Just changing the headboard can alter the mood in your bedroom, expand its the sense of space and recast the room’s style into something totally new.
An upholstered headboard, for example, can make a room warmer and cozier, said interior designer June Shea of Shea Studio Interiors
She took a formal and old world bedroom and transformed its style to elegant contemporary simply by changing the headboard. She used a geometric design with camel-colored ultrasuede and buttons done in a contrasting brown to cover a headboard that towered over the bed.
“It added an element of drama with the exaggerated height,” she said.
To determine how big to make an upholstered headboard “a guideline would be short enough to hang a picture (at good viewing height) above the headboard or to make the headboard the focal point by taking it above the height where a picture would hang,” Shea said.
Kelley Proxmire, a member of the Washington Design Center Hall of Fame, said she encourages her clients to go taller, not smaller.
“Many of my clients, when updating their bedrooms, are hesitant to make their covered headboards significantly taller, but I think taller headboards can add an important element of proper scale to the room,” she said.
Proxmire creates stunning bedrooms by draping walls of fabric over upholstered headboards for a luxuriously sophisticated focal point.
“I’ve used many different types of fabrics. They include, but are not limited to, raffia, linen, cotton, upholstery weight wovens and indoor/outdoor fabrics,” Proxmire said.
Indoor/outdoor fabrics lend themselves to easy cleaning as the fabric is acrylic. Proxmire said she especially likes these durable fabrics in a child’s room for a headboard and chairs.
“I’ve also slip-covered upholstered headboards,” she added.
When choosing fabric designs it is best to avoid larger prints. “Patterns that are small and repetitive may be advisable over large distinctive and multicolored prints,” Shea said. “However, the nice thing about a fabric-covered headboard is that it can be recovered should the color scheme change.”
Once fabric and pattern are selected, coordinate the headboard with other materials in the room, such as wallpaper, linens and lampshades.
“The headboard should coordinate with all of the other elements in the room. The fabric used in the headboard can be reinforced by adding it to window treatments or decorative pillows,” Shea said.
“For a restful night’s sleep, I like bedrooms to be soothing, simple and relaxing,” Proxmire said. “To achieve this atmosphere, I think that there should be harmony in colors and patterns used in the room. This would necessitate coordination between headboards, bed linens and window treatments.”
Resources
June Shea
Shea Studio Interiors Inc.
www.sheastudio.com
Kelley Proxmire
Kelley Interior Design
www.kelleyinteriordesign.com
