By Bedrooms are safe, cozy places where we sleep. From vibrant colors to punchy florals, people have found creative ways to inject a sense of personality into their sleeping spaces. However, over the past century, the bedroom has evolved from simply a place to snooze to a place to relax.
If you recall some of the styling strategies from the past, it’s clear that some of styling strategies from the past are ready for a reboot. I talked to three pros on their favorite bedroom trends from the past century that they’d love to see fully come back, and paired each with a modern interpretation of that trend. Maybe you’ll be inspired to makeover your own bedroom by something you see here.
Jewel tones
During the Roaring ’20s, many Americans had extra money to spend, so they took full advantage of it, opting for everything glitzy and glamorous. Interior designer Jean Liu explains that people were feeling flush and began to adorn their bedrooms in more than a straightforward manner. “They [incorporated] lavish materials, such as using [silk or satin] drapes against the bed wall — and an entire century later, we’re still all for making bedrooms feel like jewel boxes.”
Also a fan of the Art Deco era is West Elm visual merchandiser and interior designer Rhys Duggan. According to Duggan, this was a time before built-in bedroom storage existed. “There were specific bedroom furniture pieces, such as dressers, vanities, and benches,” he explains. In this case, too, people used jewel tones to decorate. Imagine rich colors, ornate patterns, and brass finishes. Featuring punchy prints and bold colors, today’s maximalist bedrooms indicate the resurgence of the jewel box look, and hopefully, we’ll see even more of it in the near future.
Clean lines and cream tones
By the latter half of the Art Deco period, sleek forms and smooth lines became popular. Jean Michel Frank was best known for his refined style, and his minimalist interiors were decorated with opulent but subtle materials. The tonal rooms of his with cerused oak, vellum, and creams are very much the inspiration for contemporary design, says interiors expert and design historian Christiane Lemieux. “A master ‘ensemblier,’ he drew inspiration from the past and made his designs modern.”
Despite its timeless appeal, Lemieux’s style is worth revisiting today. Wooden tones and clean lines make for a soothing, grounding sleep space.
Modern bunk beds
Some may associate bunk beds with dorm rooms and sibling fights, but that wasn’t always the case. During the midcentury era, bunk beds took on a more high-style aesthetic and were frequently featured in playful colors on shows like ‘The Brady Bunch.’ Liu says bunk beds used to be a useful way to sleep children in small spaces, but now they are a fun focal point of a kids’ room.
Bunks can read as sophisticated as well; it all comes down to the bedding you choose. So if you have a guest room that needs to sleep larger groups or full families, bunk beds just might be a trend for you to pursue.
Use color, color, color!
Let’s get this out of the way: ’60s and ’70s interior design is polarizing. Despite some wanting to leave all the grooviness behind, certain aspects are worth savoring. “I can’t say I would wish back all the floral prints, polyester, and matching everything of the 1960s and ‘70s,” admits Duggan. “However, I can appreciate the adventurous use of color in the bedroom during this period. It’s quite interesting to see how style and fashion influenced bedroom interiors during this era. Bedrooms don’t have to be beige.”
