In choosing bedroom furniture, the first consideration will be what broad category you identify yourself with: uptown urban, garden cottage, traditional, transitional, or exotic. A half hour visit with a good salesperson at House of Oak & Sofas will help you determine which of these broad categories resonate with you.

Uptown Urban Category

In the uptown urban category, platform beds are all the rage. A platform bed usually has some kind of headboard attached to a wood frame that has wood legs at the foot of the bed also. However, there is no footboard to speak of so when you look at the bed, you see the clean lines of the bedding unobstructed by any panels or spindles on the footboard. However, this is not a typical “headboard only” arrangement where a headboard is attached to a metal Hollywood frame, as in most hotels, and there are no feet at the foot of the bed. In a platform bed, you get all the solid features of a traditional bed but exclude the “business” of the footboard. Other than an unobstructed view of the bedding, our customers like platform beds due to the ease in making the bed, and for taller customers, no obstruction for the “feet hanging over the end of the bed” syndrome. Platform beds often have a full slatted frame underneath so that the mattress can be used without a box spring. This low-profile look is extremely popular with youth. One of the uptown styles that continues to grow, especially with young professionals, is the Arts and Crafts style.

Garden Cottage Style

In the garden cottage style, painted beds are popular with white and off-white being the most used colors. Beds that combine wood and wicker are also popular for the “bring the outdoors in” look. Although bedding is usually used to add an accent color, House of Oak & Sofas can customize your bed with hand-painting to match wallpaper or other décor.

Traditional Bedroom Furniture

Traditional bedroom furniture remains one of the most popular categories; however, mixed media is often used to push the style toward a transitional look. It is not unusual to find a traditional style bedroom suite that has added leather, stone, iron or marble to accent the large amount of wood found in a bedroom suite. Variety is also achieved by mixing nightstand styles, offering cheval mirrors to match, and with upholstered seating at the foot of the bed. Distressed finishes also give the traditional bedroom a new look. In the opposite direction, clear, light sunny finishes also can render an entirely new look to a traditional style. Natural cherry has become quite popular in that look.

Exotic Styling

Exotic styling brings all of the above together. When people ask what constitutes an exotic style we tend to think of foreign cultural influences. As mass communication and the internet have “shrunk” the world, decorative and stylistic changes from around the globe have had a profound effect on furniture designs. The West Indies look adds mahogany finishes, stone and rattan, the Sahara look brings canopies, palm leaves and sandstone, and the Caribbean style includes grasses, brightly colored fabrics and coconut husks. African influences add bright mixtures of colors, exotic stone and marble finishes, and Egyptian motifs. Native American influences add traditional rug patterns in fabrics, turquoise accents, handmade pottery and precious stones. Of course, the list is endless, but it is easy to see how many of these stylistic effects could shape a bedroom selection. It also brings up a good point in that many more daring homeowners choose to decorate using mixtures of styles and woods. Where 20 years ago most decorating did not include multiple woods in one room, today you might find three or four woods in the same color family, a bed made of iron, and case pieces from two different styles. Anything goes—especially in exotic styling.

Transitional Styling

The transitional furniture category is broad and covers a genre that fits neatly between traditional and modern furniture, usually borrowing style and construction elements from both categories. For this reason, you will find transitional styles that are more traditional: Others that are more modern.

Once you have your style chosen, the pieces for a bedroom are fairly standard. King beds increase in popularity every year, but occasionally a customer will downsize from a king to a queen. New homes have large closets and built-in storage which leaves more room for non-traditional furniture in the bedroom. Most popular are loveseats, chaises and large chairs. An area rug to set off that part of the room is also an important part of the collection.

So, stop in and visit with a House of Oak & Sofas associate to see how you might re-furnish your bedroom: to make it speak the language that reflects your personality.

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Decorating Tips: Choosing Bedroom Furniture