Create a Cozy Bedroom Nook

This tiny bedroom alcove was transformed into a cozy sleeping nook with a clever use of patterned upholstery, playful hues and simple storage solutions.

By: Brian Patrick Flynn

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©Sarah Dorio Photography

Transforming a Bedroom Alcove

The quaint nook in this bungalow bedroom was transformed into a cozy place to lounge by upholstering the walls with botanical fabric, incorporating playful patterns and layering shades of spring green throughout.

Upholstered Walls

Wall upholstery is commonly used by designers to add pattern, texture and softness to a space. It also helps soundproof bedrooms and improves a room's acoustics. For a tailored look, add welt cord around the perimeter of upholstered walls. The welt will help frame the fabric and hide any pins which may peek through the top of attached fabric panels.

Coordinating Colors

Sleeping nooks work best when outfitted with calm colors and soothing textures. Keep a space serene by layering several shades of the room's dominant color rather than using high-contrast hues. Here, different shades of the spring-green tones seen in the botanical fabric were used on the trim and in the Roman shades.

Varying Tones

Designers often mix several shades of one color through textiles, wallcoverings and paint to create a well-layered look. This same principle applies to creating a bedding ensemble. Different shades of spring green were used on the velvet upholstery of the headboard and the stonewashed linens.

Mixing Color and Pattern

Carry the room's color scheme and design aesthetic into the bedding by layering various hues and patterns. A mix of prints ranging in shape and scale injects the space with raspberry and green tones.

Repetitious Fabric

Designers often choose en suite design to help tie different features of a bedroom together. Here, the same large-scale botanical fabric used for the wall upholstery was also used for the bed skirt.

Concealed Storage

Space is often limited in bedrooms and even more so in sleeping nooks. To keep the area from becoming cluttered, choose nightstands with integrated storage for everyday items like books, phone chargers and remotes.

Visible Storage

In addition to concealed storage, nightstands with open shelves are great for keeping extra blankets easily accessible yet neatly tucked away.

Traditional Tie Backs

Draperies are an excellent way to separate a bedroom nook from the rest of the room. Install tie backs when drapes are more decorative than functional. To coordinate with the spring green and blush tones used throughout the room, these tie-backs were made from the same fabric as the drapes but accented with muted pink trim.

Painted Ceiling

Designers often refer to ceilings as a room's fifth wall. Consider painting the ceiling in a shade similar to its wallcovering to create an enveloped feeling within a sleeping nook.

Accessible Outlets

Before turning a small space into a sleeping nook, it's important to ensure easy access to electrical outlets. Most builders add a pair of outlets evenly spaced along a bedroom's headboard wall to account for lamps on nightstands. Since sleeping nooks are not always original to a home's construction, it's likely that extra outlets will need to be added.

Create a Cozy Bedroom Nook

Related To:

Transforming a Bedroom Alcove

Upholstered Walls

Coordinating Colors

Varying Tones

Mixing Color and Pattern

Repetitious Fabric

Concealed Storage

Visible Storage

Traditional Tie Backs

Painted Ceiling

Accessible Outlets

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