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Couch or chair? Styling your bedroom

Kathleen Ostrander
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The bedroom is your personal oasis. It should be comfortable, cozy, not too fussy, and allow you to relax and regenerate. When it comes to styling the bedroom, it is important to choose a color palette that is soothing. Eclectic is fine, but don’t go overboard with accessories. You don’t want to get up every morning thinking about dusting. Make sure you apply decorating tips for your bedroom with the size of the room in mind.

Visualize furniture placement

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As a general rule of thumb, the bed should be placed opposite of the door. Wait — there’s a window there! No problem, you can still place the bed there. Just think of the window treatments as a gorgeous background for your headboard. If you’ve got a large room, don’t pick a tiny bed. The bed is your room anchor and main focal point. Get a bigger, higher headboard so a large room doesn’t overpower the bed.

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Now that you are an adult, you don’t want a mattress sitting on the floor. Get some legs on that bed frame — how about some nice stylized metal legs or chunky, woodcraft style, or maybe some slender, turned legs?

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An added bonus for a raised bed is you can tuck some storage boxes underneath and no one will see them.

Get two side tables. They don’t have to necessarily match. You can get a heavier (think two drawers or maybe cabinet doors) on one side. You can tuck a basket under one with extra linens.

Couch or chair?

If you have a small bedroom, the decision is already made — a comfortable chair. And if that means you have to splurge to get a lovely chair that is so comfy you sigh when you sit, get it. Think of it as a gift to yourself. If you have room for matching chairs, get a sweet little table and style a nice conversation area.

Do remember you need space for some lighting. A small lamp with some nice ambient lighting or even a pole lamp would be a great addition.

Couches set against a wall are for conversation areas. If you’ve got friends that drop by or a significant other who likes to sit and chat, a couch placed against a wall is perfect. Add texture and interest with a chunky knit throw, which is also a good idea to toss on a chair.

If you put a couch against a wall, then put a small couch or love seat at the foot of the bed. 

That is your sit-and-pull-off-your footwear couch. Or your sit-and-unwind couch, or maybe your sit-and-get-ready-to-face-the-day couch.

Extend your style to the seating

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If your only seating option area is at the foot of the bed, try to match the style of the bed and side tables. If you have an upholstered, tufted headboard, a rustic bench at the foot of the bed perhaps isn’t the best option. 

But let’s take a minute to talk about benches. They do work, as do storage chests. Style them for comfort, add some pillows and a couple of throws to make sure the area looks comfortable and comforting.

If you’ve decided your seating area is a sanctuary dedicated to either reading, writing in a journal, or unwinding, then by all means style it in your favorite colors and textures. You can mix different patterns as long as you stay in the same color palette. If you can’t fit a side table and you are near the wall, think about using a floating shelf. Make it big enough to hold a small light and perhaps a beverage.

Lighting, linens, and luxury

If you’ve always wanted a chandelier in the bedroom. Go for it. It’s your “place” after all. 

Ambient lighting works best in the bedroom. You can achieve that in a chandelier with the correct bulbs. Wall sconces are great lighting sources as well as decorative accents. 

You can use table lamps and pole lamps to also add lighting. If you like to do a little reading or write in a journal to unwind at bedtime, think about a lighting source for that activity.

As far as bed linens go, get the best you can afford. You spend a lot of time in bed, and a restful sleep on soft sheets with a cozy blanket is important to your well-being. Since the bed is your room anchor, get a bed set that sets the color palette and goes well with the wall color. If you have shiplap or wallpaper, pick neutral or complementary colors.

Think of the cohesive design when you are styling your bedroom and style for your personal comfort. Pick a chair or couch that you are going to use and will help you relax. Get a footstool or ottoman for putting up your feet for maximum comfort. It all helps with peaceful, blissful sleep and a great attitude to face the day.

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