Should Bedroom Furniture Match? - Design Myths
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Season 4, Episode 6 "Design Myths: Bedroom Furniture Should Match"
The bedroom suite of furniture has been with us for a long time, and as a foundation for a bedroom, it will always be a classic. Matching isn’t all wrong, and in this room, we chose three matching pieces. The neutral look of these pieces lets us have fun experimenting with other pieces. Mix it up and things get very interesting. When you think bedroom furniture, stretch beyond the bedroom suite. Use it for a foundation, and then add some fun.
Matching Isn’t Bad, But It’s Not The Only Way
You can’t go wrong with a beautiful, matching set of bedroom furniture. Matching bedroom sets exist for a reason, and we sell many full sets of bedroom furniture at Slumberland. But it’s not the only way to do things. By freeing yourself of the single-design mandate and employing a little creativity, you can design a coordinated, comfortable, and attractive room with pieces that have different designs, colors, and finishes, and there are some nice advantages to choosing this route.
Advantages of Buying Individual Pieces
There are several reasons why this might be the right move for you. Here are a few:
Create Your Own Style
One of the most satisfying reasons why you can mismatch bedroom pieces is that you can make a truly individualized look for your bedroom. You may have bought a cherrywood sleigh bed that you love but realized that your space is too small or dark to fill the bedroom with matching pieces. Adding white bedding and a white bench with light upholstery to the foot of the bed can really balance out the heavier wood.
Build Your Room on a Budget
If you can’t afford to buy an entire set or don’t want to take advantage of a financing option, you can buy one piece at a time. Most retailers sell furniture as individual pieces or part of a collection, so you can buy parts of a set one piece at a time, but you can also transition your bedroom furniture using accent pieces. This allows you to pay for a bed, for instance, then several months later, buy a dresser, then a nightstand or end table, etc.
Keep Pieces You Like
Do you have a chest that’s been in the family for generations? Did you find a one-of-a-kind bedframe at an estate sale? You don’t have to get rid of treasured pieces to upgrade your bedroom design. You can keep the existing furniture as an accent piece while you replace everything else, or you can bring in a new piece as an accent piece. It works both ways!
Hints For Combining Mismatching Furniture
There are a few dos and don’ts for matching furniture that wasn’t designed to go together. These are more suggestions than hard rules. You ultimately have to decide whether a piece works with your vision or it doesn’t.
Look at All the Design Elements of the Piece
When determining whether pieces will go together, don’t limit yourself to pairing up one or two design elements. First, examine the colors and ask whether they match or contrast the way you want them to. Then examine the shape. Are the lines curvy or straight? Also, compare the design intent. Transitional furniture goes with a wide array of styles, but some styles clash. For instance, you might not want to pair a minimalist bed with a rustic nightstand. It may work, but these two decór styles aren’t usually matched. Also, examine the details. Designs in the wood, exposed hinges, door handles, etc. The more that these design elements go together, the safer the choice.
Use Accessories to Bring Designs Together
As we demonstrated in the video, by using a patterned rug and quilt to tie a blue accent chair with other design elements of the room, you can often accessorize a mismatched piece of furniture into a decorative scheme. Popular bedroom accessories include area rugs, toss pillows, throws, lampshades, curtains, and of course, don’t forget the bedding. You can often match the fabric of the bedding with another dominant piece of furniture to bind them.
Don’t Overdo It
Occasionally, you’ll find a piece that just doesn’t work with the rest of your bedroom. Rather than trying to remodel an entire look around the piece, try to determine whether there’s another place in the house it might work. This technique might not work with a king size bed, but you can sometimes move a nightstand or chest of drawers to all hallway or living room if it matches the decor.
For more design tips, check out other episodes of our celebrated video series: The ReArranger!