5 Things Your Bedroom Designer Needs to Know
From my standpoint as an interior designer, the bedroom shouldn’t be an afterthought at the end of a long project. Although design work for the bedroom isn’t as intensive as for the bathroom or kitchen, your designer will nonetheless need to know a fair amount of detail to get this important room right for you.
In initial discussions, you will be well-served later if you share your wish list (what you want in your bedroom) and behaviors (what you do there, beyond the obvious). Let’s unpack these two important factors and add a few others.
Find an interior designer in the Houzz pro directory
The wish list can range from big moves, such as adding a new exterior door to access a private courtyard, to smaller details like wanting bedside wall lights or a recess for the ceiling-mounted curtain.
Take notes about your usual sleep patterns and how you would like these to be maintained or improved in your new bedroom. For example, if you read in bed, greater consideration will be given to a comfortable and soft headboard for you to lean back on, a bedside table to hold your books, and excellent task lighting for reading. If you like your room to be dark, then blackout curtains will be essential.
Find headboards in the Houzz Shop
What size is your bed? The size of your room dictates how big your bed can be. Do you need extra storage space in your bedroom? Then a lift-up storage bed or a bed frame with drawers would be ideal. Have a small bedroom? A bed on legs is often the way to go — being able to see beneath the bed adds to the feeling of space in the room and is considered excellent feng shui because it lets the chi (good universal energy) move more freely around the room.
Do you hang out in the bedroom in your downtime? A comfortable bedroom chair or window seat could be needed. Is your bedroom also your reading room? Add built-in shelves for your book collection. If you long for a quiet haven away from the rest of the house, work with your designer to create it.
Consider the style of the house too — is it traditional, modern, country or eclectic? Remember that the bed is a large item, so the bed linens you choose will be a dominant feature. Good design takes time and will evolve as you go through the process with your designer. But often the results are better than you expected, helping you to sleep well with sweet dreams.