Latest Features
Tell Us What You Think
Decorating a Bedroom for Two
You love each other, but do you love your master bedroom? Since the bedroom should really reflect both of you, we came up with tips on how to make the space special -- without skimping on either of your tastes.
When a couple gets stuck decorating their bedroom, Sherry Petersik, who blogs about design at Young House Love, will send them to the art store for inspiration. She'll tell them to find one painting or photograph that they both can agree on. Then she'll encourage them to build the design around the painting. "You have to start somewhere, anywhere," she says. "Maybe it's not a painting. Maybe it's a chair in your living room or a movie print that you both love. Just find something for inspiration." It usually helps grease the wheels and get couples ready for making choices together.
Rebecca Wilson, an interior designer based in Boston, says it's essential that a couple begin with a blank slate when redecorating their bedroom. "Many of my clients let clutter accumulate," she says. "They have exercise equipment in the bedroom or bills piled up on a desk." Clean out everything, then come up with fresh ideas for accents that mean something to both of you. Says Rebecca: "Something as simple as putting family photos in simple silver frames and grouping them together can give the room a cohesive, less cluttered feel."
The easiest way to do this: Avoid extremes, says Rebecca. Count out dark leather furnishings and anything printed with bows and flowers. When it comes to decorating for both of you, you want to be fair. "If you absolutely love floral," says Sherry, "you can interject them in throw pillows, a lampshade with a touch of pink or even by reupholstering your vanity seat." It's pretty emasculating to make your husband climb into a bed covered in pink daisies every night, she says.
Sherry and her husband's master bedroom (shown here) is a perfect example of a room that celebrates both of them. She prefers soft and girly things, he loves nature and geometric prints. So they incorporated both. Nature is represented in the jute rug underfoot and the plant that's helping to purify the air. While her hubby gets his geometric fix in the bedding, Sherry says they chose that bedding in a soft blue because it still felt girly to her. She injected large billowy curtains and a brown chunky mirror. When put together, the room is a true reflection of the both of them. "We love it in there," she says.
If you're having trouble agreeing, offer up a compromise. You choose the curtains and let him choose the rug. You can pretty much predict what he's going to pick anyway: a brown neutral. "Most of us can live with a nice brown neutral rug," says Sherry. "You don't need a pink or white rug."
"The great thing about paint is that you can mess it up and for $20 you can fix it with a new coat," says Sherry. In other words, experiment. If he's leaning toward chocolate, but you can't imagine anything but lavender, why not try both?
The key to choosing a paint color that will work for both of you is in the undertones. Make sure that whatever color you choose is the "muddy" or toned down version with lots of gray. What do I mean? See purple paint shown here. "Imagine your favorite shade of lavender – then dump a bunch of gray into it," says Sherry. "It becomes a soft neutral tone with a hint of lavender." Then both husband and wife get what they want. Photo: Flickr, reebob
You and your significant other get into bed, and both of you forget to turn out the light. Who's going to get up and turn it off? "It will start a war," jokes Sherry. "There's nothing more annoying than having to get out of bed." If you both have a sconce or table lamp next to you, it's easy to lean over and turn your individual light out. Crisis averted.
Another idea: Light your room with dimmers. Dimmers can help set the romantic mood, and it's often easy to agree on how bright or dark you want a room to be before bed. "It's critical to making a bedroom calm and inviting," she says. "This small luxury can make all the difference in how two people feel about the shared space." Photo: Flickr, dansays
If you're unsure what that means, here's a primer: tans layered with creams paired with chocolate furniture. (This is what Sherry did in her bedroom, also shown left.) Then you can throw an accent color on the wall or incorporate a splash of color in your throw pillows. If you're tired of creams and chocolates, try navy and gray tones. "The walls could be pewter gray with a couple of navy touches and pops of white or even raspberry," says Sherry. "It would look very sophisticated."
Gender-netural art is just as important as anything else on this list; an oversized print of Georgia O'Keefe's Jack in the Pulpit or a framed print of a Heman character (shown here) is probably not the best choice. Black and white photographs or abstract art are good compromises. Both can usually speak to both genders. "Black and white photographs is like painting the walls tan," says Sherry. "They're so neutral."
