Four-poster or canopy beds aren’t what they used to be, with heavy carving, curves and details. These days they have clean modern lines and are still dramatic, but a lot less imposing. All the same, you may still want to soften the hard lines of your canopy bed, but there is no need to sew a heavy, frilly canopy, when you can drape your bed in soft billowing sheers to maintain a light, airy and modern feel.

This project will require quite long lengths of fabric, so it is good to go with an inexpensive sheer. The other great thing with using sheers is that they are usually 110 inches wide and will therefore cover the width of the bed really well.

You may need:

* No more than 10 yards of fabric to cover the back, top and foot of the bed

* And double that if you want to create an overlapping look

You can then play around with the design; here are a few ideas:

1. Softly drape fabric over the top creating a soft sag and equal lengths hanging at the head and foot of the bed.

2. Double fabric at the top posts at the head of the bed and then softly drape fabric above the top of the bed and over the foot of the bed, where you can then tie back to create a soft drape.

3. Softly drape two separate lengths of fabric and drape over the head and foot of the bed.

These options offer versatility and can help you achieve many different looks in your bedroom.