Bedroom Planning

Contemporary Bedroom Furniture: Planning a Bed

Don't let your bed be an afterthought. Your bed will be the most prominent object in your room, so it has to go with your bedroom's theme, color-wise, size-wise, and style-wise. A huge bed in a small room will likely look out of place, as would a four-post bed in a room with sleek modern furnishings.

Bed Sizes

The most popular bed sizes are king, queen, twin and the increasingly popular California king. A California king is narrow and long, rather than the traditional king bed's square shape. Just make sure you have the exact dimensions of your bed before you go mattress shopping, since bed manufacturers sometimes don't follow the standard bed sizes exactly.

Bed Styles

Don’t confuse bed sizes with bed styles. Bed styles refer to the headboard and footboard. The basis of any bed is still the mattress and frame, which only vary outwardly in terms of the sizes listed above.

• Daybed. Daybeds are twin beds. What makes them special is that they can double as couches if you position them against a wall. Being compact and versatile, daybeds are great for small spaces.

• Platform. Platform beds are elegantly simple, fitting in with just about any style of decor.

• Sleigh bed. Sleigh beds have curved headboards and foot boards that look like, well…a sleigh. There are simpler and more modern sleigh bed designs, so you can get one even if you are going for a more modern-looking room.

Bedroom Planning

Your kid’s bedroom is a set space, but there are an unlimited number of themed bedroom ideas that you could use to really bring that small space to life. What you do with the floors, the walls, the angles and the windows is up to you. But remember when you create an environment that comes alive at night or during play time, you are contributing to your child’s intellectual and emotional development. Here are some questions that will help you pick one of the many themed bedroom ideas that you’ll think about:

What are your daughter’s favorite colors? Bright colors have been known to help grow kid’s creative and imagination skills. Strong bold colors also make a room look cleaner. Take a look at your kid’s favorite story time book and see what kinds of colors she’s attracted to. It’s also a great way to get your toddler involved in designing the bedroom with you. Ask her to point out her favorite colors in her book.

What are your kid’s favorite animals? Kids are amazing how easily they relate to animals and will often use animals in their cute ways of communication. Popular themed bedroom ideas for girls these days are Mermaid, Safari, Ocean, and Butterfly themes. A mermaid themed bedroom can spark an adventurous imagination. A safari themed bedroom can bring the jungle to life. One way to see how fascinated your child is with wild animals is to take a trip to the zoo. Use the life experience of going to the zoo to create stories that you can use in the design of your kid’s bedroom.