Category Archives: Bedroom Design

Bedroom Design: Living Big in a Small Bedroom

Post by Tracy Kaler.

“Small rooms or dwellings discipline the mind; large ones weaken it.”—Leonardo da Vinci

Don’t fret if you lack square footage in your bedroom. Small spaces are no less significant than their larger siblings and still manage to be stylish and chic. Compact rooms are often loaded with personality and give you the opportunity to get creative and explore your inner decorator, so take advantage and don’t feel deprived.

Moreover, a bedroom tends to be especially romantic and peaceful, no matter its size. Whether you prefer traditional or eclectic décor, antiques or modern furnishings (think an Eames lounge chair in your singular empty corner), neutral or bold color accents, bear in mind that an uncluttered design will probably suit any small space best.

Here are four tiny yet delightful bedrooms. Rooms like these make it easy to catch a restful sleep, relax with a favorite read, or just sit back and take it all in.

You’ll be in the mood to snuggle in this simple yet elegant, cottage-inspired bedroom. The all-white paneling lends a casual feel, while the poofy duvet makes the bed inviting. Looking at this photo, don’t you want to curl up with a good book?


Chinese red textiles and a Persian rug add a boost of color to an otherwise neutral room. A black chinoiserie screen makes for a lovely backdrop behind the leather headboard while crisp linens give this bed a luxury hotel feel.


This practical twin bedroom with built-in storage is functional and sleek. The convenient swing-arm sconce allows reading in bed, while the Louis Ghost chair from Philippe Starck breathes a touch of whimsy into the room.


Neatly carved out of a pocket-sized room, this space-saving design works beautifully. Patchwork bedding and knotty pine floors give the room a rustic cabin-like feel. The nautical artwork and ceiling fan enhance the miniature sleeping quarters. This nook could be the ideal child’s room or guest quarters.


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Bedroom Design: My ideal beach house bedroom


Post by Tracy Kaler.

For the average lifestyle, the all-white room might seem like a frivolous option, but if you’re decorating a coastal bedroom –– in that dream beach house with an ocean view –– white walls and textiles might be the perfect achromatic scheme.

Perhaps it’s a personal choice, which, for me, is unexpected because I adore color. Nonetheless, I fantasize about a white sleep space with crisp bed linens, a fluffy down comforter, and sheer curtains breezing at the windows while waves splash and seagulls croon for breakfast.

Bead board paneling is often found in beach cottages; a plethora of shades of white can easily be married with paneled or wainscoted walls. Vary the whites in furnishings, on surfaces, and on the bed. Avoid any color that’s too ivory, but as you plan your interior, take notice of all the bright whites available and how they harmonize wonderfully together.


If your hardwoods aren’t in stellar condition, consider painting the floors a soft white with a subtle pattern. Adding a shaggy white rug under your feet will give the hard surface a visual softness and much-needed texture. A cushy area rug will feel good on the toes, too.

If lack of color frightens you, add some punch in your pillows, artwork, and accessories, perhaps with slate blues, warm grays, celadon greens, or even a small touch of black. But no matter, try to keep your nighttime sanctuary tranquil and relaxing, because isn’t that exactly what a bedroom in a beach house should be?

You might find yourself spending more time in that space than others in your coastal retreat –– that is, when you’re not catching rays or tiptoeing through the hot summer sand –– even during afternoon hours.

What’s your vision for an ideal beach house bedroom?


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Things We Like: Floor Plans Made Easy

Post by Kyle St. Romain.

Whether you’re redecorating your bedroom or are considering more extensive home improvement projects, a floor plan is an essential tool to help get you started. An accurate floor plan can help you arrange furniture (the easy way: on paper), estimate costs by calculating square footage, and better understand what’s possible should you decide to expand or enlarge your room. The only downside of using a floor plan is that you have to make one. That is, until now.

Roomscan is a new app for the iPhone that allows you to draw a floor plan by simply walking around the perimeter of your room and tap your phone against each wall. The app automatically draws the floor plan based on your taps and is accurate with measurements to one-half foot! Once you have the floor plan drawn out, which you can edit the measurements of the walls to correct for any inaccuracies, you can export the image via email. You can also visit their website here to learn more about the app and how it works.

