Whether it was an intentional plan or just something you didn't have another place for, using an unexpected piece of furniture in the bedroom gives the space instant interest. You should still probably have a bed in there if you actually want to use it as a bedroom, but all other functional needs could be served by a variety of furniture pieces you may have never thought of. We spotted a bunch of examples of unexpected furniture pieces in Apartment Therapy house tours; do you have something unexpected in yours?
TOP ROW:
1) Dining side chair, as spotted in Zoe & Nick's Cozy One Bedroom. Not too bulky and functional for sitting and for stacking and hanging things on, this might be seen more often in the dining room, but we sure like it used in a bedroom.
2) Outdoorsy Chairs We spotted an outdoorsy-looking side chair in Dana & JB's Single Family Home + Studio Gem tour. Of course, their excellent use of a matching color palette makes this chair seem right at home.
3) Art Shelves We usually spot these types of set-ups in hallways and living rooms, so seeing it over the bed in Andrew & Paul's Boys, Blues and Kennel Club gives a real formality to the space.
4) Coffee Table Okay, so this isn't so much a coffee table in the bedroom as a studio apartment, as in Paul's Perfectly Suited Studio, but you can see how riveting a coffee table looks in proximity to other bedroom furniture.
5) Cool Planters You don't always see a lot of plants in the bedroom, and you usually don't see plants hanging in planters, which makes the one we spotted in Jose’s Super Small & Stylish 275 Square Foot Apartment all the more neat.
BOTTOM ROW:
6) Office desk We're usually advocating not having your home office in the bedroom, but can't help but like the simple desk we spotted in a bedroom in David & Megan's Storefront Live/Work Loft.
7) Cool, geometric mobiles We love the small art piece we see in Steven's Relocated Beach Cottage bedroom.
8) Giant, over-sized, vintage chairs Bigger can sometimes be better when it comes to infusing your bedroom with some over-sized vintage interest, as seen in Kirsty & Phil's House of Little Treasures.
Images: 1: Zoe & Nick's Cozy One Bedroom; 2: Kyle Freeman; 3: Patrick J. Hamilton; 4: Mat Sanders; 5: Bethany Nauert; 6: Jason Loper; 7: Bethany Nauert and 8: Kirsty Gungor
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Bought an old rectangular coffee table on Craigslist- painted it and put it in my son's bedroom so he could build/display his Lego creations.
Worked out great & keeps the Legos off the floor (and from being imbedded in my feet!) It's much easier to clean his room too.
I use an unupholstered dining side chair in my guest room like that, too, and also as a step stool to reach the closet and walls high shelves. My castered linen chest can double as seating.
The rooms are lovely, but I thought the title was a bit of a stretch. Other than the coffee table, the other items don't seem out of place. I was expecting to see a lawnmower or a signed NASCAR car hood on the wall.
As far as chairs, we usually have one in our bedroom for getting dressed in the morning or to place clothes that will get worn the next morning.
I like almost all of these ideas except for the last one. That giant chair makes the room look like a dated college dorm room, I'm sorry.
I agree with MidwesternMom. A chair in the bedroom is hardly news. Same goes for a desk...The coffee table one? It's a studio...
The pew? That would be worthy of this headline!
I am a little confused by the title. These (except for the coffee table, and that isn't really part of the bedroom) don't seem to be that unusual.
Great pics! Love em' all!
I thought the bowl chair was very unexpected for AT to showcase....
I loved my papasan chair that I had for years. If they weren't so tacky and space consuming, I'd probably get another.
I, too, am a little bewildered that a papasan counts as a "vintage chair". Don't they still sell them at Pier One?
Nothing in this is unexpected, but a lot of those rooms are cute
I agree with amy walters - I liked all of the pictures!
Silly and "sensational" title.
I'd like to see an open outdoor umbrella with matching outdoor chairs or a windmill in these rooms to get excited.
I absolutely love the mobile.
Oh geez. Papasan chairs are now considered "vintage"?!?
Any ideas where that great mobile comes from?
DWR still sells Eames furniture... so is that not vintage either? Just so everyone knows - the Papasan was introduced into the US in the mid-50s, so yes. It would be considered vintage.
I, for one, have a papasan in our tv room instead of an arm chair, along with a, 60s' diner table for playing games and doing puzzles. It lends a really loungeyvvibe to the room... and it's the chair all of my friends fight over! I have a photo of it here, on the off chance anyone wants to see:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mhines1/4401590080/in/set-72157623416092393/
oh, and btw - the room looks different now, but that was about a month after we moved in, so forgive my lack of drapes, etc. We also replaced that couch with a rust-colored one.
Really AT? I agree with imsovintage, there isn't anything unusual or unexpected in these rooms
The "oudoorsy" chair is actually an MR Dining chair by Mies van der Rohe.
I have a dining chair in my bedroom both as a design element and to allow for a bit more space in my small dining room.
I would hardly call this "unexpected".
I also think a nice "statement curtain" is really important to make an impact in a room. There are so many amazing styles and textiles out there from Ikea, Anthropologie, Etsy, etc... just plop it up with a curtain track (got mine at Curtain-Tracks.com) and let the curtain speak for itself and make its contribution to the room.
what! only two look good
where is the planter?
in my opinion a chair isn't really an unexpected element in a bedroom.
I love furniture and accessories (though the ones in this post seem pretty normal to me.)
I have a camel saddle in my bedroom with a full length mirror propped up on it (people never know what it is) and some antique suitcases as a bedside table. Use whatever you have that works, I say.
I asked it in the original post, and I ask it again - where is that mobile in the orange house's bedroom from?!
I clicked through the photos before reading the list of "unexpected" elements.... I couldn't recognize anything in the photos as unexpected.
But yes, they are definitely well designed rooms!!