If you’ve returned home from vacation to a disheveled bedroom and can’t help but yearn for your plush hotel digs, cloud-like pillow, and fluffy robe, don’t book another getaway just yet. Dreamy designer spaces like the Hôtel Vernet in Paris or 11 Howard in New York City might seem completely next-level compared to your humble abode, but according to top interior designers, achieving a luxury bedroom look at home is easier than you think.
With just a few expert tweaks you can upgrade your bedroom in time for a weekend staycation. Close your booking browser, these expert-approved styling tricks prove you don’t have to do much to create the luxury bedroom of your dreams.
Upgrade Lamps
Looking for an affordable way to give a luxury bedroom look to your decor? Andrew Suvalsky, principal interior designer at ASD says that replacing the lighting is a simple way to give your bedroom a look luxe for less.
“Chances are the ready-made lamp you choose comes with a basic, uninspired shade,” he says, so upgrading it can have a big impact. “The shade can really make or break the lamp. Therefore, opt for color or a cool fabric choice,” and choose a shade that’s “taller than expected.”
Layer Pillows
If you only make one tweak to upgrade your luxury bedroom look, it should be the way you style pillows. According to Suvalsky, principal interior designer at ASD, a considered bed is always topped with a handful of precisely layered accent pillows. Practical pillows, the ones you sleep on a night, should sit propped against the bedhead, overlaid with decorative pillows in height order. “I like the color of the pillows to be the cherry on top of the sundae, so to speak, [so] pull the accent color from the overall color scheme of the space [to create] the focal point of your room,” he says.
Tempted to start stacking pillows? Suvalsky says there’s one pro tip to avoid an over-styled space: “One basic rule is that when placed in their ‘show’ position, sleeping pillows and decorative pillows shouldn’t take up more than a quarter of the total bed length,” to achieve the luxury bedroom look, he explains.
Style Cuttler
Keeping a bedroom mess-free can feel like an insurmountable task, so it’s lucky that “organized clutter” is the design trend of the moment, says Portland-based interior designer Max Humphrey. The key is knowing how to distinguish between good clutter and bad. “Good clutter is stacks of books and magazines, art resting up against the wall, or bedside table trays filled with objects,” he explains. “Bad clutter is dirty clothes on the floor, unopened mail and paperwork, and unmanaged electrical cords.”
Deal with good messes by styling key areas like a bookcase or nightstand and tackle unnecessary messes by making the most of hidden storage. “If you are pressed for space, then don’t overlook a bed frame that’s higher up off the floor so you can use the space under for storage bins,” he suggests. Disguise the area with a bed skirt, which Humphreys says can suit any room in textured fabrics like chambray or linen.
Style The Nightstand
Accessorizing a bedroom to achieve a luxury bedroom look is a skill, and one that Manhattan-based interior designer Marlaina Teich adopts a mantra “less is more.” A common mistake she notices is overloading nightstands with unnecessary items. “This area can be easily overdone. Too many accessories can become clutter in an instant,” she warns.
Suvalsky agrees but says a few key items that tie into the color scheme can instantly elevate a space to achieve a luxury bedroom look. “Nightstands don’t need much, but if you do want a clock, dish to throw your jewelry in, or some other personal items you must have bedside, then pick ones that are beautiful and worthy of spending the night with,” he recommends. “Function should be dressed in style—always.”
Replace Drapes
“Ready-made window draperies hung on expandable rods instantly cheapen the look of a bedroom,” says Suvalsky. The solution? “With a little research and not much expense, you can find drapery rods that come in variable sizes that will fit your windows perfectly,” he says. When it comes to drapes, he notes the most stylish rooms install a roller blackout shade, which can be adjusted so you never have to touch the drapes and this way given a luxury bedroom touch to your decor.
“If you install them just over your window frame, ‘waterfall’ style—which means reverse roll so that the shade unrolls toward you, rather than toward the window—it’ll look more finished,” he says. “It also then allows you to keep the drapery panels stationary and styled just so all the time.”
