Contemporary Beds for the Contemporary Bedroom

With the appearance of thinking outside the box, contemporary beds are often on the cutting edge of design. Contemporary bedroom furniture is well-known for smooth lines, sleek profiles and the creative use of construction and decorative materials. Beautiful and practical, a contemporary bed breathes new life into the space and in turn, revitalizes you.

Contemporary Wood Beds

A contemporary style wood bed is ideal for those who want their bedroom to posses a clean, uncluttered look, but still include elements that lend the room a warm, comfortable and relaxed look. Contemporary beds with lighter finishes such as birch, pine or maple can make a bedroom appear lighter. But wood bed with a dark rich finish like the Modus Maui Wave Birchwood Panel Bed that incorporates texture will definitely create visual interest.

Contemporary Metal Beds

Contemporary metal beds possess a unique and timeless elegance that is conducive to a tranquil bedroom environment. Metal beds a generally strong and long lasting. Typically the frame of a metal bed will be made of iron. But it's what a designer can do with the metal that makes metal contemporary beds so interesting. When going for a trendy look, choose a contemporary bed like the Hillsdale Neopolitan Metal Bed with its individual bowed design and sleek nickel finish.

Platform Beds

An essential element of the contemporary bedroom is the platform bed. As far as contemporary beds go, there is just something inviting about its low-profile design that literally breathes new life into a room's décor. Platform beds with underbed or built-in storage drawers are ideal for a contemporary bedroom, especially one that doesn't have much storage space to begin with. Maybe because they are closer to the floor or they commonly don't have a footboard, the appeal of a platform bed is its casual air of relaxation.


- E.L.

Full Bedroom Sets vs. Individual Pieces

Why buy a bedroom set?
Full bedroom sets are already professionally chosen and designed to look great together. The style, the materials they’re made from, the various designs are all similar and complementary. Not to mention, they definitely save time and money if you are limited on resources but want a new look for your room.

The great thing is that with full bedroom sets, all the interior designing is done for you. All you need to do is decide where to put each piece. Buying a full bedroom set is usually cheaper than buying individual pieces as well. If anything is missing, then that’s when you’ll want to supplement your bedroom set with added furniture.

Why buy individual pieces?
If you do have a bit more money to spend and are confident in your eye for design, why not invest in individual pieces? By going this route you can make your space more reflective of your personal style, which is also very important. On the other had, if you are quite strapped for cash, you can buy pieces over time, saving up for each one.

What do you prefer: purchasing a full set or buying pieces individually?

-M

Bedroom Sanctuaries by Curt Christian at Cymax Stores

Shabby chic could not even begin to describe our bedroom furniture! Once a pristine white but now forest green, the dresser came from my parents’ house. It followed me to college; then to my first “adult” apartment; and finally to the townhouse we moved to after we were married. The nightstands were rejects picked up somewhere by my husband, and the chest of drawers moved with him from his last bachelor apartment because he refused to pack the contents. The bed had been my grandmother’s and even though it was old enough to be a collectible, the headboard was in rough shape.

The fact that nothing matched really got on my nerves. For the one room in a home that was supposed to be a sanctuary, our bedroom was sorely lacking. I was determined to fix the problem. But the shabby un-chic appearance of our bedroom furniture didn’t seem to bother my husband as much as it did me. After several failed attempts to drag him shopping for new bedroom furniture, I took matters into my own hands.

My husband was right about one thing though: going store to store looking for what we wanted was time consuming and inconvenient. Searching online for bedroom furniture sites, I discovered Bedroom Furniture N More. Browsing their website, I came across an excellent selection of everything I needed, from wood beds to dressers to nightstands, to transform our shabby room into a beautiful and relaxing place to rest, unwind and prepare for the next day.

The Curt Christian Designs by Martin really got my attention, with their rich finishes and unique decorative accents. Available only through Cymax Stores at BedroomFurnitureNMore.com, the collections by Curt Christian were gorgeous and simply stunning! The fact that Curt Christian furniture is eco-friendly was also a huge plus for me.

