In this month's Design Dilemma, our style steward, Cheryl Torrenueva of Home Heist and Restaurant Makeover, helps Pauline B. with a familiar problem for those who love big beds, but don't always have the right type of space: How to centre a king-sized bed on a wall that has one window and doesn’t look evenly distributed? Pauline owns a 16-foot wide mobile home in Texas (for winter getaways, fun!) and she's having trouble positioning the bed. Here's what she had to say:
From Pauline B.: "I am unable to center my king-sized bed in my 16' wide bedroom. We own a winter get-away mobile home in Texas which is 16 feet wide. The living room at the front of the mobile takes up the whole 16 feet across where everything looks evenly distributed, but the bedroom has a wall to wall closet along the side thereby cutting off 2 feet on one side with two windows on the opposite side. The problem is that the ceiling is vaulted along the center of the mobile home. I want to paint the walls, and I am wondering if I should ignore the ceiling and paint/make a faux headboard behind the bed. Painting the wood-tone strip the same as the ceiling would help. I wanted to make the headboard-wall the accent wall and paint it a different colour from the rest of the room. Would that just accentuate the fact that the wall is cut off by 2 feet? Any suggestions would be appreciated."
Cheryl suggests: This is where I can share my tricks from working on many HGTV shows where we had to create symmetry and balance from some of the most awkward rooms. Instead of highlighting the wall with colour, I would suggest starting with a neutral backdrop and paint out the wood strip the same colour as your wall. An upholstered headboard in a vibrant pattern would be a great way to create a focal point in your bedroom. Add accents with coordinating decorative pillows and throws.
Install a chunky decorative rod that spans the length of the room and get the matching curtain rings. These should be in white or off-white. Go for curtain panels that are a shade lighter than your existing wall colour, a neutral linen shade will help to soften the look and keep it feeling light and airy. Make sure to hang them so that they just brush the floor.
To create balance, hang a mirror that is roughly the same size as the window on the right hand side of the bed (position the mirror measuring the same distance from the floor and from the closet wall as your window).
Layer the curtain panels to cover the mirror and you instantly have the look of a second window! Don’t forget to leave some breathing space between the curtain panels and your furniture pieces. Now that you have a soft backdrop, add some punch with patterned bedding and decorative pillows. Check out this bedroom, below, from Colin and Justin's Home Heist for inspiration.
Hopefully, this will help to create some balance in your space!
Past Design Dilemmas with Cheryl:
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