The Bed

Saturday mornings meant eating my dad’s blueberry pancakes followed by the requisite “stripping of the beds.” The previous week’s sheets were torn away from our mattresses and thrown onto the laundry room floor where they awaited their turn in the washing machine. My sister and I then headed to the linen closet to choose fresh sheets for the upcoming week. I recall this seemingly innocuous activity resulting in a few all-out brawls over a set of Raggedy Ann and Andy sheets. My father taught us girls how to fold perfectly tight hospital corners from his time in the army.  A pretty pink or yellow bedspread covered the flat sheet and a thin blanket. My mother taught us how to carefully make a “cocoon” to hold our pillow by folding the top of the bedspread in half, placing the pillow on the fold and bringing the bedspread back over the pillow. For some reason, this weekly task never felt like a chore, but a ritual.

Today, I often question why the bedroom doesn’t get more attention in interior design. Accolades are generally reserved for the kitchen, laundry and mudrooms—those spaces that everyone wanders to and from in the home. In contrast, the bedroom denotes a private space. After all, walking into someone’s bedroom feels like an intrusion. 

However, the bedroom deserves the same consideration as the common rooms, and I would argue more so. We begin and end the day in our bed. Countless dreams have been dreamt and nightmares endured here. We toss and turn in our beds and on occasion have cried ourselves to sleep. We’ve gone to bed angry with our spouse against the best advice to never do so. We think the worst thoughts at night in our beds just to be reassured that things are not so bad upon awakening to a new day. There is nowhere more intimate than our bed. And there is nothing…NOTHING…like the comfort of your own bed.

We should care dearly about the place that is our refuge. Serene decor is meant for the bedroom. I love white sheets and comforters, lots of pillows and neutrals peppered with pale blues and grays for softness in the constant quest “to sleep…..perchance to dream.”

Bed from Basset Furniture

https://www.bassettfurniture.com/custom-furniture/upholstered-beds.asp

Euro Shams from Serena and Lily

https://www.serenaandlily.com/brookside-shams/white/m12950.html?color=Sky#start=1

Bedding and lamps from HomeGoods