apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I had my bed in front of my window all summer. It's great for air circulation... however, if your home is like mine and has incredibly drafty windows, do not try the bed in front of the window.

Also, beware of cats using your head as a launching pad to get onto the window sill.

I had my bed between two windows for a while, and because the "between" portion of the wall was kind of narrow, the bed overlapped the windows a little on either side. It looked really nice, and I actually got lots of compliments on the placement (I can't recall receiving any bed-placement compliments before or since).

If you look closely, the first photo is not of a bed in front of the window - That bed is in the middle of the room behind a half-wall, and there's a walkway between it and the window...

A bed in front of a window is considered bad feng shui, it's supposed to disrupt your love relationship(s).

Thanks Sparklebot - that explains a lot!

When I move into my new house in four weeks my bed will be placed in front of the large window due to the placement of the bedroom door and ensuite/walk in robes. Since I don't believe in feng shui that suits me just fine. I think it frames the bed nicely, especially with the right blinds and curtains.

bepsf--I was going to say the same thing. The first one has a window in the same room, that's all. It is not even remotely close to the bed.

AT writers/editors: can we please make 2009 the year of good articles supported by relevant photos? It seems the site has gotten "post-happy" over the last few months, with less attention to the quality of each feature and more to the volume (as with the "Look! Light fixture on the front porch" or "Look! Throw pillows used as sofa decoration" types of entries). LESS (when it's good) is sometimes MORE.

By the way Making It Lovely and This Young House have two examples of beds in front of windows that look AWESOME!

Not a good idea to place a bed beneath a window in earthquake country.

my bed is in front of the window which i love because its right in the center of the wall, so the bed is then perfectly centered with adequate room on each side for end tables AND as a bonus i don't have to worry about getting a headboard!

In my house all of the hot air registers are right under the windows. It constantly irks me because I like putting stuff under windows (including beds) but the forced air can affect my man's allergies. In the summer I usually move the bed under the window.

Personally I think it is nicer to lie in bed and look out the window. Most important is to make sure you don't have your feet facing the door, like in one of the pics here - that is very bad Feng Shui (they remove the dead this way).

If you're in an apartment on a high floor -- where you're absolutely sure no one is ever going to come in through the window -- then fine. But never on a first floor. It would be impossible to sleep every time there was an outside behind your bed.

ebrown has a good point -- my bed's under a window now, but that's because I no longer live in earthquake country... :)

Our bed is under the window because we have no choice! I wish it wasn't, but that's just the way the bedroom is laid out. Thanks for posting these photos!

Hm. My loft has sort of a quirky design to it but my bed is under my upstairs window. The window itself is only about two feet off the ground, so the top of my bed lines up perfectly with the window sill. Also, my bed is surrounded by three walls, so it fits perfectly into that area. So, I have all the remaining loft space for work/play.

I love it this way and all my friends agree it is the best arrangement. One friend even said if her bed were in the same position, she'd probably never leave it.

It's true, I feel so cradled. Feng shui be damned, I didn't have a love life when my bed was taking up the entire loft either.

I've tried my bed by the windows and I didn't like it there, due to the steam radiator being right next to it and I got a little burned once. I might try again in the summer because I like the idea. Also the way my apartment is laid out, in the four walls that are my bedroom, opposite the windows are all the closet doors. One wall is shared with a neighbor (he's quiet but upstairs from him plays loud music) and is visible when you walk into my small apartment. If I keep the head of my bed against the interior wall, you can't stare directly at the bed as soon as you walk in, you'll have to be inside the bedroom. Also under the window makes the rest of the furniture less optimally arranged, not the least of which is important is something to rest the tv on. I know, it's bad feng shui to face your bed away from the door, too, and I've also heard it's bad for your bed to be on the other side of the wall from the bathroom. How does that stuff work or is it just things that are bad are bad? Some part oogy-woogy, some part practical sense with some rationale, but go ahead and explain what that would be.

But sure, it looks nice if you can make it happen.

There are plenty of feng shui "cures" if you are forced to have your bed under the window...for example, having a high headboard can be a cure.

Oh no! I made sure the bed wasn't under a window, but now my feet face the door! Help!

I like the fresh breeze on my face, and I don't believe my bed's location has ever negatively affected my love life.

Side note: what is this bizarre earthquake paranoia so many AT posters seem to have? I have spent at least 30 years of my life 3-28 miles away from the San Andreas fault line. Nobody I know, myself included, decorates homes or ruminates on potential dangers based on an earthquake.

Things that must go in 2009: Feng Shui.

i just slept in a room with the headboard against a bay window last night, and i loved it - loved being bathed in light when I woke up. But that window faced out to a city street, which i think made it a more comfortable arrangement. At home we used to have our bed alongside the window and i slept terribly - i think it made me anxious to be so vulnerable (that window faced an infrequently used walkway, and we like to keep it open in the summer). We moved it across the room to face the window and now i sleep quite well, and love looking out at the trees in the morning.

i'm on the 3rd floor and have my bed against the window. i've had my bed on every single wall in my apartment in the last 4 years and always resisted putting it against the wall, even though it made the most sense for flow in my studio set-up. In the summer i'll be worried about the street noise and the slamming of the newspaper box across the street, but right now between a ceiling fan humming and a humidifier humming even louder....mama like....:)

feng shui is just rude. my bed is under a window and my feet face the door. 'they carry the dead out that way,' someone says?! creep! sometimes rooms naturally dictate where furniture needs to be placed. i don't think that furniture placement curses anything. lighten up! go get another crystal necklace for your toilet and leave the rest of us be.

Sorry mischief7--I have made decorating decisions with earthquakes in mind. No large, heavy art or mirrors hanging above my bed. Beds under windows are no big deal--just some broken glass, but I am opposed to heavy things falling on my head.

The huz is an insomniac. It would never work. The light, the noise - no way. And my cats would probably do like lemonader's.

I've always resisted putting any furniture against windows. It makes them hard to open, hard to look out... and it just looks really tacky if done wrong, which it usually is. I do like that top example, though.