Heavenly Headboards

First, let me thank all of you who have been so kind in your comments about my kitchen.  I read every reader comment and I get tickled pink every time!  And, of course, if you read this blog regularly, you know that I owe it all to Joni from Cote De Texas who must be tired of me thanking her, but I still feel I need to.  Since I recently did a facelift of my bedroom, I have been scouring tearsheets and inspiration images to get me inspired.   I am seeing so many wonderful treatments of upholstered headboards, and for that matter, entire beds, that I decided to post about it.  As an avid reader in bed, I am a big fan of upholstered headboards, although it also is great for TV watchers, too.  I love to fluff my pillows against the headboard and sink back into the softness….Another thing that I really like about upholstering beds is the fact that you can entirely change the look of your bed with a few yards of fabric.  And this is a look that lends itself to contemporary, traditional and, I hate this word, transitional design.

WARNING: A quick non sequitor is in the offing. If you don’t want to read about why, skip the section below until you get to the eye candy.  I hate the word transitional because it was THE design word when I was first married and decorating our first apartment.  It really applied more to color and graphic design use than furnishing choices, but it’s the banner under which such delightful color schemes as wedgewood blue and peach or teal and dusty rose were foisted upon unsuspecting young women who had no better sense than to run right out and buy a matching “transitional” dusty rose sofa and loveseat, and….well, the less said about that, the better.

Besides, what are we transitioning to or from? All design trends are a transition.  I know it’s being used to define pieces that can be used in either a traditional interior or a contemporary one.  It’s also being used to define a style that mixes elements of both traditional and contemporary design.  Both of these design ideas are brilliant, so I hate the dated and imprecise terminology.

You get the picture.  I have a personal grudge against the term.  However, it is being thrown around a lot these days, so until I can think of a better term to use myself, just consider that every time you read that word in my blog posts, I am shrugging and rolling my eyes as I type it.  End of rant.

I am starting with a bed that I saw in the June/July issue of Traditional Home, by Benjamin Bradley and David Thiergartner from the 2009 Hamptons Showhouse.  I am a little bit obsessed with this, I have to say.  It’s such a clever riff on mattress ticking and coupled with the Knole sofa reference at the headboard, and the tufting and nailheads on the platform, it is truly brilliant.  Of course, the sophisticated bedding carries the theme.  This would really not be my cup of tea with lots of sweet prints and stripes.

I also love everything about this room, except for maybe the 70′s shag bathmat masquerading as upholstery on the chair.  But hey, it’s a showhouse, so it’s great to take chances.

Here is another astonishingly lovely bed.  The upholstered headboard is part of the canopy bed.  I do not know the designer, just that it’s an image from House Beautiful.  I think this bed and its grainsack pillow were instrumental in introducing the whole grainsack phenomenon.  I do love the sheer linen hangings and the unfussy twine ties.  It’s a great counterpoint to the carved chest and sidetable.  Just lovely.

What makes this upholstered headboard so interesting is the use of the wrought iron frame as a sort of rustic corona.  It ties in with the rusticated elegance of the room with the inclusion of the starburst mirror.  Simple forms and lovely textures make this work so well.  From the late, great Southern Accents, I believe.  Note to aspiring bloggers – resist the temptation to tear pages from magazines as it makes crediting the designers, photographer and magazine a bit of a challenge.

This bedroom was designed by Steven Gambrel and Eric Piasecki, Elle Decor.  The tufted headboard is constrained by a wonderfully shaped wooden frame.  The upholstery also extends to the platform of the bed which is a nice detail. I really like this room and I think that this is a very successful blend of contemporary and traditional furnishings, umm, yes, transitional style.

Michael Smith, via Elle Decor uses an Indian gilded wooden canopy frame with great success juxtaposed with the white upholstered headboard.  The shape is whimsical and of course, marries well with the canopy bed.  I do love the undecorated feeling of this room. Although undecorated is the term I would use rather than understated, as that it is most certainly not.

This bed is designed by Courtnay Haden and featured in Elle Decor.   The curvy shape of the headboard effectively anchors the room.  Upholstered headboards can be made in a variety of wonderful shapes which is one of the reasons that designers like to use them.

This shape is very whimsical and lends great style to a staid stripe.

Here is another example of an upholstered headboard that is incorporated within a bed frame.  This one has great lines, which are punctuated by a dark welt.  The color scheme is very simplistic and soothing.  I do love crisp white linens on a bed – I have them myself after years of lots of pattern and color on my bed.

Vicente Wolf upholsters both the head and footboards of his bed in creamy linen and floats it diagonally in his bedroom.  This room is ethereal, isn’t it?

Shannon Bowers uses a similar shape in her head and footboards upholstered in white linen.  Similar shape, similar idea, but what wildly different bedrooms.  I am curious, which one do you prefer? Leave your opinion in the comments section, I’d love to know what you think.

Another trend that I am seeing is a headboard that extends the length of the bedwall.  This is an intriguing application that has many possibilities for many different styles.

Here you see the same style again, but in a completely different environment.

Here is a similar idea, but shorter.  I like the idea of this, but I wonder how this would look with a higher headboard?  It might be utterly divine.

This simple rectangular headboard wrapped in the same bold pattern as the walls and windows is seamless.  Another application would not have been so successful in the room this size.

This is one of my favorite inspiration images for a headboard.  Which is funny, as I don’t like the bed linens at all.  The photography is lovely so that has something to do with it.  But what really inspires me are the panels of linen that spill over the headboard.  This would work with so many different styles and patterns.  I think it’s wonderful.

So, which bedroom did you prefer Wolfe or Bowers?  One last look, below.

Bowers

Wolfe

Let me know….

Kristin

Tagged as: Shannon Bowers, Vicente Wolf