How to make your bed a decorative feature in its own right
Bedrooms are the one space in the house that can be purely personal in their interiors, since they only have to cater to their own occupants. The bed itself will be the centrepiece of the room, so why not take the opportunity to make it as stylish as possible? There are plenty of ways to do so, from inventive headboards to canopies and hangings, and we're particular fans of the charming box bed or bed nook, especially for spare rooms and children's rooms. Scroll down to see our favourite design ideas for eye-catching beds.
Michael Sinclair1/16This playful composition by Pandora Taylor at her London house is made up of wooden disks covered in Lewis & Wood’s ‘Rooksmoor Velvet’ in blue boy, toning with the ‘Aurora’ azure wallcovering from Calico.
Paul Massey2/16Solenne de la Fouchardière, creative and executive director of Ochre, opted for a palette of natural tones and textiles for her own bedroom at home in London, with a headboard in richly textured alpaca wool. The wooden rail and brass brackets tie in with the pared-back look and make the fabric easy to remove for cleaning.
JAMES MERRELL3/16Murals offer a versatile alternative to a headboard as they can be reimagined or refreshed over time. Here, ‘School House White’ has been used to create a trompe l’oeil against walls in ‘Breakfast Room Green’, both by Farrow & Ball.
4/16Headboards present a great opportunity to be creative with materials and dimensions. Part of a collaborative collection by Naturalmat with rug specialist Holmes Bespoke, this ‘Bellever’ design in hand-knotted wool and bamboo silk extends beyond the bed, giving a sense of depth.
Owen Gale5/16For the bedroom at their London house, Angus and Charlotte Buchanan of Buchanan Studio crafted an airy canopy using a lightweight aluminium frame layered with swathes of white linen. The fabric does not completely enclose the bed, which prevents the space from feeling too claustrophobic. A valance made of their own ‘Studio Stripe’ linen in the rose colourway enhances the romantic, feminine look of the room.
Alexander James6/16The bold patterned antique suzani that now lines the canopy of the four-poster bed was the starting point for this scheme by interior designer John McCall. Picking out the colours in the fabric, he chose Fortuny’s ‘Tapa’ cotton in bittersweet and warm white for the bed curtains and pelmet, and had the walls painted in a blue linen-effect finish by decorative artist Hughie Turner.
Owen Gale7/16Having patiently sourced enough of a discontinued Laura Ashley floral wallpaper to line the bedroom of her house in west London, designer Joanna Plant combined it with two complementary Bennison Fabrics: ‘Petites Fleurs’ for the headboard and ‘Chinese Paper’ for the wall hanging and curtains. As smaller-scale prints, the two fabrics introduce a subtle visual break without detracting at all from the enveloping feel.
8/16Naomi Astley Clarke has taken this box canopy up to the ceiling so it hangs at the same height as the curtain pelmet. Both are in the same onyx ‘Graffito’ cotton/linen by Kelly Wearstler, giving the illusion of a higher ceiling. The headboard and canopy lining in toning Designers Guild fabrics – ‘Varese’ ocean cotton velvet and ‘Manzoni’ aqua cotton/linen – tie the scheme together.
9/16Artists Graziano Farinaccio and Jenny Schenal – the duo behind Shhh My Darling design studio – have taken their characteristically imaginative approach to their own bedroom. Pink striped curtains create an intriguing juxtaposition with the antlers from which they are suspended, and with the antique portrait and framed taxidermy butterfly on the wall.
Celia Rogge10/16This blue and white striped room in Charlottenhof Palace in Potsdam, Germany, was decorated in around 1830, but the idea is timeless. Inspired by a Roman emperor’s tent, the fabric canopies appear to be a seamless continuation of the walls and ceiling, for a convincing and striking effect.
Alexander James11/16Studio Peake founder Sarah Peake selected ‘Chintamani Trellis’ wallpaper in rusty orange from Ottoline for the interior of this vibrant box bed in a young child’s bedroom in a south London house. Linen in the same distinctive Ottoline print has been used for the blind and the headboard, with trims in complementary colours adding to the fun yet considered look.
Simon Brown12/16Beata Heuman has introduced a theatrical flourish with a decorative surround in a dark blue from Dulux, contrasting with red ‘Drummond’ paint by Little Greene Paint & Paper and a blind in an Abbott + Boyd fabric. Never one to overlook practicality, Beata has added shelving and a clip-on light for reading.
Simon Brown13/16Proving that sometimes more is more, this room in a Berkshire house is almost entirely enveloped in Salvesen Graham’s ‘Great Check’ moss cotton/linen, allowing the bed to blend with the walls rather than dominating the space. However, when the curtains are drawn, that sense of being enclosed is retained.
14/16Selecting one material to run throughout a small space can help it to feel more spacious. Reclaimed pine boards once used by cheesemakers has been repurposed to box in the bed and line the walls, ceiling and floor. ‘Timber is the most widely salvaged material, so it is economically attractive,’ says Nicholas Hughes of Retrouvius, the studio behind this rustic scheme.
15/16This child’s bedroom devised by the interior design studio Turner Pocock makes ingenious use of space. The built-in bed is not only a cosy place to sleep, but also provides plenty of storage, including spaces for books under the steps. The bespoke joinery is painted in ‘Oval Room Blue’ by Farrow & Ball, enhancing the calm and restful feel.
16/16Often seen as problematic, the sloping walls and ceilings of attic bedrooms can offer myriad unexpected opportunities. In this project by Victoria von Westenholz, space has been carved out for a tiny bed, ideal for a young visitor. Complementing Colefax and Fowler’s ‘Ditton Stripe’ wallpaper, the tongue-and-groove panelling highlights the charming feature.
