Bed Time, Part VII: Draped and Canopied

I've gotten feedback from clients after introducing a draped bed into their lives, and they say they've never slept so well.  Is it the feeling of being in a cocoon?  Is it the feeling of that extra fluff that promotes a restful night?  Mind over matter?  Probably.  But, hey, it looks good, and that alone is a great reason.  Here are some heavenly examples:

Who wouldn't sleep well in this gossamer confection by designer Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz.  Metropolitan Home entitled this feature "Sheer Today; Gauze Tomorrow"...clever.  (photographer unknown)

The dark interior of this canopied bed adds to its sheltered effect...but check out the rug (actually, series of rugs.)  It's composed of round mats from IKEA, stitched together.  Pretty ingenious, huh?  (source unknown)

What perfection...a bedroom large enough to accommodate two queen beds, beautifully draped.  I also love the angles.  (source unknown)

The great David Hicks designed a villa in Portugal for close friends, and at their insistence included  bedrooms for himself and his wife (hmmm...I have to remember that.)  And here it is...lots of pattern and yards of fabric. (photographed by Oberto Gili for House Beautiful)

From the same villa (and same article) is this "fairy tale" of a bed.

In the late 18th century, tented bedrooms were all the rage.  This one is at Charlottenhof palace, a Christmas present given to Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia by his father in 1824.  It was featured in The World of Interiors in 1991 and photographed by Fritz von der Schulenburg.

Another historically significant bedroom is this lovely room in Leeds Castle.  In 1936 Lady Baillie commissioned Stephane Boudin of Maison Jansen to revamp the interiors.  Their collaboration lasted more than four decades, but began with his make-over of her bedroom, adding vibrant color to the paneling and a magnificent half-tester bed in ivory silk. (Traditional Home; photographer unknown)

Why is this bedroom by designer Mark Boone so appealing?  Perhaps because it evokes the comfort and familiarity an old movie.  The bed with its fretwork, the yards of toile and the tassels and trim all contribute.  But in this case, I think the knotty pine paneling gets equal billing.  I love the quote above, and in case you can't read it, it says, "One of the design cues adapted from Hollywood homes of the 1930s and '40s is the use of knotty pine in the master suite, where it looks both cozy and sophisticated."  (House & Garden; photographer unknown)

In this serene bedroom by designers Jose´Solis Betancourt and Paul Sherrill, the draping has an unexpected position and a spare beauty that give it an overall feeling of modernity.  (House & Garden; photographer unknown)

The severity of this platform bed is softened by sheer fabric hanging from the ceiling. (House Beautiful; designer and photographer unknown)

Yours truly actually slept in this lovely c.1820 four poster on one of my many visits to Charleston, South Carolina.  It adorned the guest bedroom of a family friend's old downtown home, which was decorated by Arnold Copper and featured in House & Garden.  It was many years ago, but I imagine I slept pretty soundly, perhaps dreaming that I was Scarlett O'Hara.  (photography by William Waldron)

The "Bed Time" series will conclude (for now) with next week's post, which will feature unique beds, many of which are of bit over the top.  You'll enjoy it, but for now thanks for reading, everyone!

Bed Time, Part VI: A Bit of Design Ingenuity

One of the most fun -- and challenging -- aspects of the interior design profession can be summed up as "thinking outside the box."  It involves problem solving and coming up with new uses for items that are completely unrelated.  Beds are fertile ground for this.  Take a look:

This very large and distinctive Greek Revival mantle piece became a beautiful headboard.              (source unknown)

An understated iron bed gets a shot of gravitas with a hand-painted antique screen.            

(House Beautiful; designer and photographer unknown)

I don't know how safe it is to have those vases perched on its shelves, but otherwise using an antique bamboo hall tree as a headboard is pretty ingenious.  (source unknown)

The imminently talented Jeffrey Bilhuber topped off this opulent headboard with a gilded and mirrored piece that he believes was originally a valance in a grand old country estate.  (photographed by Pascal Chevalier for House & Garden)

These Deco-style mirrored headboards are so sophisticated...and would be so easy to recreate.  I'd like to see them taller and made with antiqued mirror (oh, or how about reverse-painted glass?), but the idea is great.  (Country Living; designer and photographer unknown)

This is a particularly good idea for space-challenged living: a built-out wall does double duty as storage and as a headboard. (source unknown)

Slip-covering a bed is nothing new, but done this way it does look charming.  It could also be useful to camouflage an ugly head and foot board.  (Martha Stewart Living; photographer unknown)

In a difficult, narrow space, Architect Lee Mindel shows his design savvy by positioning a pair of antique beds end to end.  (House Beautiful; photographer unknown)

I had to save this for last.  For her own Miami pied a terre, designer DD Allen used hula skirts to hide a bed frame.  (photographed by Steven White for Elle Decor) 

Are you wondering where the draped and canopied beds are?  Your wait is almost over.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Bed Time, Part V: Wood works

Traditionally, most people think of wood as the material used to make beds.  And wood works (sorry, couldn't resist.)  It can translate to modern or traditional, four poster, stained, painted, gilded...as you'll see below.

