Erin and Ben Napier’s Very Best Bedroom Designs

Home Town's Erin and Ben Napier have hit upon a foolproof formula for restful retreats: Erin establishes a mood with a serene color palette. Ben swoops in to support her efforts with heirloom-quality constructions. They then conclude their transformations with touchable textiles to create spaces their homeowners will never want to leave. Variations on that formula are what make each room special, of course, and each of the Napiers’ creations has a character all its own. Read on for a look at our all-time favorites.

For their own bedroom, in turn, the Napiers combined gorgeous woodwork (the side table and the hope chest at the foot of the bed are Ben Napier originals, of course) with less-is-more furnishings that step back to let the Mississippi sun spill across their sisal area rug. With artfully mismatched armchairs and nightstands, this side of the room is all about rest and relaxation.

The other half of the primary suite features floor-to-ceiling built-ins (with a library ladder!) and a warm, welcoming work area. We can absolutely imagine Erin coming here in the middle of the night to leave herself a note after dreaming up a fabulous new space.

It takes a moment to notice Erin’s power move in this room, and then it catches your eye: She painted pink and green stripes on the wood-plank floor! A design decision like this is a budget-friendly option when new flooring isn’t part of the plan. It also gives the space a gentle coastal vibe that adds another dimension to the furniture and the driftwood-and-sand tones of the window coverings.

Erin and Ben’s older daughter, Helen, curls up for the night in this sylvan wonderland. Fanciful wallpaper carries up and across the vaulted ceiling to envelop the bed. Matched sconces provide golden light for bedtime stories. Pretty polka dots on the drapes and quilt pair fancifully with the walls and area rug.

In this bedroom, Erin let the toasty tones of the sunset infuse neutrals like the sandy color she chose for the walls. Subtle warmth in the charcoal upholstered headboard, unbleached linen comforter and industrial nightstands flares to life beside the rich orange in the coverlet and accent pillow — along with the variegated tones in the actual sunset depicted in the room’s original watercolor.

Erin let the tones of a sunny southern sky guide her hand in choosing textiles for this bedroom, where ethereal embroidered drapes frame natural Roman shades on the ample windows, and channel-quilted linens cover the bed. A butterfly-spangled accent pillow keeps all of those blue-and-white offerings from feeling too matchy-matchy, while a walnut-toned dresser contrasts with the red tone in the stained hardwood floor.

Erin initiated a new chapter in this prairie-style home’s storied history by collaborating with a local artist to create stunning copper sconces for either side of the painted brick fireplace. That handicraft personalizes the project and lends even more character to artisanal touches like the canvas on the mantel and the needlepoint stool beside the armchair.

Ben and his younger brother built the stunning bed frame, headboard and bench seat from scratch, anchoring this bedroom with heirlooms-to-be that the Napiers’ clients can pass down through their family. Erin added traditional touches, like the console table and armchair, to infuse the space with a bit of generational character, and she tinted the walls a pale blue to offset the furniture’s warm tones.

Ben hand-turned the solid maple spindle legs and finials on this magnificent bed, the centerpiece of a space Erin designed to complement the rest of the home’s rustic-cottage feel. Ben also handcrafted the matching pair of bedside tables. Then Erin illuminated them with a table lamp and a pendant she upcycled from the front porch. Fancy woodwork and footwork, there.

In this eclectic space, the intricately carved panel Erin positioned as a headboard serves as the room’s principal decorative touch. Prettily-patterned floral shams (and a bright bedside arrangement of cut flowers) echo those lively details, and a channel-stitched quilt picks up those colorful tones. For a final touch of warmth, Erin reflected the honeyed hues in the hardwood floor with mustard-yellow drapes.

Ben created a one-of-a-kind heirloom for this baby-blue bedroom by combining a carved mahogany door frame with wood he sourced from an old shed on the homeowners’ property. Erin picked up the teal tones of those accent pieces with the printed fabric she chose to curtain the French doors, and she folded an indigo-dyed shibori quilt at the foot of the bed. A pair of well-weathered nightstands complement the reclaimed headboard and deepen the room’s sense of history. Gleaming glass lamps add a contemporary note to lighten the mood.

A beloved heirloom takes center stage in this design: Erin let the traditional style and well-earned patina of this hand-me-down bed guide her hand with the rest of her choices in the room. She kept her palette neutral by washing the walls in a creamy off-white and choosing unbleached fibers for bed linens, the windows’ Roman shades and the ceramic table lamp’s shade. A distressed nightstand complements the bed’s vintage character, and a cheery mix of floral prints and stripes breathe a bit of fresh air into the space.

The celadon tone Erin chose for this space is what she calls “a soothing, sleepy green.” Both on-trend and timeless, it enlivens the traditional florals on the quilt and the area rug — and plays well with the bed’s striped pillows. The cumulative effect of these colors and patterns? A lived-in vintage vibe that feels stylish and welcoming.

