fits us best.
Attached is a photo taken during the renovation. My bed now sits behind the wall with the string of round openings for wiring.
Drafts don't "make" you sick, that is an old and untrue urban legend... I don't think the other thing does either... but I suppose you can always close your eyes! : )
For all it's worth, these quotes are from the book "FENG SHUI, The Art of Living ". I believe in doing whatever you can to create positive energy, but everyone has to work with the floorplan they're dealt. We just have to work with what we have to make a comfortable and peaceful home.
What big furniture do you keep in your master bedroom? If I move the bed to the focal point wall (the shorter wall), how can we arrange the other furniture?
I think when designing a bedroom for a client, to a certain extent we have to offer guidance. Many people don't understand our physical relationship to space, and that includes ceiling height, colour or light, but eventually it is ultimately what the client wants. And if a client wants a tv, potted plants and the dog's bed in their bedroom, then it's our job as designers to be able to make it work or, offer compromise and reasonable (whatever they are) alternatives if it doesn't work.
What I would give to have some of the bedrooms seen here on Houzz !! They are so big and I've commented earlier that they tend to look like hotel suites with the chairs, sofas and desks. Sometimes I'm sure no-one lives in the house where these rooms are photographed ! They are so immaculate and organised and give me the impression they've just stepped out of Vogue Living. There's no 'ordinary life' shown here ! Looking at people's houses for sale on the internet often shows houses that have not been staged or decorated for sale. I think they often give a much more realistic view of bedroom decoration. Some look good, some don't but after all, it's personal.