Consider the master bedroom. For some, it’s a sanctuary, a personal retreat that spells relief. For others, it serves as a jammie-friendly extension of the office. It’s a room where you sleep, to be sure, but lounging, enjoying a movie or dining are common.
No matter what the size of the space, the bed looms large, so it has a lot to do with the room’s overall decor. Whether the bed frame is an 18th-century four-poster, an espresso-hued, streamlined wood platform or an upholstered headboard studded with nailheads, simply changing the bedding instantly affects the mood.
“New pillows and bedding are an easy and affordable way to make a bedroom feel sensuous,” says Mitchell Gold, whose company, Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams, recently introduced a bedding line sold at Bloomingdale’s and at their own freestanding stores.
But when it comes to dressing the bed, it’s complicated. That’s because there are so many questions to answer and such a huge range of styles. Add to that, the confusion over thread count (number of threads to the square inch; a lower number generally has a more course “hand” or feel).
Do you gravitate to the pristine, spalike vibe channeled by crisp white linens? Do you prefer traditional toiles, flamboyant florals or bold patterns in Caribbean island hues? Would you like to be swept away in imagery that conjures a Tuscan villa, a Cotswolds cottage or a hunting lodge? Are you a fashionista who savors seasonal changes or someone who doesn’t take it all too seriously, opting for sleeping on sheep (yes, flannel), bugs, chandeliers, roosters, silly ogres, fish, night owls or guitars (all available at Garnet Hill)?
There’s an app for you, in a price range from under $50 to thousands of dollars. How you feather your bed depends on whether you’re soothed by quiet colors, exhilarated with brights or like pure, undyed, pesticide-free organic cotton. And don’t worry if you don’t know how to make a bed — even YouTube has how-tos, some done by pros and others simply hilarious.
One easy if not vanilla approach is to match everything. It’s especially calming when the colors are neutral or muted, such as pale blue, green and lavender. This look can be very beautiful when using varying shades of the same color, one up/one down, and introducing textures as well as ornamentation.
Take a page from the Eileen Fisher Home spring collection by Garnet Hill. Shown in mostly monochromatic groupings that include pale cucumber green, peach blossom, sherbet-y nectar and deep rhubarb, the bedding combines fine-quality down, organic cotton, wool and silk in graceful teamings that feature button tufting and luxe weaves.
Of course, simple, elegant white-on-white satiny bedding — expected with turndown service at resorts and spas — still has enormous appeal.
“(That) hotel bed,” says Lisa Rosenberg, co-owner with her husband, Robert, of Arrelle, a luxury linen retailer in Chicago, “is more streamlined, with fewer decorative pillows. It is more about comfort and practicality, about nesting and making it feel like you’re on vacation at home.”
Playing off white can add a fresh note. Purchase a new duvet cover or comforter to spark existing sheets. A patchwork pattern or multicolored floral, especially in a large scale, allows for expanding the sheets’ palette, as you can play off of the colors in the print. Some of the splashy mega florals — like the vivid orange or raspberry gerbera daisies that Isaac Mizrahi did a few years back for Target — change the dynamic. Even a medium-scaled palm or leaf design in vibrant green-on-white lends punch to plain whites.
“There is not just one hot trend,” says design mogul Joe Ruggiero. “The options are dizzying. . . . Redecorating is as simple as switching out color and patterns.
