apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

So it got us to thinking about how much better the bedroom feels when the first thing you notice is the bed. Here's how we make the bed a focal point:

1. Color and Texture: Use a mixture of sheets and blankets to draw attention to the bed. Like the photo from Jen's House Tour up top, a mixture of fabrics on the headboard, pillows and bedspread in the same color palette make the bed pop off a plain white wall.
2. Keep Clutter to a minimum: This is what we learned this weekend. Piles of things around the bedroom distract from relaxing and they make the whole room feel messy. Follow these habits we've been building since January and see if it doesn't improve your sleep!
3. White: For us, we like a sea of white to sleep in. Because we have other colors in the bedroom the white is actually a contrast. And plain white sheets are minimal, modern and serene.
4. Center the Bed: We like to be able to get in or out of th ebed on either side, so the bed is centered against a wall. Sometimes this isn't possible because of doorways or windows, but sometimes you can actually use a window to center a bed on. Just get some nice curtains. We also like what Genevieve and Maxwell did: centering their bed on the old fireplace painted white.
5. Have a headboard. The best way to center the attention on the bed is to anchor it with some kind of headboard. It doesn't have to be expensive or involved. It can be as simple as painting a rectangle above the bed. Here are some of our favorite DIY headboards:
DIY Tufted Headboard
DIY Mirrored Headboard
Wallpaper Headboard from Martha Stewart
Best DIY Headboard Inspiration 2009
Maxwell's Painted Headboard