There's a haunting beauty to this once grand room, which is set off by this amazing antique bed.  (Old House Journal; photographer unknown)

This antique beauty graces the bedroom of one of my favorite clients.  (photo by Michael Kraus)

This Art Deco bed looks great in mahogany, but it could also be beautiful upholstered in a great fabric with a beautiful trim or nailheads used for the detail. (source unknown)

Another unique Art Deco bed, this one in limed oak, resided in the former Manhattan apartment designed by Christopher Ciccone for his famous sister Madonna.  It was featured several years ago in Architectural Digest.  (photographer unknown)

This handsome wood and cane bed was designed by Jacques Granges and produced by the venerable John Widdicomb company, which, sadly, closed in 2002.

This dramatic ebonized wood and rush bed is, happily, still available through Artifacts.  It's a great interpretation of a classic look that somehow (perhaps due to its scale) feels modern.

Another example of a classic shape that feels right at home in a more modern aesthetic...after all, it's in a guest bedroom of Holly Hunt, the doyenne of chic modernism.  (Elle Decor; photographer unknown)

This pretty pained bed in a Manhattan bedroom by Justine Cushing just oozes charm.  (House & Garden; photographer unknown)  

This lovely cyprus bed was originally two narrow twin beds, which I had joined together.  It's German, circa 1870s, and was most likely originally painted.  (photo by Michael Kraus) 

I've saved this glamour girl for last.  It's silver-leafed and fabulous!  Designer Lisa Bowles used this high style Regency/Chinese Chippendale hybrid in a designer showhouse in the Hamptons.  (Hamptons Cottages & Gardens; photographer unknown)

Still more beds to come....Thanks for reading, everyone!

Bed Time, Part IV: Metal Detection

This post is dedicated to all the mothers out there who tucked us in, read us bedtime stories and then tirelessly nagged us the next morning to get up, get dressed and by all means make our bed!  Happy Mother's Day!


There's a whole range of metals that have been used to create beds.  Its versatility makes it perfect in traditional or modern environments.  It can be bent, textured, painted, polished, patinated.  Enough choices for you?  Take a look.

Sleek, polished and sophisticated, this custom nickel bed is by designer Kerry Joyce.  The extra height gives it  drama; the upholstered headboard gives it softness.  (source unknown)

Here's another extra-tall custom bed that is made of wrought iron, forged to resemble tree branches.  It is softened by the upholstered headboard and the soft draping.  (source unknown)

This Italian campaign bed is not custom made, but has great style.  It's from Anthropologie.

 This wonderful bed was the center piece of a 1980s show house in New York.  It's made of copper tubing like you find in plumbing supply houses (who knew?)  Get out your welding equipment for a great weekend project.  (Metropolitan Home; designer and photographer unknown)

This good looking bed actually could be recreated by a handy homeowner.  Brass rods are suspended from the ceiling with what appears to be curtain hardware.  The bamboo drapery rings (nice touch) are used to attach the bed drapery.  (House Beautiful; designer and photographer unknown)

Designer Alessandra Branca evokes the spirit of David Hicks in this spare beauty made of iron and slipcovered in a muslin-like fabric.  Very chic.  (source unknown)

This striking Mexican headboard made of pressed tin belongs to designer Kishani Perera (pictured) who had it gilded to add even more drama.  (photographed by Joe Schmelzer for House Beautiful)

This charming Empire style iron bed designed by Jan Barboglio has traditional roots but could be right at home in a more modern setting. (source unknown)

This has to be one of the most beautiful beds of all time.  It's Neapolitan, 19th century.  Its steel frame is embellished with serpents entwined on the headboard and the Greek key motif on its head and foot boards.  Architect Patrick Naggar used it in a wonderfully classical house in Connecticut.   (photographed by Jacques Dehornois for House & Garden)

More beds next time...sweet dreams, and thanks for reading, everyone!

Bed Time, Part III: Headboards that Strrretch

Self-consciously modern, low slung and hip: headboards that extend past the bed make their own kind of statement.  See for yourself.

In a Manhattan apartment by Franklin Salasky, everything is incorporated into this ultra chic headboard, right down to the light switch!  And it all seems to float.  (House Beautiful; photographer unknown) 

A similar feel, but more simplified, is this long headboard in a Chelsea apartment designed by Corinne Gilbert (photographed by Miguel Flores Vianna for Elle Decor)

Lots of good design going on with this enveloping headboard by designer Maya Williams.  Love the shape and the nailhead trim.  And the raffia wall gives it a casually chic backdrop.  (Coastal Living; photographer unknown)

This is a clever idea that John Saladino used to take advantage of a ledge that runs the width of this painting studio turned bedroom. He's taken his signature channel-quilted blanket and fashioned a padded headboard that extends past the bed to work with the scale of the room.  (photographed by Dominique Vorillon for House Beautiful)

Here's a another elongated effect, but in limed oak.  The whole bed/ bedside tables/ dado seem to be of one piece.  It's a great look that's very smart and very masculine. (source unknown)

The iconic design of George Nakashima is right at home in this bedroom. (source unknown)

This is a rosewood and shagreen (gasp!) bed, circa 1928, by Art Deco design firm Dominique.  It stretches; it soars; it pretty much knocks it out of the park.  And for a couple hundred-thousand (+?)  dollars, it can be yours as well.  (Elle Decor)

Of all the headboards in this section, this Parisian marvel is the only one that's not modern.  But it is extra wide; it's also extra tall -- and it's layered...and it's fabulous!  (photographed by Alexandre Bailhache for House & Garden)  

More headboards to come...

Thanks for reading, everyone!