Ladies,

The master bedroom is meant to be a getaway. One of the first things I ever did as a new wife was make this room a place free of clutter, business, and anything that detracted from feeling relaxed.

I looked to what luxury hotels and vacation rentals do. The ones overlooking the ocean in Italy, a vineyard in France, or ones that have an outdoor courtyard or balcony. This was always my romantic master bedroom template from my Mediterranean and French country decor preferences to a flow from indoor to outdoor living.

Beautiful vacation destinations do this well because they want people to book and stay. So, if you think of your own home in this way, you will design it to be a place you would getaway to as well. Aside from imparting the mindset behind creating a romantic master bedroom to the budding home decorator, what design enthusiast doesn’t want to see inside of someone else’s house? So welcome to my country home and how I create an elegant and romantic master bedroom.

Soft and Textured Textiles for Warm & Inviting Bedding

One of the best main elements of a master bedroom is bedding that beckons you to snuggle there. While the hotel look is a helpful template, I do not want my room to look as impersonal as a hotel room. While there is a nice look and feel of hotel bedding, you can make some deviations from that template to give bedding a bit of homey warmth or a unique look. Whatever I choose, I want the textiles alone to give a splendor to the room meaning that they look comfortable and beautiful. Textiles give texture, softness and visual fullness that make a room look warm and inviting. To do this for the bedding, I use a ruffled bed skirt, which is a favorite piece of mine to dress a bed. I love the feminine elegance of a “dust ruffle”. I use a plushy blanket over the top sheet, and for the warm season, I add a textured plushy throw on the end of the bed as the only other blanket. This throw is one of my Best Luxury Finds at Walmart as it is a dupe for the very expensive Barefoot Dreams throw.

Texture to fabric of a throw or throw pillow is a way to give some style to simple bedding, and it keeps the room from looking flat, especially since my bedding is all ivory white color. But I only use textured pillows that are actually soft, whether plushy, velvety, chenille, etc. Not only do these fabrics look softer than other fabrics, they feel softer.

The Soft Glow of Warm Lighting

Lamps are of utmost importance for lighting in the master bedroom. Lamp shades in a color darker than white will always diffuse a bulb to a warmer effect, as you can see from my gold and tan lamp shades. But you still need to use bulbs that are soft and warm for a pinkish gold glow. A bulb with a blue hue or anything labeled “daylight” will be too harsh for bedroom lighting.

Elegant Furnishings

This bed setup reminds me of something Mediterranean, with an elegance in the small ornate mirror and shapely lamps next to it and a focus on the bedding. If you forgo a headboard, I suggest putting something above a bed and at a height that gives shape to that area. To create a quality looking bedroom, and hence, an elegant one, nice lamps are an absolute must. Get lamps that have some presence, not too small or too rickety. The lamps are integral to a bedroom looking well styled. I go for lamps that are large rather than small for a master bedroom. I make sure the height of the bottom of the lampshade is about shoulder height when I am sitting in bed reading. This is a rough gauge for how tall a lamp should sit next to a bed. Obviously, we are all different heights, so it’s not a math equation, it’s a rule of thumb so that you don’t get something way too tall or way too short.

Master Bedroom Sitting Area

The sitting area is one of my favorite features of a master bedroom. Every hotel has a sitting area for the bedroom and chairs do become useful and an inviting space for spending time in the privacy of your own room. When we have company, I take my first coffee in the serenity of my bedroom so that I can read my Bible and pray. My husband and I often have our coffee together here in the morning. I would love to get a pair of armchairs that look more relaxed for this purpose, but in this limited space, these parsons chairs are comfortable and compact.

Elegant Finishes

In a bedroom you can keep the decor minimal for it to feel tidy but fill it in enough to keep it from being stark. Candles are a practical and beautiful decor item. A vase of flowers or greenery help give height to an area. A framed photograph or two of a romantic and elegant moment is perfect for this room. Some elegant glassware be it to drink from, or bowls to catch jewelry, watches, or other small items are nice dishes to display. These are all ways to fill out the flat surfaces. A way to keep things elegant is to use items with detail to their design that make them have a regal appeal such as pieces that have intricate borders in picture frames, trays, etc. Silver and gold metals both give a luxurious and timeless glamour. Here I have a tray with a candle, tile coasters for drinks, and a framed picture that depicts a romantic moment together. A tassel tied to something or draped on something is an elegant piece to add.

Different Styles of Elegance & Romance

These ideas can apply to your style even if you like something more modern and sleeker, or frillier, or more rustic, etc. These ideas still apply even as I continue to change certain things as I find different items or like to switch things up seasonally or continue my design adventures. Often times we are just working with what we have so use what you have well and make it as beautiful as you can right where you are. Then prioritize what to find at good deals to up the style.

Happy Decorating!