Make a Beautiful Bed
By PAMELA DITTMER MCKUEN
Back in the day, American folk singer John Denver delighted audiences
with a spirited ditty that extolled the joys of Grandma’s feather bed.
“It was nine feet high, six feet wide, and soft as a downy chick,” he
crooned. “It was made from the feathers of forty-eleven geese, took a
whole bolt of cloth for the tick.”
Today’s Grandma
probably doesn’t own a gigantic feather bed, and she’s not about to make
one. She’s off cruising around the world or perfecting her golf swing.
And yet the sense of longing for a bed that caresses the body and
soothes the soul remains.
It’s a sweet dream, but you can,
and you must, have it for yourself. A beautiful, comfortable bedroom can
have a powerful impact on your day-to-day experience, says interior
designer Frank Ponterio, Frank Ponterio Interior Design in Lake Forest
and Chicago.
“The bedroom should be your private
sanctuary,” says Mary Pat Wallace, founder of Chicago Luxury Beds. “It
should be a place that is calm, quiet and encourages intimacy. You spend
a third of your life in your bed, and that third fuels the other two
thirds.”
Because the quality of your sleep affects your
appearance, brain power, physical performance and overall health, a
quality mattress is the starting point for creating your own haven. Most
people spend more money on their sofas and bed frames than they do on
their mattresses, but the mattress is used far more often and has
greater impact on personal well-being.
“We research and
study the best real estate, designers, builders, cars and schools, but
when it comes to a mattress, most people go to the local mattress store and buy what is on the floor,” says Wallace.
She describes the ideal mattress as one that gives each person the
right balance of support and pressure relief. It will be hand-crafted
with all-natural materials, like the European brands Hastens and
Vi-Spring she is so very passionate about. Prices start about $5,000
for a queen-size mattress.
“Like our finest wool suits and cotton shirts, natural materials let us stay warm in winter and cool in summer,” she says.
“We then move on to our pillow selection. The proper pillow will
support the head while relieving the pressure that leads to neck and
shoulder pain. But one size does not fit all. A side sleeper, for
example, requires more support than a back sleeper. Chicago Luxury Beds (
www.chicagoluxurybeds.com)
beckons you to its Pillow Bar, which is akin to the stores that fill
plush animal toys while you wait. Cotton casings are filled with
pristine Hungarian goose down to your individual preference and comfort
level, then stitched shut and monogrammed, so you’ll always know which
one is yours. A sachet is tucked inside,”
“
There are
pillows for sleeping and pillows for decorating,” says Wallace. “I say
invest in the sleeping pillows, and buy less expensive decorative
pillows, and use them for design.”
Even though hand-crafted
mattresses and pillows are beautiful enough to stand on their own, we
will envelop them with sheets and cases. They are available in myriad
natural and manufactured fabrications including linen, bamboo and
fleece. Each has fans and foes, depending on both skin sensitivities and
aesthetic sensibilities. Some people happily snuggle up to micro-fleece
and flannel while others find the finishes too harsh.
“Unless it’s play time, silk sheets are awfully slippery,” says interior
designer Sandra Groben of Groben’s Inc. in Glen Ellyn. “There are very
good 100 percent cotton sheets with a satin weave that are as beautiful
and comfortable and wonderful as silk.”
Most people prefer
the feel and ease of cotton and polyester blends. For them, all-cotton
is a turn-off because of the wrinkle factor. Not for Groben, who happily
irons and starches her king-size sheets every week.
“My
husband isn’t as particular, so his side just gets a quick job,” she
says with a laugh. “My side gets heavy starch and crispness.”
Now we are ready for the topmost layer. This is the decidedly
outspoken layer, where you express your personality and practicality.
Will yours be a full-length bedspread or a comforter with a bed skirt?
Will the bed skirt be tailored or ruffled? Will you accessorize boldly
or scatter a few beloved pieces?
Ponterio opts
for comforters because the ability to change out the covers presents
greater design opportunities. He leans toward solid colors, often
neutrals, incorporated with tactile, textural details. A chandelier
reminiscent of a sea urchin, perhaps?
“Simple, clean beds
with just a few shams invite you to put your feet up and relax,” he
says. He also likes statement headboards such as the one he designed for
his new furniture line for Charleston, S.C.-based Avrett. The handmade
headboard, named “Erie,” stands nearly eight feet tall and is fashioned
with two metal posts with chattered finish that flank a
cashmere-upholstered center panel.
You can be as extravagant or as creative as you desire and your budget allows, says Groben.
If price is no object, consider a bespoke ensemble of bed coverings
and multiple decorator pillows in assorted sizes and shapes, all trimmed
with edging, crystals, tassels, starbursts, rosettes and fringe, and
don’t forget the matching draperies. That Hastens mattress will seem a
bargain in comparison.
A more conservative approach begins
with a solid coverlet upon which you add decorative appointments. Drape a
bed scarf, which is akin to a table runner, across the foot of the bed.
Or scour flea markets and craft fairs for vintage decorative pillows
stitched with embroidery, crewel, tatting or lace.
“You can make a statement with your accessories,” says Groben.
“Depending on the design preference, tight and clean linens with a few
pillows give a more modern look,” says Wallace. “If you love the look
of more, layering linens, coverlets and comforters gives you the ‘jump
in here and get cozy’ look.”
Just like Grandma’s feather bed.
Published: February 22, 2014
Issue: Winter 2014 Issue