At this time of year, the bedroom should be a cosy space; somewhere to seek refuge from the cold and the dark; somewhere to snuggle and nuzzle and burrow. You could do the hibernation thing with a stack of cushions and a favourite old duvet, of course, but as you’re spending more time than usual in your sleeping space, it’s worth spending a bit of time and effort to make it as stylish a cocoon as possible. So what are the hot looks for bedrooms this season? Stephen Cawley, bedroom buyer for John Lewis, says we should all be going for five-star luxury. “The emerging trend for beds for 2007 is bringing hotel style into your home,” he says. So can we replicate the luxury of a £300 a night suite? One key look is the big, padded headboard. Casamilano Home has produced the ultra-glamorous Bollywood bed that is almost as tall as it is long. With a surreal Alice-in-Wonderland quality, the bed retails for the fairy-tale sum of £5,820 (£375 more if you go for those must-have mirrored laminate feet) and is available from the European Design Centre.
Luckily, not all designer beds come at such hefty prices. Kelly Hoppen, the celebrity designer, has just brought out a range for Bhs called KHome, featuring more than 180 products. Among them is the upholstered and deep-buttoned Glamour Bed Headboard, shown here, which can be ordered in 12 different fabrics and three sizes, costing £349-£449.
The White Company has also jumped on the bandwagon with its Dublin headboard. From £395 for a double, this is upholstered in rich dark-chocolate linen-mix fabric and designed to extend right to the floor so that it looks just as good from behind.
For bedhead glamour at a fraction of the cost, you could always try making your own. All you need to smarten up your divan is a panel of MDF, foam, fabric, glue and a staple gun. Visit www.property-coach.co.uk for guidance.
Another leading look for beds this season is leather. Habitat has the sleek and chic Ottori bed in brown leather (£949 for a double); Marks & Spencer has just launched the Monroe bedstead as part of its new Autograph collection, guaranteed, according to its website, to “create the atmosphere of a luxurious hotel suite”. Available in dark brown, black or — most glamorous of all — white leather, it costs from £799. For the ultimate five-star experience, consider a four-poster; Heal’s has the sculptural Louis model in black or white lacquer for £1,495.
But trading in an old bed for a new, more glamorous, model means significant financial outlay — something most of us would rather avoid if possible. So how can we get Claridge’s style without forking out for an entire new set of bedroom furniture? Easy: sort out the bed linen. Be ruthless. Recycle that faded old duvet cover and invest in some good-quality kit.
White bed linen is still a bedroom staple and can give you the look of luxury if you choose it well. Crisp Egyptian cotton used to be the favoured material for smart sheets, but it is high maintenance. An easier option is to buy sheets that are easy to iron and soft to the touch; also, look for a high thread count — say, 400 threads per inch — which gives a tighter weave to a sheet and means it will last longer and look better. All are available from the White Company and M&S.
Although not strictly hotel-style, coloured bed linen can also work well, but choose carefully. Today’s hip tones range from warm metallics — such as KHome’s gold satin throw (£60) or M&S’s oyster-pink sequined, tasselled bed cover (£100) — to smart, masculine greys (try Ralph Lauren Home); to deep jewel colours such as fuchsia, turquoise and garnet.
Once you have your bed linen sorted, all you need to do is a spot of layering — the latest way of getting suitably glamorous looks. Top a well-dressed duvet with a woollen throw or place a folded silky eiderdown in a subtly contrasting colour at the end of the bed. Then pile on co-ordinating cushions. Adding different textures and colours to the bedroom like this should turn your sleeping space into the ultimate stylish sanctuary.
Bhs, 0845 196 0000, www.bhs.co.uk; European Design Centre, 020 7323 3233, www.edcplc.com; Habitat, 0845 601 0740, www.habitat.net; Heal’s, 020 7636 1666, www.heals.co.uk; Marks & Spencer, 0845 603 1603, www.marksandspencer.com; Ralph Lauren Home, 020 7535 4600, www.rlhome.polo.com; the White Company, 0870 900 9555, www.thewhitecompany.com
Visit www.timesonline.co.uk/interiors for inspiring ideas from The Sunday Times Style interiors guru, Danielle Proud
