By Amy Mangan
Barbara Drake had a classic bedroom design problem — too much furniture and too little space. And with two large windows complicating furniture placement, Barbara had to limit the position of her bed to just one location. By the time she added a dresser and bureau to the room, there was little space for anything else. Lucky for Barbara and her husband Holland, the dynamic design team of Terry and Steve Popick from Custom Fabric Creations and Del Karp, an interior decorator, knew just how to solve this design dilemma.
“A lack of space is something we all deal with in older homes,” says Del, “so we had to make the scale of furniture functional.”
The first recommendation Del and Terry made to Barbara was simple — get rid of the chunky four poster bed that was gobbling up attention in the master bedroom. And what to replace it with? A gorgeous custom made headboard with crown molding and tufted upholstered silk. The six foot headboard, made by Terry’s husband Steve, gives height and balance to the diminutive room.
Equally important was placement of the bed which now hides one of the bedroom windows, keeping the focal point on the bed rather than another visual distraction.
Color was key to managing the room’s clean lines. Rich browns and damask patterns give a tone-on-tone feel to the bedding, pillows, and window treatments. Del says the fabrics are “durable yet beautiful.” The multiple textures are subtle, which enlarges the small space rather than competing with it.
And the custom bedding can’t help but exude calm and elegance while pulling in the calm Porter Paint “Brush Green” color of the walls. Terry made a quilted bedspread with a light polyester fill that isn’t too heavy for a Florida night.
“People are getting away from using a dust ruffle and bedspread,” adds Terry.
The room is accented by elegant candles, ceramic vases, and a hand carved wooden bird, specially commissioned for the room by Del’s dad Jim.
“I wanted to keep everything simple in order to increase the visual space,” adds Del.
The straight lines of the window treatments add to the soothing getaway for this busy couple with two young boys. Barbara couldn’t be any happier.
“It’s absolutely beautiful,” she says, “I love it so much I’m going to insist guests go straight to see it when they come over.”
Straight from the Decorators
Protect your fabric with good lining which protects your investment from damage while giving your room a thick, lush feel.
Custom design is affordable. You don’t have to go to a furniture store to find exactly what you want on your budget.
-Terry and Steve Popick, Owners, Custom Fabric Creations
Hire a designer — you’ll end up saving both time and energy in creating the ideal room for you.
Less is more — try to avoid filling up a room with too many things and objects. Keep your accessories simple and your colors calm and relaxing.
-Del Karp, Interior Decorator, Del Karp Interiors
