Basic Bedroom Design

Today's busy lifestyles demand that a bedroom is a place to come home to, to kick back, lay on the bed, turn on the remote and unwind. Bedroom suites in newer homes are packed with amenities ranging from entertainment centers to mini refrigerators--details you can add to any bedroom if you employ some decorating ingenuity. Applying what you love while decorating is the most important part of designing a bedroom and can be simple to do with the wide choices of colors, fabric, and ready made bedding available.

First ask yourself if you are formal or casual. If you are formal, the placement of your bed is very important, as a bed will always serve as the focal point.  In a formal bedroom, a bed that is placed along a wall or between two windows and then flanked with matched lamps and nightstands underscores the upscale ambiance (Note: Always allow 75cm/3 feet around the bed for circulation). Be sure to balance accessories such as wall art in a uniform pattern around your bedding to maintain an organized and stately feel. For storage, Armoires are always a great choice, saving space for your computer and other electronic equipment.  It is important that your entertainment center, which might hold your television, knick knacks, or even a mini refrigerator, has doors that close when not in use.

If you are relaxed, and more keen for a casual ambience, you may lean toward looser, asymmetrical room arrangements. Move the bed to one side of the room or angle it headfirst into a corner. Placing furniture on the diagonal can make rooms look larger and free up floor space for a desk or chair. Balance an off center bed with a armoire or other large pieces of furniture.

Whether your sleep space is large or small, always create your floor plan first. Measure your room and major furnishings, then sketch it all out on paper.  Use these design tips:

• Always consider the size of your bed. Larger beds can be placed in a room with built-in closets.  A bed's visual size is determined more than by its dimensions.
• Size your nightstands by your bed's mattress height.
• Avoid placing a bed close to a door.
• For easy making of your bed, allow at least two feet on both sides.
• Allow at least 36 to 40 inches in front of dressers for use.
• Add a high boy, armoire or a dresser/mirror combination to a wall of built-in drawers.
• If you have space for  freestanding storage, consider turning the closet into a home office with a built in desk and shelves.
• Scale up furnishings, with functional larger pieces that can handle practical needs and can help you avoid clutter.

Your bedlinens will be the principle source of furnishings in your bedroom. Devotion to minimalism and comfort may mean paring down to beautiful, yet clutter free basics. Start with eye-catching bedding. Labels are important! You always get what you pay for when buying linens and furniture. Furniture, when taken care of, can last forever, and your bedding you want to last until your next decorating change. Brands such as Thomasville Bedding, Croscill Home Fashions, Veratex Bedding, and Home Source Linens produce high quality bedding that will hold their color and look brand new ten years from now. An antique Victorian settee and handsome secretary team with a classic bedding pattern can be as easy as choosing the color of the following elegant bedding that will blend great with any Victorian formal room. Here are just a few bedding patterns that you can view that will prove to be successful: Luminous by Croscill Home Fashions , Harvest Manor Gold or Harvest Manor Garnet, by Croscill. Regency by Croscill Home Fashions, Bentley Bedding by Thomasville Bedding, Cherrington Bedding by Thomasville Bedding, Josephine, and Vienna Bedding by Veratex