Bedroom
Shutters to open window, framed art -- Frame a view. To appreciate summer inside a bedroom, welcome it in from the outside. Opt for a window treatment that exposes every inch of glass, like these solid shutters, to maximize the focus on the green and growing landscape. In this room, a mirror opposite the bed reflects the garden outlook to double the effect.
Headboard -- Go for painted paneling. The paneled wall and ceiling give this room a beside-the-sea look that instantly brings summer to mind. Install boards horizontally to draw the eye outward and make a narrow room look wider than it really is, and finish them in white to increase the sense of space.
Bed -- Play up the light. A room filled with daylight is key to a summery look, so strategies that introduce as much light as possible and reflect it back into the space are vital. In this bedroom, clear stair railing ensures that the light isn’t blocked, and dark, heat-absorbing shades are avoided. Select different textures in an all-pales room to create decorative interest.
Canopy bed, rug & curtains -- Dream of tropical shores. Follow the lead of this room and use a brilliant accent shade to suggest the season. Coral, both as a color and a motif, stands out against the layers of neutral shades for the floor, furniture and soft furnishings, and evokes faraway, sun-drenched locations. Keep themed touches like these to a handful for a sophisticated result.
White Linen & headboard -- Dress in white linens. Nothing says summer like a bed swathed in pristine white sheets. They look cooling and help regulate body temperature naturally even on hot nights because cotton is breathable. Want a more relaxed effect than crisp cotton offers? A duvet cover, sheets and pillowcases made from pure linen, like these, have an invitingly rumpled appearance and make sleep comfortable when the nighttime temperatures stay high.
Benjamin Dhong Interiors SaveEmail Master Bedroom (After) With a double-height ceiling in his bedroom, Dhong wanted to cozy it up into “a little captain’s cabin.” He customized a canopy bed from Room & Board to make it tall enough to stand up to the room’s height. At the same time, it makes the bed area feel snug. A crisp tailored canopy adds a modern touch. “Gang them together, and they become pure architecture,” Dhong says of the three metal-framed mirrors from Ballard Designs. (He buys these “by the dozen” and used several more throughout the house.) The art is a student copy of a Roman painting he scooped up at a flea market. A John Dickinson table celebrates the iconic San Francisco designer. Swing-arm lamps mounted to the wall save space. And a convex round mirror over the bed serves as another porthole. Wall paint: Revere Pewter, Benjamin Moore
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