Dreams & Ideas

Ever since writing about designer Michael S. Smith's extravagant beds and bedrooms (here), I've been thinking about how, when decorating our homes, we seem to spend the least amount of time and effort on our private spaces. After all, most visitors don't usually venture into these areas – and, often, the budget never seems quite enough to finish out every room just the way we'd like.

I don't know about you, but I get many ideas while dreaming or when I'm in that in-between twilight state. And, I recently read here that a good night's sleep can even help prolong life!

So, in the interest of scheming up some grand life-changing ideas or simply living a longer, healthier life, perhaps we should start making our bedrooms a priority in our home decorating plans.

Please click on any image for a larger view.

Vicki Archer found an old bed in a French antique shop, and decided to have the passementerie painstakingly removed and restitched to new fabric. Voilá, this dramatic headboard for the master bedroom of her mas in Saint Remy de Provence.
Photo by Carla Coulson, from "My French Life," Vicki's book about her adventures in Provence. Get a daily dose of this lady's charmed life over at French Essence.

For the master bedroom of an 1850s Connecticut farmhouse, antiques dealer/interior designer Lou Marotta transformed an 18th c Venetian settee into a headboard and bench and reupholstered both in lush orange mohair. Architect Sara Lopergolo designed the painted-wood room divider with steel-and-bronze wall lights.
Photo by Laura Resen for Elle Decor, 05.04

A linen drapery helps define the secluded alcove for an elegant bed in this French-inspired room.
No source information available.

Controlled chaos in photographer Oberto Gili's farmhouse in Piedmont, Italy.
House & Garden, 11.05

Essentially a minimalist space, the drama of a supersize photomural takes this bedroom into the realm of theater. The image – what appears to be Roman soldiers and Mercury racing around on horses in a coliseum – may not be the most relaxing, but perhaps it would encourage a fast start in the mornings! Skip the coffee!
Designer Raji Radhakrishnan's home in Washington, DC, from Met Home, 12.08.

Lisa Fine, of the Irving & Fine clothing line, created an elegant Parisian apartment in colors as luscious and tasty as fresh fruit sorbet. Multi-talented Lisa is a writer, editor, and rug and fabric designer.
Photo by Simon Upton, for Elle Decor 11.08.

The bedroom of garden designer Deborah Nevins feels like a conservatory, with a 19th c iron tester bed flanked by a pair of tall topiaries.
Photo by William Abranowicz for House & Garden, 08.03.

Your space doesn't have to be perfectly finished to be stylish. Scribblings on the roughly painted wall canvas and lettering on the exposed insulation panels in this room provide rustic accent for the fresh green floral-print bedspread.
Photo by minh + wass.

The Paris apartment of Vincent Darré combines old-world elegance with quirky references to the macabre. Many pieces from the Maison Darré furniture collection feature anatomical or skeletal themes. In this guest room, an antique operating-room lamp adorns the front of the bed canopy, and bedside consoles sport bone-shaped legs.
Photo by Alexandre Bailhache for World of Interiors, 11.08.

Designer Juan Montoya's Hudson Valley home. The iron bed and book towers are his own designs.
Photo by Pieter Estersohn for Elle Decor 06-07.04.

The upholstered headboard with "wings" adds structure to this room and brings down the scale of the large space, making the bed feel cozy – a bit like a room within a room. Designer Frank Roop started his career in fashion, and uses the same principles of couture for each interior project – using mostly antiques and his own furniture designs.
Image from Frank Roop.

How many wonderful things can be going on in one space? I imagine visitors might be lining up to stay in designer Thomas Burak's guest room. The lovely embroidered cashmere bed cover and pillow (on the chair) is by Holland and Sherry.
From House & Garden 10/04.

In the guest cottage of designers Stephen Sills & James Huniford, the bedroom features a steel Gothic bed, and an antique map of Paris on the wall behind.
Image by Thibault Jeanson from Dwellings, Living with Great Style by Stephen Sills & James Huniford.

Dare to be different, and float your bed in the center of the room. You really can't miss when it's an 18th c iron bed draped in white linen, in a Paris apartment. I'm intrigued by the mysterious flush doors on the back wall - are those window shutters?
Photo from Marie Claire Maison.

Why not use 19th c Indonesian carved-wood doors for a headboard?
Layers of texture are added by an asian rattan pillow, a Turkish suzani and subtle floral shams in this master bedroom of a Roman pied-á-terre.
Photo by Henry Bourne for Elle Decor, 4.04.

This iron bed, which makes me think of a delicate line drawing in space, is just one bedroom of seven at La Scuola, designer Mimmi O'Connell's house in Siena, Italy. Available for rent year-round – the property comes complete with houseman and cook.
Interior design by Mimmi O'Connell.

Candy-colors turn hip when combined with edgy art and dark accents. Oh, and a Picasso or so.
Photo from dwelling and design, original source unknown.

A solitary iron bed, in a room full of pairs.
Interior design by Mimmi O'Connell.

With that gorgeous wall of french doors, miles of silk draperies, and luxurious leather bergere and ottomon, who cares about the bed?!
Design by John Saladino.

With a room like this, I might want to read, eat and work here, too.
No source information available.

A guestroom designed by Nicky Haslam, for a home in the Swiss Alps. The walls are covered in an archive fabric specially created for NH Design, Arbre Indien Violet. This room is worldly and chic, with a Louis Vuitton duffel bag packed and ready to go at any moment!
Photo by Fritz von der Schulenburg for World of Interiors, 11.08.

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"Don't underestimate the freshness that an unexpected object will bring."
From Dwellings, Living with Great Style by Stephen Sills & James Huniford.
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