All You Need is Candles and Music...

Master bedrooms are usually the last on the list to be decorated, but they shouldn't be.  Think about how many hours you spend in your bedroom sleeping, getting dressed, watching television, reading a book or other things.  I love my bedroom and one of my favorite feelings is realizing it's a "stay at home day" and I get to stay in the bed, drink my coffee and read for a little while.  It's definitely my oasis and it can be yours - not my bedroom, but your own, unless you're single and rich.

Fabrics in a master bedroom can be a little more luxurious than in other rooms, as well as lighter in color.  How extreme you get all depends on your lifestyle; pets, children or how messy your spouse is.  Let's start with the bed.  Pattern is nice, but sometimes between a comforter, dust ruffle and pillow shams, it can get a tad overwhelming.  I'm a huge fan of styling the bed with a solid colored coverlet and using pattern on the duvet at the end of the bed and in the pillows at the head.

This excellent example from Gary Riggs Home shows a great use of color and pattern, but it's not too much.  The lavender coverlet helps tone down all the pattern from the duvet and pillows.

This traditional bed from Horchow is a great example of how the white matelasse coverlet helps break up all the blue and white pattern.  This may be more throw pillows than you need, but a nice example.

This bed from Annsley Interiors uses the same fabric for the duvet, pillows and dust ruffle.  Because of the lighter colors, it's still soothing and relaxing for a master bedroom.

 

In this bedroom, my client didn't want a bulky duvet at the end of her bed, so we ordered fabric to match the pillows and fabricated a throw blanket.  A great way to bring in pattern and it's cost effective!

Obviously every bedroom needs a bed, night stands and some sort of clothing storage.  It's classic and simple to use a matching pair of night stands, but think about doing something different on each side of your bed.  

Enchanted Home used a desk as a night stand.  I love this idea for many reasons.  I can imagine sitting here making my list for the day or working on bills.

These mismatched night stands are very different, but by using matching mirrors and lamps, it helps bridge the gap between the styles.  It almost looks like a his and hers.  By Laura Martin Bovard

If you have room for a chair or two, then definitely create a comfortable seating area.  Most of us don't have room for a totally separate seating area, so take advantage of the space at the end of your bed with either small chairs, a loveseat or a chaise lounge.

Love these chairs and how they float in the room from the HGTV Showhouse bedroom.

Now these chairs from Spinnaker Development's model look way more comfortable than the ones featured above.  I'm also a big fan of this neutral color palette.

    
Finally, let's talk about lighting.  Having a the right lighting is super important in a master bedroom if you plan on doing any reading or getting dressed for the day.  You don't want to leave the house with two different colored socks on do you?  I have lamps on each side of my bed, as well as one on my chest of drawers.  When I finally get a great chair for the corner, I'll add a lamp here as well.  If you can live without a ceiling fan, I highly suggest having a beautiful chandelier installed in your bedroom - with a dimmer.  Your room will be totally transformed by doing just this one thing, I promise!

I saved this photo from a life's design as the last room shot because I love it so much.  The bedding, upholstered headboard, the bench and of course, that to die for chandelier.  Takes my breath away!

Here's what I would put in my bedroom.

Or maybe this one would look better?

If you are ready to tackle the design of your master bedroom, give me a call.  I would love to help you!

Thanks for reading,
Jennifer