DEAR GAIL: I just moved into my very first home and I love it. I’m writing because I have a fairly small master bedroom but want to create a small retreat in the room and somehow divide it off from the bed area. I only have a family room to watch TV and relax and want to have at least another area to go to when my husband is watching the game. I know I can just go into the bedroom, but I don’t want to be sitting in bed. I know that has to be something interesting that I can do. Thanks for your help. Marcy F.
DEAR MARCY: First, congratulations on your first home, how exciting for you and your husband. I can still remember the first home that I owned and there is nothing like coming home to your own place. It makes working those extra hours at work worth it, doesn’t it?
Since you mentioned that your master is a fairly small room you don’t want to put anything up that would totally divide the room as it would cause you to start feeling enclosed and uncomfortable. You don’t want to feel like you’re sitting in a closet when you’re going there to relax.
To start, make sure that your chair and ottoman are extremely comfortable even if it means they need to be a bit oversized for the area. If you end up buying a chair that is too small and not something you’d want to curl up in to relax, you will end up sitting in bed. You’ll also need a small side table, nothing big, just large enough to place a drink. If you have the room, for a 24 inch table, you can buy a table lamp for your lighting. If not, purchase a floor lamp or even a wall mounted light fixture. You want to make this cozy and comfortable but also functionally for you. You need your own separate light from your bedside lamps. This way you can go in and only turn on your retreat lighting without lighting up the whole room.
Once you have your furniture, place your pieces and then see how much room you have left for a divider. You can use a wonderful screen with a large open design to create a niche feeling for you. Place it between yourself and your bed so that when you’re sitting in your chair, you’re not looking at your bed. If you’re able to arrange your chair with the back towards your bed, great. If not that’s O.K. as then you’ll just make the screen your visual break and then also incorporate some greenery, accessories and artwork with the screen. What you want to do is create a vignette with these items.
With the artwork that you select, I would look for an image that has an outdoor scene that you love. This way when you look up at it, you are taking yourself away to that place and forgetting you are in your bedroom. It’s funny, whenever I’m working with my commercial clients ordering artwork for their private offices; they always request images of places that take them away, if just for a few minutes. It is amazing what just a few minutes away, by looking at an inviting picture can do for your day.
Another suggestion is to add a see thru sheer curtain. You want to make sure that you can see through it as anything too opaque will make your area small and possibly claustrophobic. You can hang it straight from the ceiling with ceiling mounted drapery rods and leave an opening to give the impression of a doorway, or tie the panels back to the wall. Depending upon your theme, you can also create panels with beads, lace, ribbon, bamboo, metal mesh or even create your own sculptural architectural screen that coordinates with your bedroom’s theme. If you’re more contemporary, cut large open circles out of sheet metal and connect them with fishing wire. Have more of a whimsical country feel, string together straw hats and purses with ribbon. Enjoy your new home and retreat Marcy.