Where you put your bed is dictated by a number of factors, from the floor space available and architectural features, such as a bedroom fireplace or a large window. Choosing the right reclaimed wood furniture and bed position is also about your likes, as well as the look you are choosing to create. Just how do you go about it?
Place the bed before all other bedroom furniture
The bed is usually the largest piece of bedroom furniture and one that has the most impact on how the room looks when everything else is in position. Place your bed where you want it and build the rest of the room around it, from the small chest of drawers to the wooden dressing table.
The traditional spot is…
Traditionally, the bed in the master bedroom is placed on the longest wall and in the centre. This frames the room and allows the rest of the rustic furniture to come together in a sense of symmetry and style. Frame it with bedside tables and maybe a wooden blanket box at the footboard of the bed and you have the perfect set-up.
If you fancy something different, read on…
The bed in front of the window
If you are lucky enough to be afforded a generous sized window or windows in your master bedroom, the placing of a king bed in front of it can create a romantic, yet edgy feel to the room.
If you are going for the bed-in-front-of-window placement, there are a few tricks to getting it right;
- This bed position works best when the window is tall and/or large so that light is not blocked too much by the bed. If the bed ‘swallows’ the light, consider if this what you want.
- Framing the bed is essential so it doesn’t look like you’ve put it there because there is nowhere else to put it. This means using curtains to frame the top end, complete with matching bedside tables. For drapes, consider using a blind in the window recess.
Face the focal point
Again, if you are blessed with an architectural feature in your room, placing your bed opposite or facing this is a great way to balance the room. From facing the Victorian fireplace to facing the large, ornate window with sloping ceilings etc., if you have a fixed focal point, make the most of it.
Consider Feng Shui
It is an ancient system of creating peace, harmony and balance in and around the home, and its principles can lend itself to the placing of the bed in the bedroom too. There is a principle called the ‘command position’ which means you place your bed in relation to the position of the bedroom door.
If you can, place your bed opposite the door. However, having said that, you may feel uncomfortable sleeping in this position. Within the Feng Shui system, it is important to understand that your feelings of comfort outweigh what the rulebook says.
The two-foot clearance rule
If you are struggling to place your bed due to dimension constraints, then you may need to spend some time moving it around until you get it in the space where it looks ‘right’ and it feels ‘right’.
There is a ‘rule’ – but aren’t they made to be broken? – that dictates a two-foot clearance around the bed, the minimum amount of space needed to walk around it.