Love Your Bedroom

You spend a third of your life in bed (and, ahem, if you don't, you should). So why not love every inch of it? Here are some tips anyone can use to make their bedroom a place they want to cozy up in:

1. Dress the walls and floors in comfort.
A beautiful bedroom is all about comfort, and that starts with the walls and the floors. First, paint your bedroom in soothing colors that are on the muted end of the color spectrum, like charcoal gray, baby blue. Then, add drapes around the windows. I'm a firm believer in floor to ceiling drapes, it elongates the room, and makes your ceilings seem taller and grander. And you can shut them for extra privacy. Finally, buy a cozy rug for the floor-think shag or an animal skin like sheepskin. That way, when you step out of bed, the first thing your bare toes touch is pure and soft.

2. Drape your bed in luxury.
Next, buy a set of soft sheets that make you want to climb into them at night (albeit sometimes you won't want to get out of them in the morning, either). And don't go too far with your thread count: Most sheets top off at softness when you reach a 500 thread count; so above that you're just paying for bragging rights. Cover the bed with a fluffy down duvet, a wonderful wool blanket or a soft cotton quilt. Then, toss a gorgeous throw onto the foot of the bed. A beautiful throw on a bed sets the tone for comfort.

3. Soften the lighting.
Speaking of soft, you want your lighting to be just as calming. A dimmer is a lighting must-have for everything from overhead ceiling lights (which aren't exactly the warmest lights to begin with) to pendant lamps and table lamps beside the bed. I believe in tall table lamps because if you're sitting up in bed reading, you can access the light coming through. Matching lamps is ideal, but for an eclectic bedroom look, go ahead and mix lamps, provided there is some consistency, either in height or color. One example of that would be to try different bases in matching shades.

4. Create a feeling of hotel suite grandeur.
If you have room, add a chair to a corner of your bedroom, which will make your room seem larger - really, it will - and give it the feeling of a luxury suite. (And hey, you need someplace other than the floor to toss your outfit outtakes!) With a larger room, consider an upholstered bench at the foot of the bed. If my bedroom were bigger, I'd have a sofa and two chairs in there, like a hotel suite. Also buy a headboard, they are making a huge comeback, especially ones that are custom tufted, and they give your bedroom a completed look that a bed frame on its own can't.

5. Finally, add something you think is beautiful.
When you wake up, you want to see beautiful things. Maybe it's a painting on your wall or maybe it's an antique quilt that hangs over a chair. I don't want all the things that make me smile hidden at the bottom of my closet, I put a few of my favorites on display on my bedroom shelves, along with a few art books, a couple of porcelain figurines and a pile of orange Hermes scarf boxes. Basically, I turned the fashion I love so much into art. So be creative, but just keep the Manolo's off the mantel.

Don't Forget The Bedroom

The bedroom is the most personal room for most homes. It should also be one of the most personalized. It can be a romantic love nest or a sanctuary for sleep and relaxation. It can be cheerful and calming for the kids, as they innocuously delude themselves into thinking they own the room. Wanting to impress friends, neighbors, and guests, homeowners tend to get tunnel-vision, focusing on public areas of the home. It's time to be selfish and turn your attention to bedroom decorating. After all, before you take that morning shower, you must first get out of your bed.

The center of every bedroom is the bed. It's ostensibly why the room exists in the first place. Obviously, your first concern will be the mattress, but don't neglect your headboard. It's difficult to underestimate the importance of psychological factors in getting a good night's sleep. The feel and even the appearance of your bed when you get into it can translate into how you feel when you get out of it.

Moving away from your bed, take some time to consider your general bedroom decorating scheme. Do you find the color of the walls relaxing? Muted colors may tend to be relaxing in general, but if they become too bland, you may find yourself more annoyed than relaxed. Should you have different colors or shades on your ceiling than your walls? Your bedroom walls will be more noticeable when you enter your bedroom; your ceiling is more noticeable when you're lying in bed.

Lighting is important in any room, but especially so in the bedroom. You probably need full lighting during the day, a reading light for evening, and dim lighting for when you wake in the middle of the night. Light dimmers are quite effective, but you don't want to necessarily rely on one lighting fixture for all your bedroom lighting.

Fabrics are present in every bedroom, but they can only be effectively incorporated within larger bedroom installations. A decoratively patterned or solid colour comforter will work well with an upholstered headboard depending on the fabric you choose for the headboard. The same holds true for window curtains and wall texturing. Avoid being too plain. Avoid being too busy.

Creating a budget is a good idea for any home improvement project. Giving yourself at least a budget range will help you focus on what can be done and what's most important to you. Some parts of the project you may be able to do on your own, for others you may want to hire a contractor. If the most important thing is the headboard, you may want to hire an upholsterer to custom build you one, and you can paint the walls yourself. If the most important thing is your walls, you can hire a house painter for the walls and buy or build a cheaper headboard.

Whatever you decide, it's time to make your bedroom your own again. Bedroom decorating is a relatively simple home improvement project that can greatly enhance your home and your life.

Cityline, Toronto October 25, 2007

Our company was featured on Cityline in October 2007 where the decorator Mary was doing a segment on upholstered headboards.

Cityline thought that my upholstere wall panels would be a good option to offer their viewers of the show.

Mary and Marilyn did a great job in promoting our panels to the audience and viewers of the show.

We have had contact from customers all over Canada through this show and I want to thank everyone at the station who made it possible.

We love to hear from our customers across the country who saw the show and who are interested in our product Wall Huggers.

Breakfast Television February 7, 2007

My first public appearance with my new product Wall Huggers was on a television show called Breakfast Television.

This show was featuring viewers Inventions and Ideas. I contacted the show to tell them about my new idea and they asked me to be on the show.

Wow, I was on live television speaking to a very large audience about my upholstered wall panels called Wall Huggers.

It was great to meet with Kevin and Dina and thank you to all of the people who work behind the scene to make the show a success.

I love to hear from customers who saw me on the show.

Interior Design Show, Toronto, Ontario 2008

Our company Wall Huggers was present at the Interior Design show in Toronto, February 21-24th, 2008.



This was our first large event to introduce our new product to the Design Trade and Consumers.



The show was overwhelming at times with all of the attention we received from the attendees.


Thanks to all who visited my booth to view my new size panel 30"x30" called Eddy. It was done in a beautiful Latte Chenille fabric with custom covered buttons and was a huge success.

Grand River Living

Our Company was recently featured on Grand River Living a Rogers show in March 2008.

This program features local businesses in Southwestern Ontario that have products of interest to the local consumer.

It was great to meet with the producer Iain and their design consultant Jaqueline. They did a great job of promoting my business in the local community and many thanks go out to them.

If you get a chance please view the show on my website home page.