5.17.2010

# Home and Garden # How to Live Well

How to Live Well- The Master Bedroom



Last year I did a post on guest bedrooms that outlined everything needed for a perfect spare room. This one is dedicated to your own bedroom- which should have more character, personality and luxury than the guest bedroom.

In fact, the master bedroom could be the most important room in your house. It is the room you spend the most time in (even though most of that time you are sleeping…)

For living well in the master bedroom here is my essential list:

A large, comfy bed. This is pretty self explanatory. My husband is quite tall, I like to stretch out in my sleep and Gatsby is (unfortunately) always at the foot of the bed so nothing short of a California King will do for us ☺

A fluffy duvet and very good pillows. By ‘good’ I mean the most comfortable for you. We have lots of fluffy pillows to prop us up when we read but my favorite one to sleep with is the Tempurpedic with neck support. For the duvet, the lighter and fluffier the better… a good one makes you feel like you are sleeping in a cloud…

White linens. I’m sure not everyone is with me on this, but I just prefer all of my linens to be white. For me, clean, crisp, white linens are the only sort I like to sleep in.

Overhead lighting on a dimmer switch. Dimmed lights in the bedroom are so important. They can add so much atmosphere and really help prepare you for sleep. A good bedside lamp for reading is also essential…

Music. Whether it be through your iPod or an old fashioned cd player (which is what we have). I love to play classical music or opera when I am getting ready for bed. It just makes rubbing in those night creams and changing into your nightgown that much more decadent.

No television… talk about a passion killer.

Miscellaneous items that make you happy. For me that is my perfume tray, jewelry box, candles and orchids…

Curtains. (I prefer curtains to blinds) Ours are cream colored linen- they filter just the right amount of light in and add a softness to the room.

A system for putting your clothes away (either out of the room in a dirty clothes hamper or hung back up in your closet). I try to only keep my dressing gown on the bench at the foot of our bed.


C’est tout! We are currently looking for a beautiful bed frame/ headboard and in the meantime are sleeping with our mattresses on the floor (I feel like I am in college again!) but I am still comfortable and am getting plenty of luxurious nights of sleep- which I plan to enjoy to the fullest before the baby arrives…

I would love to know… how do you live well in the master bedroom?

Gatsby is pictured above in our master bedroom…

13 comments:

hostess of the humble bungalow said...

I do not have a large bedroom but I have a super comfy mattress, great Egyptian cotton sateen sheets, a fluffy white goose down duvet and the room can be darkened by wooden blinds.
Your room looks sumptuous...I would love to sleepover! The robe of satin or silk looks tres chic.

Anonymous said...

My bedroom needs SO much help. Right now, it's about the exact opposite of what you've described. Help!!

Lisa D. said...

love it. your bedroom looks gorgeous. my bedroom is still my single-girl bedroom with all of my furniture from my parents' house. my boyfriend's master bedroom is much more grown up. :) but i love my room - it's a very relaxing green color with bright, happy, hawaiian decor. pottery barn quilt and sheets, plenty of pillows, a huge ikea armoir, and my organized closet (which i took the doors of off to make it and my room look bigger). my room comes complete with my two kitties who sleep at the foot of my bed on a jersey shore sweatshirt material blanket. they both have hawaiian names, too! mele and kona.

p.s. i've never even been to hawaii. haha. :)

CashmereLibrarian said...

Well. We try here at Chez la Vie, but our bedroom has been a work in progress for almost 25 years. We have nice bedding (I'm a white linen girl too) but that's about it. We've never had a "bed" (ie headboard/footboard), but recently I've started obsessing about being able to sit up in bed (our bed is against a window so we can't lean against it); moreover, we used to have a king size, then downsized to a queen and I hate it! Finally, our furniture is hand-me-downs from my youth and I think I am ready for some grown up glamour! Sigh.

Rebecca said...

I love the look of your bedroom. I'm also in search of a headboard. I can't make up my mind. A comfortable bed is so important.

Uxille said...

i have a thing for white egyptian cotton. it makes me feel like the sheet is cleaner than just clean. i know it's just an illusion, but i just love white sheets.

Josephine Tale Peddler said...

Gatsby is adorable in that photo! We are also on a mattress on the floor at the moment as we threw our bed out in the last renovation and still have to find another. I want one with a headboard like Mad Men. I love your list and will refer back to it when we finally get around to renovating the bedroom. xx

Kristi said...

No TV is key for me.
I also have and will always have white linens, white duvet, etc in the most expensive versions I can afford. (I also stick to white for the bathroom). It's just my thing.

Anonymous said...

I'm with you on the white linens! I also can't sleep under a top sheet as they tend to get twisted around my legs so a white, 600+ thread-count duvet cover is also key for me. And I just wash it every-time I wash my other linens.

Anonymous said...

i have read your twiter comment.please do you recommend any particular tinted moisturizer and a cream blush?please write about it.efi.

The Daily Connoisseur said...

Oh la la! I love reading about your bedrooms!

Hostess- Your duvet sounds beautiful... and wooden blinds are marvelous- my only aversion to blinds are the cheap plastic kind that come standard in most homes. I love my robe! It's by Victoria's Secret and looks very Art Deco when worn :)

Michael- LOL You can do it- just tackle one thing at a time so you are not overwhelmed.

Coastal Chicster- I love your Hawaiian fascination and I love that you've never been there- you must go! I can just see you there! Love the sound of your bedroom- it sounds fun. My subdued European look isn't for everyone...

Cashmere- ugh. I hear you re: the hand me down furniture. What I wouldn't give to have some gorgeous new nightstands and a headboard! I don't think we could downsize to a queen. We simply would not fit. It's too bad because a Queen bed would make our bedroom seem so much larger...

Rebecca- I think you can get good headboards for not that much money at West Elm and other stores like that. I am in search of the perfect one... I want upholstered and tufted.

Oshiya- I know what you mean about feeling white sheets are cleaner. They probably are because you can see dirt much easier! There is something so luxurious about white sheets...

Josephine- It comforts me to know that I am not the only adult here sleeping with her mattress on the floor. I can't wait to get a headboard- I think it will make the room so much more grown up. Have fun with the decorating! xo

Kristi- yes the most expensive one can afford is key. Not to go overboard but to treat yourself. We do spend so much time in our bed after all- it should be luxurious...

EuroChic- Me too! We do not have a top sheet. Only a fitted sheet and the duvet cover. I actually like top sheets but my husband deplores them so he won in the end. But I really like the feeling of just the duvet on top and now I've converted xo

The Daily Connoisseur said...

Efi- I use the Hourglass tinted moisturizer and LOVE it. (I have tried a lot of tinted moisturizers too and have not loved any of them). It feels like a moisturizer but covers like a foundation. I got mine at Sephora. Also I actually used Posie Tint by Benefit for my blush today- which isn't technically cream blush but a tint that lasts all day. I am trying to perfect a quick, pulled together makeup look in under five minutes for when the baby comes. I will no longer have the luxury of spending 20+ minutes in the morning applying makeup but still want to look pulled together. Thanks for your question! xo

Rose said...

I agree about the tv except when I'm not well- and also about needing music/ radio. I listen to Radio 4 quite a lot. I think the thing is to get the very biggest bed you can and have the tempreture just right and then it will be perfect