I'll Say it Again- I Love Canopy Beds

We all have our weaknesses, for some it is chocolate, for others it is fashion, for me it is canopy beds. I think very few things will create the drama and sense of presence that a canopy bed will. The one in the image above I did in a beach house, and I have always wanted to find a use for that Clarence House Seaside Toile, here, accented with persimmon it's the perfect choice. The good thing about doing a bed like this is that when you are done, the statement is made. You can see in the background, that on the windows, I just used a split bamboo shade, there was no competing with this bed.

This kind of thing is actually pretty easy to do on your own as well, just be warned though it takes lots and lots of fabric, and you may never leave your bedroom again. There are some great tips on About.com that will walk you through the process. But here are some tips from me to keep in mind:

• Try to find a strong color for the inside lining of the bed, it will make it feel even cosier.
• If you want something that is lighter and more exotic feeling, try making the bed out of a sheer fabric, it will be sheer and sexy.
• Don't be afraid of pattern, the bed is already making a big statement, now is no time to be meek.
• One of the beauties of a bed like this, is that it creates a room within a room, so don't be afraid of putting your bed in the middle of your room, it could be an amazing effect.

More Kids than Room?

So many times people see things in magazines that are way more than they can afford or can achieve. Often it's just a matter of space. So my post today concentrates on a home that I did, where space was a real issue. The homeowner had three girls that needed to sleep in the same room, quite a design challenge, because they made it very clear that they did not want to make it feel like a dorm room. So I designed this pair of canopy bunk beds. The kids love them, it allows the room to feel "girly" and still gets a lot of them into a relatively small space.

Here are some tips on kids rooms where space is a big issue:

• Think vertical! Bunk beds are great, or raise the bed and put a study area underneath
• Baskets. baskets and more baskets. Try to use baskets for storage, you can see inside without taking it all out, and its easier than drawers to allocate to each child, so they are not inclined to just rummage through everything.
• Use flexible options as much as possible. For instance bean bag seating can be pushed aside when not needed, giving floor space as required.
• When space is limited, go with lots of color, it will help make the inevitable chaos, look like it was meant that way :)

Good Luck, and Happy Friday!

Canopy Beds

There are very few things in life that bring me as much pleasure as sleeping. Lazy Sunday mornings in bed with the paper and my dogs is one of the highlights of my week, so it should come as no surprise that I have a lot of strong opinions about beds. One of my all time favorite things is the Canopy Bed, the way it creates the sense of a room within a room, is, in my opinion, a sense of intimacy and security that is hard to create in any other way. Pictured above is a bed that I did for an English style house and i think it captures the essence of what i am talking about.

Here are some tips about Canopy Beds:

• I like to use a stronger color on the inside of the bed, it helps to create a "womb-like" feel when you are inside. In the bed shown above, the outside fabric is a silk taffeta, then I lined the inside with a lighter shade of the same thing, and then added a third lining of a shimmering gold silk sheer, on which I had sewn, small imitation pearls, you can't help but feel like royalty when you are inside.
• Another approach is to make the whole thing from a wonderful sheer, that way the whole bed is translucent, this can help create an almost "safari" like feel, or at least a tropical environment.
• When building these beds, it is my preference to take them all the way to the ceiling, and this is for a number of reasons. I think it helps the scale of the bed, I like the verticality of this approach. It also helps when the bed is attached to the ceiling, because the hangings are attached also at the ceiling and therefore you don't need corner posts, which I think is good, especially if you have children who like to take a flying leap at the bed!

I hope that this post inspires you to create your own bed fantasy....sweet dreams!