Wednesday, May 27, 2015

The Joy of Separate Bedrooms

Luxury houses over the years have added a whole lotta bells and whistles to entice buyers to choose a home.
They've added his and her's walk in closets.
Double vanity sinks.
Whirl pool bath tubs.
A room large enough for a king size bed and sitting area.
BUT
as the baby boomers have aged, once again we are creating our own little demographic needs.
We be a big group of buyers!!!!!
We be "young" agers!!!!!
annnddd.......WE ALL SNORE.
(And if you think you don't, that's because you have a spouse that falls into a deep sleep and stays that way for the whole night.)
(Or one that's afraid of you, so he or she doesn't want to mention it.........)
(Or you really don't and can feel all superior over the rest of us.)
('Cuz I knows that I does!!!!!!!!!!!

Soooooooooo.......
a new category of luxury has sprouted out of the needs of the super lucky.

In olden times......
 the wealthy classes had separate bedrooms for married couples.
I think this was because lots of folks married for reasons other than intimacy.
 I mean, you had to have your heir and a spare,
but after that you could retreat to your own room to be left the hell alone from this guy with whom your parents needed a union that would strengthen the southern border of your families holdings.
(FYI, the southern border of my holdings is the edge of my terrace, but then, there's less to weed!!!!!)

ANYWAY...
I've written before about the wonder of separate bedrooms as we age.
Sooooooo.....
Back to decorating.
Connie and Chris's new home has a master suite.
There is a master bedroom which I have been showing you for the past couple of months because I don't post my blog as often as I used to.
Then I showed Connie's bathroom.
WELL!!!!!
This all falls within the walls of the master suite.
It has a Master bedroom, 
back to back bathrooms 
(I know, I know, how many of you are jealous out there over the idea of not sharing a bathroom with your nearest and dearest?????)
And it has a "study".
Now, I am sure that some of the folks that have lived in this house have used this room as a study.
but really?????
This set up is just screaming for his and her's bedrooms.
Since the whole suite is off a hall WITH A DOOR that  separates it from the rest of the house, it really is it's own little world,
 allowing time together and then the luxury of uninterrupted sleep.
Even the Wall Street Journal has had an article on this in their Mansion section.

Sooooooo
In Connie and Chris's new home that's what they have.
We were able to use most of Chris's furniture from their beach side home.
Remember this room?
It was his old bedroom.
In the new house there was an existing lovely green rug that I needed to work into the design.
Unfortunately those great lamps and the bedding had to go, as they worked against the new scheme.
So we pulled off the orange paisley spread and shams, and started with the feel of the rug.
There was a big blank wall by Chris's bed.
Well.....
you know what I do with a big blank wall?????
I cover it!!!!!
Connie had found this wonderful framed map of Ireland.
The colors and masculine feel of it was perfect for Chis's room.
Just because she doesn't sleep there, doesn't mean she doesn't spend a lot of time there, so she wanted it to look good for when she's in the room
she still wanted it to be a handsome space for the man she loves.
She thought it would be too big.
I told her "you always think things will be too big"
Soooooo,
I ignored her and we got it and it wasn't too big!!!!!
It's a map of Ireland.
Chris's background is Italian.
Connie's background is Irish.
We told Chris that this way he could think of her when he looks at the map!!!!!
(We just hadn't been able to find a map of Italy, but don't tell him that.....)
We fond perfect lamps at Pottery Barn that matched the color of the rug, they have a somewhat rustic feel which goes along with the world traveler vibe that I wanted in this space.
The lamps were on display on a very high shelf in the store.
They had none on the showroom floor.
So we first ordered a pair of the larger ones.
well.......
Too big!!!
So then we ordered the smaller pair, I was starting to feel like Goldilocks.......
The smaller ones were just perfect and we were able to use the lamp shades from Chris's old bedside lamps.
We found bedding that worked with the cream color of the draperies.
We wanted to keep everything simple and creamy and peaceful.
As you can see in the picture above, we also added simple white linen draperies with a tailored pleated valance.
The window had a weird wood cornice,
 so I had the board covered by Velcroing the valance to the board.
We were able to use Chris's chair and chest and mirror from his old bedroom which made him very happy,.

