Grow Up and Buy a New Bed - Fresh Fix for Your Bedroom

Jay Johnson - If you're an interior designer, one of the challenges you face is helping your client "move on." And moving on can take on several forms: move on from the furnishings you had in your college dorm room (no, it's not okay to use old orange crates and stacks of bricks for bookshelves), move on past the hideous furniture you inherited when Aunt Opal passed away last year (sometimes furniture should be buried with their owners), or move on beyond bad taste to good taste ("But it was on sale!" is not a good reason to keep anything revolting).

Sometimes replacing one key piece of furniture in a room is enough to tip the decorating scheme from dreadful to daring ... and I've selected 11 beds (actually 10 beds and 1 headboard) that could turn an ugly bedroom into a showplace, or at least inspire the rest of the room to shape up and match the new bed's high standards. The photo above and the next two photos feature beds from the hipsters at Atelier Interior Design - the Nuba bed (top), Giorgia bed (top, below), and Bridge bed (bottom, below) are all beds that could drastically change the temperature and style quotient of any bedroom. 

I love how the Atelier beds would look great floating in a room. Bed design trends are moving away from the flat-against-the-wall restrictions of beds of yore; a floating position allows the Bridge bed's split headboard to adjust to different levels of recline to accommodate different reading, sleeping, or TV-watching postures. Very smart. 

And consider the Antalya Queen bed from McGuire Furniture (above). Its rattan woven frame is covered in laced rawhide for a strong statement not often made in bedrooms. This would be a great choice for both contemporary and traditional bedrooms.

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Fresh Touches Update Any Room

Jay Johnson - If you're looking for quick decorating tips, one tip is to add a fresh piece of furniture or art to any room. The overall effect will usually be dramatic if what you're adding makes a real statement, such as a sofa with unusual styling or a work of art that's dramatic and impactful.

In a recent visit to Cape Town, South Africa, I had the pleasure of visiting the showroom of Jo Carlin Interior Styling, and in the following video, you'll see some examples of sometimes startling chairs, sofas, and works of art that perfectly illustrate this point. You may not be able to afford a fabulous antique from Sotheby's or Christies that everyone will rave about when they sit down in your living room ... but a single work of art or a new upholstered piece of furniture can replace tired decorating elements and uplift your home's overall design energy.