I was skeptical about how well it would work, so I gave it a try for myself and have to say that I am impressed. The one drawback, however, is that the app is pretty sensitive to the speed in which you tap each wall. I noticed that in certain rooms of my apartment, it was difficult to tap across sofas, and over the bed and tables as quickly as the app would like. Then again, running a tape measure across the bed isn’t exactly the easiest thing either.

While I won’t be using this app to measure cuts on my baseboard trim project, I can see it coming in handy for several other projects that don’t require as much precision. Best of all, it’s free!

On a final note, this is my last post here on the Charles Rogers Blog. It’s been a great past couple years writing here, and I hope that everyone reading my articles has enjoyed them or at least learned something new/useful.  Thank you all!

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Things We Like: Subtle Contrast in Color

Post by Kyle St. Romain.

As part of my home improvement project , or un-improvement project depending on how you look at it, I am now painting the walls in my entryway, kitchen, and main living spaces. When I first painted them nearly 8 years ago, I chose a very sterile white. While I spent a considerable amount of time selecting that particular shade of white, it never really did much for me. The good thing about having white walls, however, is that they are very easy to paint over.

This go-round, I wanted to give the walls some of that personality they were lacking in white. After a few trips to the home improvement stores and much deliberation, I settled on Benjamin Moore’s Wickham Gray. An interesting bonus is that Wickham Gray is part of the Historic Color collection, which is inspired by documented colors found in 18th and 19th century architecture. A cool, modern color with some history behind it is a no-brainer for me.

What I like most about this color, and what inspired me for this post, is the subtlety of it. In certain light and at certain angles, you can hardly distinguish it from the white it’s being painted over. However, when you see it next to the Winter White baseboards and trim, it has a nice little pop. At other angles its appearance ranges from a steel gray to an almost velvety light blue. Generally hard to impress, I am floored by the depth and intrigue of this color.

So when you are deciding on new color palettes for your bedroom or other areas of your home, think about ways to create subtle contrast; contrast doesn’t always have to be big and bold. An accent wall, white trim, exposed walls and duct work, or incorporating other design and architectural elements can really help what you might otherwise think to be an uninteresting color stand out. As is the case with this Wickham Gray, in certain light, you may hardly even notice the color at all. But as the light changes, you and your guests will be in constant amazement over how the appearance of your room changes with it. A little time spent planning these subtle contrasts can help bring you enjoyment from your room for years to come.

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Things We Like: Sleeping In The Trees

Post by Kyle St. Romain.

If you want to connect with nature on a higher level or if you just want to feel like a kid again, a tree house might be just what you need. I never realized how prolific tree houses were until I started watching a new show called Tree House Masters on Animal Planet. You’d think there would only be a couple episodes, max, to squeeze out of what has to be a very niche market. However, there are actually a lot more tree houses out there than you may have realized. There is even a tree house community in Costa Rica. Very cool!

For those of us without the tree, the space, the budget, or the willingness to take the extra step of building a home in the trees, there are lots of other ways you can create the feel of a tree house in your own home. Check out what has been questioned as as the best kids bedroom design ever. Spoiler alert, it looks like a tree house! There are lots of other examples of children’s bedrooms that have been transformed into indoor tree houses too, have a look here.

If you prefer the experience without the hassle of building and owning your own tree house, or designing your home to look like one, there is a tree house hotel in Sweden. Can you imagine falling asleep to the gentle sway of the tree and sounds of the wind rustling through the leaves, and then wake up feeling refreshed to one of the most breathtaking views ever? Sounds amazing to me.

While tree houses aren’t for everyone, they certainly do make you wonder about the different ways people live. Personally, I don’t think I could live in one as my main residence due to size constraints. I also have enough frustration navigating the numerous elevators to get out of a modern high rise. That said, a tree house would make a very cool guest house, home office, or simply a relaxing get away —definitely something to think about.

            

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