Erin chose a buttery hue for this transitional bungalow bedroom, where blue and rust flowers bloom across the bed and pair beautifully with a duo of chambray shams. A framed portrait on the nightstand and three botanical lithographs above the headboard are just enough ornamentation to make the design feel layered but not crowded.

Erin balanced masculine and feminine elements in this chic bedroom by reaching for both buttoned-up suiting patterns (like the windowpane checks on the drapes, armchair and pillow shams) and more feminine prints (like the florals on the quilt and accent pillow). Unified with common tones and accented with colorful artwork, these elements add up to a cozily layered design.

With a jade green armoire, a vibrant tropical coverlet and graphic textiles sourced from around the world, this eclectic bedroom puts a contemporary spin on vintage global style. There’s history here, to be sure, but Erin has curated these pieces in a playful way that will suit a younger homeowner.

This former living room is now a brilliant, youthful bedroom for the Napiers’ clients’ little daughters. Ben set them up in style by creating custom-built twin beds with upholstered headboards (featuring kid-friendly, stain-resistant fabric). Erin festooned the girls’ beds with pastels, florals and pom-poms. Chic tassel-trimmed teal curtains draw across the Roman shades to add privacy, and pretty patterns on the area rug, armchair and ottoman add even more energy to the design.

The pair of vintage botanical prints Erin framed and placed above this elegant iron bedstead introduce a color theme that carries through the embroidered accent pillow to the green-gray striped throw. The plants’ organic curves carry up to the mismatched table she selected for the bedside tables. The overall effect is of confident, graceful variation.

When Erin whisked away the timeworn original wallpaper in this bedroom, she knew she wanted to honor the home’s period decor with another bold move better suited to the 21st century. Thus, she installed this patterned feature wall and chose a bedskirt and pair of artworks to match. Bonus: The bed’s spectacular turned posts set a beautiful new tone for the space.

Natural tones and an upholstered-and-tufted wingback bed set the stage for a dazzling collection of creations in this neutral bedroom. The atmospheric painting on the rear wall is lovely, but we’ve got a soft spot for the charcoal figure on the right. (It’s a product of the life drawing classes Erin teaches in Laurel.)

Erin took full advantage of this bedroom’s expansive footprint and created a gathering space that rivals some full-fledged apartment living rooms. By creating two distinct zones in this room rather than trying to fill it up with elephantine oversized pieces, she lets all that usable real estate feel like the luxury that it is rather than a problem to be solved.

Erin and Ben polished up a former boarding house to create upscale rustic inn suites for downtown Laurel. Guests in this room enjoy side tables custom-built by Ben, enveloping wood paneling that cozies up the space and eclectic artwork that gives all those traditional details contemporary life. Gray paint on the room’s trim is a chic counterpoint to the panels’ golden tones.

For a New York-inspired suite in the same inn, Erin paired the fabulously industrial exposed-brick wall with Art Deco-infused items like elegant bedside pendants and a channel-tufted gray velvet armchair. Muted teal paint presents a polished contrast to the original ceiling and gives the space the feel of a cosmopolitan loft.

The Napiers moonlighted at the urban, contemporary end of the design spectrum to outfit this modern loft in downtown Laurel, where Ben created a warm, industrial room divider to create an intimate feel in the sleeping area. Erin chose a creamy, serene area rug to soften up the well-weathered original flooring and paired abstract artwork with a classic Eames lounger and ottoman.

You can almost smell the salt breeze in this idyllic, restful bedroom, where a white oak bed Ben built by hand stands against a wall the color of tumbled sea glass. Erin chose airy blue-and-white linens to complement Ben’s work and accented the bed with a serene shoreline in watercolors.

Erin used wreaths, mirrors and a vintage suitcase to create a one-of-a-kind arrangement on this bedroom’s mint green shiplap walls. That feature is just playful enough to counterbalance the old-school romance of the bedstead and make the space feel like an on-trend riff on antique motifs rather than a time capsule.

Erin gave this historic home’s principal bedroom touches of period-appropriate character with sweet, vintage-inspired silhouettes of the homeowners’ children. That crisp contrast recurs in the black mats she chose for the framed etchings and botanical prints she hung around the room, as well as in the juxtaposition of the leggy bedside table and nightstand against the pale off-white wall. At the foot of the bed, a handsome antique bench pops against the vivid coral coverlet Erin chose to counterbalance the space’s more neutral tones.

Erin added just a whisper of Hollywood Regency style in this transitional bedroom with a button-tufted headboard, foil-accented toss pillows and decadent velvet curtains that glow softly in the light from two sculptural gold table lamps. Those subtle touches in an otherwise-unassuming space add up to a private undercurrent of luxury that makes entering the room feel like being let in on a secret.

Bold tones are all the rage in this vibrant and opulent bedroom, where Erin let the elements of two abstract canvases splash out as deep blue-green wall color, lime-topped side tables and a sensuous coral velvet quilt. This sophisticated midcentury space combines color and graphic detail just beautifully.