As much as I loved my grandmother, the traditional-styled furniture just had to go! I wanted something in between; not too formal but not too contemporary either. Because I always wanted a sleigh bed, I chose the Parker Beacon five-piece bedroom set. When I first looked at the picture, I wondered why they would pair a white mirror with furniture that had a rich dark finish. But after looking closer, I realized that the mirror was made of brushed silver steel to match the custom hardware on the dresser drawers. This was exactly what I was looking for – a classic look with contemporary touches for a sophisticated, yet comfortable appearance.

Thanks to Curt Christian, now my bedroom…I mean our bedroom really is a restful sanctuary that is both warm and inviting.

Mirror, Mirror…Who is the Fairest Cat of Them All?

I have a confession to make. Of all the pieces of furniture designed to make our lives easy, efficient and more organized, the bedroom vanity is the one I understand the least. I know they are specifically designed to organize cosmetics, beauty supplies, jewelry and other small accessories, while being comfortably seated in front of the mirror. However, to my way of thinking, a dresser with a mirror (in conjunction with a corner of the bed to sit on) serves exactly the same purpose. It seems redundant to have a piece of furniture solely for looking at yourself taking up valuable floor space.

I took a trip back home last month to help my sister sort through what my father would and would not take with him when he moved into a smaller place, after selling the house. Since my mother was quite a collector of furniture, china and other curiosities, my father didn't want to throw out the baby with the bathwater. So, my sister and I decided to call in an antiques and collectibles appraiser for a consultation to help us separate good stuff from garage sale stuff. Before the appraiser was to arrive, my father asked if we planned to show him the vanity.

What vanity? My father said that I had already seen it because it was in the closet of the bedroom I used when I visited. Apparently, on one of their weekend day trips out of the city, my mother and father stopped for lunch in a near-by town and ended up perusing the treasures of an outdoors antiques fair. Mother spotted it in the back corner of one of the booths and immediately fell in love with it. When I opened the closet door, it became quite clear why I hadn't really noticed it. It was buried beneath a pile of miscellaneous items. But, after my sister and I cleared everything off and pulled it out into the center of the room, I could see immediately why my mother wanted to bring this bedroom vanity home with her.

Made of walnut, it had a drop front with a full length mirror in the center. The mirror had an arched top; the drawers on either side had delicate bail handles; but the thing that fascinated me the most about the vanity was the two, freestanding barley twist oval side mirrors. Intended to stand on either side of the center mirror, they could be moved around into a "tri-fold" position so that a person sitting at the vanity could see the back of their hair. Tucking conveniently underneath the middle section, a square vanity bench with a cane seat completed the look.

We had swung it around and pushed it up against the foot of the bed. Even still, there was barely enough room to move around. But, after the appraiser had left, I didn't have the heart to push this beautiful piece of furniture back into the closet. The next morning, I found myself carefully perched on the cane vanity bench applying face cream, brushing my hair and taking time to just admire the vanity…okay I'll admit it, admire myself in the mirror. Completely seduced, I gave in to the vanity's charms and arranged my small collection of beauty products on its two tabletops.

Later on that afternoon, I dashed into the bedroom to freshen my makeup before going out. I discovered my Dad's cat, Joe, sitting in front of the left oval mirror tilting his head slowly to one side. Then, he slowly tilted his head to the other side. I thought that, upon sitting down, Joe would vacate his pride of place. No such luck. He slowly tilted his head back to the left side oblivious to whatever it was I had in mind. He was still, for want of a better expression, admiring himself by the time I was ready to leave. For the remainder of my visit, the odds of stepping into the bedroom to find Joe in front of one of the oval mirrors were good. He never varied his routine-he slowly dipped to the left then to the right then back again.

The whole experience has me reassessing my opinion of this "vain" piece of furniture. I am seriously considering purchasing one: sitting at my mother's dressing table getting ready for the day gave me a feeling of confidence that perched on the edge of the mattress leaning into the dresser mirror while applying lipstick did not. And, since it seems that they like primping too, maybe I should get a cat to match my new bedroom vanity.