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laurenpham

Need help with furniture layout in master bedroom

Lauren Yang
11 years ago
We recently bought our dream home. Our master bedroom has two floors. The upper floor will be the office/TV room and the lower floor will be furnished for sleeping/reading. The room is bright with lots of natural light from the windows. Because of these windows, we have little wall space to place our furniture. The previous owners had their master bed located near the entrance of the doorway as you walk in. You could see the large overhanging light fixture in the attached photos where the bed would normally be placed under. It’s not ideal because we would be staring down a long hallway when lying down in bed and it’s too close to the entry way. We would like to fit a king-sized bed with side tables, a dresser and a few chairs into this space. We are open to making some renovations to this room if it would make it a more usable and functional space (ie getting rid of some windows or closing off the fireplace). Thank you so much for your input.

Comments (27)

  • rinked
    11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago
    What about the other rooms? How many, how large, function?
    You'll need quite a few curtains to get this room dimmed.
    And how about sleeping upstairs?

    Note: I'm not totally into feng shui, but one rule I keep in mind: no sleeping with feet towards door. This rule just feels right. Can't see an option in this room without a huge headboard f.e.
  • Carolina
    11 years ago
    What a fantastic space! But I can see your problem with the lay-out of the bedroom. It seems a shame to block off windows. The only other option to place your bed I can see at the moment is under the 'balcony'. I would remove the fireplace and perhaps make it a more modern one that doesn't take up so much space. I'll see if I can come up with some ideas and come back to you. If not, I'm sure there will be plenty great ideas from the other Houzzers :-)
    Congratulations on your new home!
  • kitasei
    11 years ago
    Is it possible to position the bed in the center of the room, facing the best view (the porch, perhaps, with illuminated potted plants?). Choose a bed with a beautiful back to the headboard so it is a feature of the room. And put a credenza or couch against it. While it's wonderful to have a fireplace, this one seems to break up the wall of windows, which would seem a greater asset. How about a fireplace on the porch instead? Ideas from a layman with a similarly challenging bedroom.
  • Carolina
    11 years ago
    SOUTH COOGEE - House · More Info

    master bedroom · More Info


    A couple of ideas I found for you and also... an article on houzz about how to lay-out a master bedroom
    https://www.houzz.com/magazine/how-to-lay-out-a-master-bedroom-for-serenity-stsetivw-vs~6129522

    Good luck. I'm sure it will look beautiful.
  • PRO
    FurnitureNYC
    11 years ago
    Wow .. yeah your home is awesome! Rooms are very spacious.
    I think that these beds will fit to you
    http://www.furniturenyc.net/product/maria-bedroom-set
    http://www.furniturenyc.net/product/alaska-platform-bed-with-built-in-nightstands-vig-furniture
  • PRO
    Haus&Studio
    11 years ago
    Why not having a 1.50m - 1.80m high gypsum wall on the other side of the room, place bed against it. Behind the wall you can have an open walk in wardrobe with shelves etc. The wall can be painted in a contrasting colour. Pass power points through a raised flooring in the wardrobe area.
  • tsudhonimh
    11 years ago
    I'd float the bed with the foot facing the windows to the right of your first picture, and make a tallish "headboard" out of bookcases. Use the small area in front of the fireplace as a reading area.

    http://pinterest.com/pin/210754457531786022/

    It looks like they have a light bar and all kinds of plugs for a bed between the two taller windows. Can you move them without much hassle?
  • rinked
    11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago
    Have been thinking this over.. How about closing all the windows on the low wall and remove the fireplace. Place the bed in the middle and two smaller dressers on each side? Maybe two smaller windows above the nightstands. This way the walkway isn't blocked, you won't have to demolish anything else, there's still plenty of light coming from the sides and the room is balanced.
  • PRO
    Julie Thome Draperies, Inc.
    11 years ago
    Yes I agree with the above poster about getting rid of all the windows on that low wall and removing fireplace. In it's present state does not look like a master bedroom to me. The openness would bother me.
    You could put floor to ceiling sheer drapes on the tall angled windows on both sides then, with blackout solar shades underneath . NIce square footage though.
    Yes agreed, you already have almost too much light and glass.
  • PRO
    Pat Gericke & Associates, LLC
    11 years ago
    I suggest using a King size contemporary 4- poster bed with an upholstered headboard all the way up. This would create "a room within a room" as you would not feel as open in this large space. I would also align the back of bed with the balcony overhang rather than against the wall - creating a "hallway into the two doors which I assume is a closet and a master bath. I love the space and windows. The wall light fixture that was originally over a bed should be removed - this seems so 1970's and is bringing the area under the balcony even lower. The same with the fireplace - I would paint it out the same color as the wall - I would also go deeper in color on the walls. Good luck
  • kitasei
    11 years ago
    Re all of these suggestions for eliminating windows and the fireplace -- surely it must be easier to move the DOOR?
  • PRO
    Pat Gericke & Associates, LLC
    11 years ago
    I agree with kitaei - the light is wonderful, there are ways to deal with it without getting rid of windows - If anything I would remove that big wood frame over the fireplace and the hearth - these are so heavy. Minimize the fireplace by ridding the hearth, the side pieces. I find that and the light fixture over the original bed the most distracting thing about the room. If you bought this house - I surely believe it was for the interesting architecture and wonderful walls of windows - and I'm sure this is not the only room.
  • bevballew
    11 years ago
    I agree. Just remove the excess around the fireplace. You can float the bed. Another thought that a designer did in a show house in my community was to use a drapery treatment as a headboard. The room is beautiful but the fp area just eats up so much of the room. What is wrong with the bed below,that brown thing on the wall. What is above the fp and behind it? That area is an eyesore to the beautiful room. Great idea to move the door if you can.
  • bevballew
    11 years ago
    I would close off the fp before removing windows. I have a fp in my bedroom and with our cold winters in Michigan it creates a draft and the rom is colder because of it. What is that weird thing above the fp?
  • Kathy
    11 years ago
    It looks like the upper floor would be perfect for the bed while the lower area could be office or tv room. It seems to be more private also. Beautiful house.
  • Lauren Yang
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago
    Wow, what wonderful suggestions and thoughtful responses!
    Posted this for the first time and would like to respond to your individual comments
    but don’t know how. Here are some answers to all previous comments: The upper level is about the same square footage as the lower level. The lower level has both a walk-in closet and bathroom so we prefer to keep the bed on the same lower level. Keeping the fireplace but making the
    profile smaller was a great idea we haven't thought of yet and links to planning out the master bedroom layouts were very informative. Blocking out the windows temporarily to see what it would feel like before removing them makes a lot of sense though this room really does receive plenty of light and we’ll definitely need window coverings. We also considered placing the bed under “the balcony” as it would be nice to wake up to views of the outside. The problem we encountered was that there were no room for nightstands on either side of the bed because of the bathroom and closet doorway and the bed would block the walkway to the staircase. We don’t have an option to move the door that enters the master bedroom as it is located at the end of the hallway. Lastly, yes, that dated light fixture over the original bed will be removed! Thanks again for all your great suggestions!
  • Carolina
    11 years ago
    So... A good solution will be building a gypsum wall like Krisalo suggested, which will create a walkway under the balcony to your staircase. You can make it as wide as the bed with nightstands of your choice and it will give you the view of the garden. Your room seems big enough to still have plenty of space for dancing around your bed :-)
  • slsf61
    11 years ago
    What do the two doors (under the second level) go to? Could you move/close them up and put your bed on that wall. Also, consider getting a California King if you'd like to save a little width. They are only 72 inches wide, but 84 inches long. Those few inches can make a big difference when trying to fit in side tables.
  • kathy
    11 years ago
    What are the dimensions of the room, particularly the fireplace wall and the patio door wall from fireplace to base of stairs?
    I agree with a previous poster to build a tall kneewall, creating a 'hall' behind bed to bath and closet. Yes, you need to allow for clearance to stairs. But the bed facing the fireplace wall seems to be the nicest configuration. The partial wall needs to have electrical outlets for lamps and be long enough for bed and side tables, about 9-10'.

