Mum
and Dad's bedroom is usually the most feminine room in any family
home and the TV Times house is no exception. Although in
other areas of the house, Mum has to consider the needs and tastes
of her family, when it comes to the main bedroom, most husbands
are happy to let her have her own way.
Actress
Stephanie Beacham, who has helped us with this room, says if a
woman doesn't get her own way with the bedroom decor she hasn't
got much chance anywhere else. Stephanie, who is married to
actor John McEnery and has an 18-month-old daughter, Phoebe,
likes to retire to a restful-looking room that is also cheerful
to wake up to.
She
goes for soft, subtle colours and especially likes shades of
honey and pale pink. One of Sanderson's prettiest wallpapers and
matching fabrics comes in these colours. The rose pink
background is festooned with pale honey and white flowers and
has an unusual lace-look printed border. The name of this design
is called Lace Cap. Obviously the border looks good on curtains
and coverings as well, but it can also be used a little more
imaginatively as we have done with the head pillows.
As
you can see we allowed this print to almost take over the room -
walls, curtains, bedspread, and we even wall-papered the
wardrobes - and it worked. But we felt a little light relief
would be welcome, so we chose a Sanderson print in honey and
white stripes for the blinds and tablecloth.
With
the colour scheme and the general mood of the room clear in our
minds, the next move was to decide how big the bed should be and
where to put it. Stephanie likes a big bed, at least five feet
wide (which is now the standard double from most manufacturers),
and luckily this room is big enough to take it. The obvious
position for the bed was behind the door, but that was rejected
because it meant you would walk right into it as you entered the
room.
For
one moment we were going to put it in the curve of the bay, but
that wouldn't have worked either. In the end, Stephanie came up
with the idea of blocking in the fireplace and putting the bed
in front of the chimney breast which seemed to make sense. It
meant that in the recess nearest the window she could have a
built-in vanity unit make-up area, and fitted wardrobes could
follow round on the long wall behind the door.
The
main problem here was that the recess wasn't quite deep enough
for the vanity unit and the chimney breast wasn't quite wide
enough to accommodate the bed and bedside tables. *Barry came to
the rescue. He deepened the recess by building out the chimney
breast and at the same time making it wider.
Following
through the feminine feeling in this room, we chose cane for the
rest of the furniture. Not much more furniture was needed, but
the wall opposite the bed was very bare and so was the bay
window. The only other major item left to choose was the carpet.
As the room was predominantly pink, Stephanie felt we should go
for a honey colour.
When
the room was finished, the curtains and blinds were up, and
every ornament in place, Stephanie looked around and with a
satisfied smile on her face, threw herself on the bed and said:
"Yes, I could happily nod off in here."
*Barry
Bucknell was a UKTV D.I.Y expert.