Below is a shot of the wall with the map after we added the simple draperies.
What a difference fabric makes to the coziness of a room.
Chris and Connie are avid travelers and have picked up many meaningful mementos in their wanderings. 
This is an autographed hand print of Nelson Mandela's hand!!!!
I had it re-matted to work better with the map.
It had a black mat that was too harsh in the room, so I added an aged colored mat over it, leaving just a line of the  old mat to outline the hand.
It's just all the little details that add up to create a cohesive look.

Look at what hanging something on the wall and adding draperies can do to making a room cozy and inviting.

So,
that's all I got for today, Kampers.....
on that note,
Latah, Gatah

Photobucket

12 comments:

Andi's English Attic said...

I don't just want separate bedrooms I want separate houses! Next door to each other of course. It means I won't be moaned at for all my clutter (treasures) and he won't be moaned at for stinking out the kitchen with his tea, cheese and bread etc.
That looks a fun project. I think I'm falling back in love with mahogany.

Salmagundi said...

My grandparents had a sleeping porch (aka snoratorium) off their bedroom. Always thought that was a great idea!! Sally

Susan Freeman said...

I love maps and really like to use them in decorating schemes. Love the size of this map too and it's special significance.

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

Squeak said...

I've been alone for most of my adult life, but at 60 I just met a wonderful man that I want to spend the rest of my life with. The last thing I want is separate beds. I want to wake up every morning next to him.

Dolores said...

I'm with you, Squeak..I never want to sleep away from my husband, have to endure it when he goes on travel, but when he's back- I realize how much I miss sleeping next to him..And don't think we are young.:-)
The reworked bedroom looks fantastic Betsy, I agree that every room is made more cozy with curtains; I just don't get that bare look that is so prevalent today. I love the bed too-.I have been wanting such a Faux bamboo bed for ever- but RH prices are too much..

Unknown said...

I adore my husband, but I think this is a fabulous idea. He's a snorer who sleeps like a baby and I don't sleep under the best conditions!!! The room is perfect.

O'Irish said...

Beautiful room... very peaceful and rest inspiring! Always love you design Betsy!!

Joy said...

Love the room! The larger bed pillows almost made a big difference. Thanks for the inspiration.

Unknown said...

I loved that BR before and even more now, (although the wall next to the chair looks a little empty! :) Was the bed from WS Home? I wish you'd do a post on different drapery headings. These really helped make the room, but all the details add up to perfection.

Burlap Luxe said...

This room is fabulous. Love the hand print and plan to do one for myself using my daughters hand.
I get this whole snoring thing, I use to sleep in my daughter room on those restless snoring nights when I just couldn't take it anymore. It's fun having separate rooms, look at the royals they have always had separate chambers and coming together rooms as well.
Plus when one wants to stay up longer reading in bed there is always that room to you to, kind of like on a quiet vacation.
Absents makes the heart grow fonder.... And the lack of snore as well :)

I find lots of young business couples with separate rooms, they always say it's so much fun and exiting at the same time.

You have done a very beautiful job in this room and love the scale of every piece.... The larger lamps would not have bothered me! Yet I would have used one and another that went with its style, mixing up the matched feel, and a gathered and collected flavor to the design. I sometimes like things way out of scale to anchor a feel that's the designer in me taking over.
In any case you pulled off a magazine page bedroom... Perfectly perfect.

Xx
Dore

fixitfaerie said...

Love this room too. But, Connie's is prettier. (isn't that the point) I was surprised to read that you velcroed the valance, I've done the same think in several windows! lol You do such beautiful work. Oh, and the oversized map is amazing.

RWC said...

I like the lamps and those white linen draperies. Very classy and yet warm and welcoming with a delightful simplicity. And snoring would be a reason for separate bedrooms!

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