We spend nearly a third of our lives sleeping, so it's worth investing time in making your bedroom just perfect, inducing a feeling of calm, improving sleep patterns and creating a sense of wellbeing. Seeing as the right bed can make such a difference to our lives it’s worth putting in the time to do your research. When it comes to finding the perfect bed we asked the experts at French Bedroom to give us their top tips to help make this decision a little easier.
French Bedroom has been specialising in creating perfect bedrooms for over 12 years. They pride themselves on creating inspiring interiors which are luxurious but carefree and over the years they have learnt a lot about choosing the perfect bed.
Size matters
The first thing to consider is what size of bed you are looking for. Typically designers would work on the 1:3 rule - for every one-part bed three-parts room. The best way to look at this is to measure the wall behind where your bed will sit and divide it by one third to ascertain the best size of bed. Be mindful that the mattress sizes get longer as well as wider.
UK double mattress: 1.35 x 1.90 Metres
King Size mattress: 1.50 x 2.00 Metres
Superking mattress: 1.80 x 2.00 Metres
Large Emperor mattress: 2.15 x 2.15 Metres
These measurements are for the mattress, and your bed frame will be slightly bigger than this, depending on the material and style of bed you choose. Ensure you follow standard UK sizes as these are the safest bet to ensure consistency with bed linen fit.
What will your bed need to compete with?
These measurements are a helpful guide, but you also need to consider how you’ll use the room, for instance, if you have a dressing room you won’t need a huge amount of other furniture in the space, you can comfortably size up, whereas if you have larger pieces of furniture in your room or fitted wardrobes then you will want to ensure you have plenty of space to walk around the room before you make a final decision on size.
Also at this point take into consideration what the access to your room is like. Sometimes mocking up a box in the dimensions of the largest piece (probably the mattress) is the only way to make sure the bed will get in (you’ve seen George Clarke do this on Channel 4 right?!). It’s heartbreaking for us and our customers to discover their much longed-for bed cannot fit through the door.
The ultimate position
Regardless of bedroom size, there are always options when it comes to layout. Choosing where to locate your French bed or upholstered bed and the direction it faces can make a big difference to sleep patterns. Be smart when positioning furniture; try not to place the bed next to the radiator. This will not only be uncomfortable; but will also block the heat from circulating efficiently around the room. Also think about enhancing your quality of sleep, for example, if the property is in an apartment building, think about which wall is the quietest and arrange the furniture accordingly.
Embrace the beauty and authenticity of pure and natural materials
Once you have decided the size of the bed, the next step is to think about materials. The main choices are wood (either softwood or hardwood), rattan, or upholstered beds. There are many more types that fit into each category, and we will help you unravel that when we dig deeper into style options later on.
Softwood is usually made from trees with needles, like pines. It is cheaper than hardwood as it can be grown quickly, resulting in a less dense, lighter and softer wood that can be easily varnished, waxed or painted. Still, it will not be as durable as hardwood, and the knots make it challenging to carve into intricate details.
Most of our beds are made from hardwood, as we care passionately about designing pieces that last for generations. If you look at our Bonaparte French bed detailing, you can see how a knot in the wrong place would ruin the delightful design, and so for us mahogany is the perfect choice of material. Almost our entire collection of carved wood beds are made from mahogany, and in some cases we use recycled mahogany too. The reclaimed and recycled wood of our Chateauneuf Collection has a purposely rustic finish, designed to reveal the true beauty of the wood; the natural cracks and grain add unique characteristics to each item.
When buying a wooden bed, you need to ensure that the company you are buying from sources its wood from sustainable and regulated forests. While you might be tempted to think that softwood is the environmental choice, if you consider the piece's lifetime value, that is often not the case.
Consider comfort, it’s not all in the mattress
Metal is undoubtedly an enduring material, but not so forgiving if you stub your toe on it in the middle of the night! You might be able to find a beautiful antique piece but metal beds are rarely available in bigger than double size and some are a bespoke size, making finding a mattress and bed linen almost impossible.
An upholstered bed can provide an additional layer of comfort and softness, consider if you like sitting up in bed to read and want to lean back on something luxurious. The materials range from silks and velvets to linens, and there is a huge variety of materials to suit a range of styles and needs. Do you have children or pets (or even messy partners!), if so, you might be worried about the risk of marking the fabric. We find this happens less than you would expect, and should the worst happen, a local upholsterer can usually give your bed a fresh start or even a new look. So we say, don’t compromise on what you want most, you need to feel comfortable and content when you climb in there each night!
Let feng shui guide you
A Feng Shui expert will first ask you to consider the headboard when choosing your bed. A good solid headboard will create strong and supportive energy for your bed, which is conducive to better sleep and brings a feeling of being supported in life.
A headboard with gaps or no headboard at all - will do the opposite. Feng shui-wise, a flimsy headboard cannot give you energy, support and stability. Nevermind disrupting sleep or a crooked-neck from disappearing pillows in the night!
The fun bit has arrived, it’s time to shop!
Once you have decided on the most appropriate size and considered what the right materials are for you personally, it is time to have some fun with the style options.
Although we specialise in French Style Beds, there are many styles in our collection:
We have bold statement pieces such as our Sassy Boo four-poster, recently featured on BBC's Killing Eve. Our gold ornate Versailles and Palais Royal Avenue pieces as if they were plucked from a French Palace (or the set of Bridgerton) as well as rustic carved pieces in our Chateauneuf range, made with Rattan and recycled wood.
Buy a bed you can keep forever
Have fun, investigate, do your research and ultimately trust your heart. It can be tempting to buy something that suits your current style, but our French-style beds will endure longer than the envisaged paint, future wallpapers, carpets or even your house! It is always better to opt for the piece that is calling your heart rather than matching it with your current colour scheme. That way, it will always bring you joy, no matter the decorations - and you can then have fun accessorising as the mood may take you.
Shop smartly
Lastly make sure you check the returns policy and warranty before placing the order, so you are covered should something be amiss. Are you shopping with a company with good values and excellent reviews? What’s the service like? We recommend buying from a company with a decent delivery team, and if needed, they can even put the bed together for you. It feels so special to have your bed assembled for you, ready to sleep on that night!
Your perfect bed
The right bed will last a lifetime, bring you comfort and provide a sanctuary to retreat from the world. If you need inspiration, we have boards galore on Pinterest, and if you need specific advice, do get in touch. We like nothing more than helping our lovely customers find the bed of their dreams, maybe we’re biased, but we think you’ll find yours browsing through our French Style Beds.
To search, discover and shop French Bedroom's classic French style for your home, simply click here. Or discover our range of beds here.
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