The master bedroom suite has to be one of my favourite areas to design in a client’s home. We spend so much time in our bedrooms, so creating a peaceful, comfortable and elegant space is critical to a happy home life. There are certain key design details that always seem to work well, so here are my top five tips for creating a successful space. Number 1: Pick an accent colour that you love and will never tire of. In our London Townhouse project, a gorgeous ‘canary yellow’ was introduced to bring personality and vitality to an otherwise neutral scheme. A favourite detail in the space has to be the yellow scrolling pattern in the bespoke rug from Colbourns. The detailing is so fine, precisely picked out in a contrast loop pile, which sits beautifully against the soft and tactile cut-pile. Colbourns are my go-to supplier for unique and interesting designs. Here, the soft curves of the Lombok design contrast elegantly with the linear structure of the four poster bed.
My second tip is to consider adding a leading edge to your window treatment. Here, plain ivory curtains are completely transformed with the addition of a trim from the incredible range of luxury haberdasher, Samuel & Sons. The Matelasse Sheridan border trim is one of my favourites and is available in six pretty colour ways. To ensure a common narrative throughout the entire suite, I have repeated the same trim on the Roman blinds in the bathroom. I love repeating little thoughtful details like this; they create an effortlessly chic look.
Tip Three: It’s so important to make room for a dedicated desk or dressing table. Even if space only allows for a console table, it will still give you another surface to dress prettily with flowers, photograph frames and interesting personal objects. For this bedroom, we worked with master craftsmen and bespoke furniture makers, Ben Whistler, to create a bespoke, ivory, eucalyptus and bronze dressing table, with overhead display shelving and leather insets. The detailing is exquisite and turns an empty corner into a memorably beautiful vignette.
My fourth tip is to create a really incredible vanity unit in the bathroom of your suite, which shares a similar language with joinery from the bedroom. Here, a real “wow-factor” piece was created following my design. I chose an incredible, “one-of-a-kind”, pearlised resin finish to complement the Bianco Oro marble; it is by luxury finish specialist, Fameed Khalique. If I ever need inspiration, I just pop to his showroom in London, as he really does have the most fabulous collection of unique and luxurious finishes. The client was thrilled with this bathroom as, I must say, am I!
Last, but not least, what makes an exceptional and memorable bedroom suite? A beautiful, free-standing feature bath, preferably positioned beside a window for the best natural light and views. In this suite, a marble-clad bath, with fittings by my ‘go-to’ sanitary ware supplier, THG Paris, is the picture of elegance and refinement. The detailing to the taps, in my favourite bathroom finish, “Bronze Clair”, is striking and very luxurious, elevating the entire space. All of these tips hopefully show you that the details of a memorable master bedroom suite are as important as the overall design. In fact, they are what transforms a space from the merely usual and prosaic, to the unusually beautiful and extraordinary!
