Considering Floor Design – Iron beds

Considering Floor Design
The floor is usually the largest unbroken surface in the room and the most noticeable. Floor design includes 2 elements: hard flooring – which is the hard finished surface of the floor such as wood, stone, marble, brick, granite, linoleum, vinyl, or ceramic tile, or cork, and 2) soft floorings which include rugs and carpeting, and are laid on top of the hard floor covering. The right material can enhance the color scheme and atmosphere of the bedroom. Wood, rugs, and cork have a warming effect and are easier on the legs and feet whereas ceramic tiles, marble and slate make a room cooler and more formal.

Combining hard flooring with soft flooring, such as a floral area rug over a paneled wood floor can add a warm and cozy effect to the bedroom. In a large bedroom, area rugs can group different functional units of furniture into more intimate settings. Wall to wall carpeting in soft or neutral colors is also an option when creating a classic bedroom. Alternatively, a marble floor can add elegance and formality to the bedroom. For information on flooring, visit our Flooring Resources page to view websites that specialize in different types of flooring including area rugs, carpeting, cherry, oak, and hickory wood flooring, tile, slate, laminate, cork, vinyl, marble, granite, limestone and slate stone flooring.

Bedroom Lighting
Lighting can be used to enhance the character of the bedroom, highlight the focal point of the room such as the iron bed, and create a specific mood. When illuminating a bedroom, there are 3 basic types of lighting to be considered: 1) Ambient lighting is the background lighting in the room and should be soft, gentle, and restful in the bedroom. The background light in the bedroom can be subdued and lower than for other rooms of the house as long as the task lighting is sufficient. 2) Task lighting provides light for a small area so that you have ample light for the task at hand. Task lighting in the bedroom should be used at the dressing table, and in bedside reading lights where the lighting should be focused and directional so it does not disturb a sleeping partner. The height and angle of the bedside reading lights should be checked so that the light only hits the page of a book held by the reader. 3) Accent lighting is the third form of lighting for a room and is used to focus attention and dramatize specific areas of the bedroom. The combination of subdued ambient light in combination with brighter accent lights can add drama to the bedroom. Consider adding a dimmer switch that can be controlled from both the bed and the bedroom door when designing the lighting in your bedroom. To view lighting options that are available from a variety of home decorating websites visit our Lighting Resources.

Windows Treatments
Windows allow us to bask in the warmth of natural light and should be considered in the room’s lighting as well. If the bedroom windows are positioned to catch the afternoon sunsets, you can use this natural light to cascade through the bedroom and create a dramatic effect. On the other hand, if your bedroom window catches the sunrise and you are not an early riser, you will need the ability to control the natural light entering the bedroom. In a bedroom, the window treatments should be designed to perform several functions: 1) add to the character or style of the bedroom, 2) provide privacy, and 3) control the amount of natural light permitted into the bedroom 4) provide insulation. Window treatments can be hard treatments which include shades, blinds, and shutters, or soft treatments which include curtains and draperies. Hard treatments work very well to block out light and can be combined with decorative soft treatments to create a softer look that also efficiently controls natural light, allows privacy, and prevents heat loss. In addition to the traditional hard and soft window treatments stained glass or etched glass windows can be used.