    As long as wall starts at least 3' from base of stairs (and from previous bed wall), it doesn't neccessarily have to line up with left side wall of stairs - it could be cheated forward a little to give the space you need. It means your staircase isn't a focal point, but really you want the view to be anyway.

    It really is a lovely room and I`m sure you`ll figure it out beautifully.
  • Carolina
    11 years ago
    Found you a couple of nice examples:
    Bedroom divider · More Info

    bedroom · More Info

    Lakeside Family Cottage · More Info

    CCS ARCHITECTURE · More Info

    Ross Circle Residence · More Info
  • bevballew
    11 years ago
    What about angling the bed in the corner near the fp and strange light fixture. In other words, put the bed on a diagonal in the corner, especially if you take down what extends from the fp.
  • Lauren Yang
    Original Author
    11 years ago
    Hi Kathy. You had asked for dimensions of the room. The fireplace wall is 21 feet and the patio door wall is 13.5 feet when measured to the edge of the staircase. The staircase area extends another 4.5 feet for that total wall side to equal 18 feet. Basically, this master bedroom is a 21’ x 18’ room. We took measurements of other things in the room as well to give you a better sense of the spacing in this room. The patio door is 5 feet, 3 inches. The wall space under the balcony between the two doors (one door for bathroom and one door for closet) is 9.5 feet. Finally, our ceiling slants downwards in this room so that at the highest point where the balcony is located, it is about 16 feet high and slopes down to the fireplace wall to a height of 9 feet. We greatly appreciate everyone’s input so far. You have all provided valuable information for us to consider.
  • kathy
    11 years ago
    I still like the idea of building a wall to make room within a room. With 13 ft (6" for the new wall) from this wall to your fireplace wall, you have lots of room for a 80" long bed with room to move around and still room for whatever surrounds your fireplace.
    Various dressers, if needed in main room, can be under that funky light fixture and on new wall behind bed or bewtween bath and closet.
    You have tons of room! Draw the room carefully on grid paper, measuring all your window/door openings. Then cut out scaled furniture pieces, lay them on your grid and start making the jigsaw puzzle work.
    Have fun with it.
  • bevballew
    11 years ago
    Does she even need to build a wall. Why not just have the bed situated in the room and maybe a half wall. I am no decorator, just thinking of another factor. I love windows myself as it brings the outside in, but I realize with all those windows and sleeping in the room they need window coverings. With a fp in the room they could have a small seating area to read or relax as they look at the outdoors. Just some thoughts.
  • Carolina
    11 years ago
    I think we are all talking about a half wall :-) Or at least about one that doesn't go all the way up to the ceiling.
  • PRO
    By Design EM
    11 years ago
    I like the idea of floating a wall also if you have enough width in the room. If you could do it under the balcony you may be able to open up the closet/bath area and have the divider wall as a transition to the bathroom/closet. Another option may be to close off 1 door to the bath/closet and have that entry combined. That would depend on your bath layout also. I think floating a wall is the easiest and least expensive option. Incorporate it into the headboard and the height would be determined by the placement. i think you could also do this with the bed facing the door to the outside and the wall would then be floated out from the entry door from the hallway and then you would not see the bed from down the hallway and vice versa. This space would be difficult to use however, maybe it could be wide enough for a bookshelf on the reverse side of the bed wall and a chair or chaise for reading.