dressing your bed

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THE NETHERWORLD OF SLEEP and the magic of dreams have inspired literature and poetry for centuries. But the bed itself, with all of its evocative associations, can also be a work of art—a blank slate on which to express the most personal of visions. This brief guide is designed to help you fashion a masterpiece all your own.

Colors, Patterns, and Textures

The bed can become a rich composition through the use of color, pattern, and texture. When creating an imaginative bed ensemble, inspiration might spring from the design of the bed, the architecture of the room, a favorite color palette, or even the memory of an alluring place. Whatever the source of inspiration, the bed is the focal point and most dominant element of a room. It is the ideal canvas for creative exploration and the expression of changing moods, likes, and desires. The joy of linens lies in the endless possibilities they offer for transformation without great expense or effort.

Color

Colors please and delight our senses; they are instant communicators of mood and energy. Color is also active. Warm colors like yellow and gold can warm and brighten a dark, cold room. Cool colors, like blue and green, can refresh in the heat of summer. Cool colors also recede, giving a small room the appearance of more space, while warm colors advance. Groupings of colors form color schemes, and according to their arrangement, tell their own stories.

NATURALS – ivory, beige, mocha – have an environmental appeal. The unbleached simplicity of earthy tones can be a soothing balm for the psyche. Naturals are comfortable to live with and blend well with almost any other color or interior.

WHITE is a powerful color scheme in itself. Used alone, it is unerringly tasteful. Combined with any other color, its flexibility is unsurpassed. It is adaptable to feminine and masculine, traditional and contemporary, minimalist and complex motifs.

COMPLIMENTARY COLORS (hues that are opposite on the color wheel) create more energy and drama. When these colors—orange and blue, red and green, or purple and yellow—are placed next to one another, each appears more intense. Use complementary colors as accents, or bridge them with neutrals; combined in equal proportions they can be overwhelming.

ANALOGOUS COLORS, like yellow and green, are adjacent to one another on the color wheel and, combined, have a more harmonious effect. A simple change of the accent colors, from complementary hues to analogous ones, dramatically changes the mood of the entire ensemble.

MONOCHROMATIC COLOR SCHEMES, using hues of varying intensity of the same color, send an entirely different message. Invitingly peaceful, a monochromatic bed ensemble suggests the subtle variations in tone often found in nature. The muted colorations provide the perfect canvas for the interplay of texture and pattern.

Pattern

Pattern adds drama and interest to the bed. The number of colors used in a pattern contributes to its depth and overall character. Yves Delorme linens are renowned for their depth and dimension as a result of their generous use of subtle color variations, even in the simplest of patterns. The scale of a pattern also determines its character. A large-scale pattern, for instance, makes a bolder statement. It is more assertive, appears to take up more space, and creates more energy. To counter the tendency of a bold pattern to dominate, mix it with a smaller, more delicate one for a dynamic balance.

The most creative beds mix patterns for a fresh, one-of-a-kind look. The key to successful combinations is in understanding that patterns that are too similar compete with one another. Combine florals with stripes or plaids, or bold patterns with delicate prints or solids to let them play off one another in a pleasing symphony of layers.

 

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