Decorating Your Master Retreat in High Style
Bedroom
If you’re getting enough shut-eye, you’re spending about a third of the day in bed. Why not invest as much on this retreat as your wardrobe? Treat yourself to quality bedding: inviting goose down comforters, fresh high thread-count bed linens, featherbeds that conform to curves. Choose Egyptian cotton jacquard and sateen sheets. It doesn’t necessarily need to be all white. Treat colors like neutrals, layering textures and several shades of the same color. There might not be room service, but you can keep a minibar. Stock a small fridge with your favorite libations and crumb-free treats. Create a haven in which to enjoy an ice cold martini and the Sunday crosswords.
Bath
Be spoiled by a spa-inspired bathroom, replete with luxurious accessories. Clawfoot tubs with spray head nozzles, his and hers pedestal sinks, and antique hardware make the space less clinical. Don’t forget a chrome book rack for bringing pulp novels into the tub. Artisan bowl sinks are high style, and perfect for facial steams. Heated towel racks can house plush bath sheets or spa robes. Dual and triple showerheads relax the back, as well as rinsing off those salt and sugar scrubs. Don’t feel guilty about hording soy candles, aroma-therapeutic essential oils, and other lovely little potions in apothecary jars.
Media Room
Media rooms are becoming standard in new homes, but by keeping the HDTV in your master suite, late night movie fests will be more cozy. Ashley Furniture offers entertainment centers with center sections and side pier cabinets sold separately, so you can buy just the components you need to house a larger screen. Kerry Covington, an interior designer at Ashley Furniture notes that “Media groupings are some of our best sellers. Leather seating is always popular, and media room furniture is trending to the art deco style of the old movie houses.”
Dressing Area
A walk-in closet becomes your personal boutique with a few well-chosen upgrades. Cut crystal chandeliers are contemporary in unexpected places. Glamorous lighting instantly elevates plain spaces to diva dressing rooms. An upholstered bench or wing chair is essential for trying on boots. The closet must be as well-organized as any retail store in order to be properly navigated. Group similar styles and colors together. Use substantial matching hangers. Add a cheval mirror and at least one piece of fine art. It’s important to have something beautiful just for private reflection.
Sitting Area
Entertain guests or take a quiet cup of tea alone. When designing a sitting area, consider the press room of a celeb’s hotel suite. It feels more personal than a formal living room, but isn’t to casual for entertaining. For yourself and others, add a bit of whimsy with bouquets of large live blooms, cool coffee table books, and possibly a trompe l’oeil mural.
Turn your master suite into a private oasis by leaving work at the door. Integrate an office if you must, but the space may be more satisfying used as a workout area or kitchenette. In every area, hand-carved wool rugs and vegetable-tanned leather tile floors are the epitome of style. Soft silhouettes and neutral colors are most soothing. However, Mr. Covington “So many people are breaking the ‘rule’ that the rooms flow into each other,” Mr. Covington observed. “Each room can have a separate color scheme and individual character.”
In short, spoil yourself! Create a haven that you won’t have to leaveâÂ?¦ at least until Monday morning.
