The bedroom is perhaps the most sacred space in a home. It is the place where we start and end each day. The space that sets the tone for our day, to which we escape at the end of each day, our sanctuary. The bedroom, therefore, should always evoke a feeling of warmth, comfort, tranquility, sophistication and elegance. Tones, textures, lighting and scents, all important elements to set the tone for a tranquil escape. With these in mind, when doing bedrooms, I always love to incorporate my favourite design elements: wallpapers, upholstery and luxury. Luxurious lighting, luxurious accents, luxurious fabrics; and I’ve recently discovered that I love velvet!

Let me share with you just how much as I feature a few of my favourite beautiful boudoirs:

Boudoir 1: Queenly Character

So named, because when the developer walked into this room and saw what I had done, he commented, “This looks like it belongs to English royalty.” The beautiful queen who occupies this space gave me full autonomy with the space, well, nearly full, she drew the line at my suggestion of a floor to ceiling headboard. Her exact words: “Angelie, I’m afraid it’s just too much for me.” Not to worry though, we made a compromise at 6 feet high.

This client loves blush tones and metallic hues, so for her beautiful boudoir, I started with a luxurious gilded forest wallpaper that featured a harmonious blend of blush, taupe, rose gold, yellow gold and copper hues. This lovely paper became the feature wall of the bedroom against which the bed would fit.

For the bed, it was custom all the way. I constructed a fluted headboard of blush velvet and covered the bed base with the same fabric for a cohesive and finished look. A velvet love seat at the foot of the bed.

Accent furniture in pewter, lighting and accessories in aged glass mirror and soft mutes bedding and accent pillows to complete the space.

Boudoir 2: The Cosy Nook

This boudoir is more of a home office/lady’s sitting room that happens to have a daybed tucked into a nook for the purpose of sleeping guests, but what has really qualified it as a boudoir is the fact that the bed wall is completely clad in blue velvet. To play up the beauty of the room and really add drama to the nook, I clothed it in floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall velvet upholstered panels, commissioned an extra-long bed to fill the space and added touches of luxuriously beautiful Chinoiserie pillows.

The white, blue and green colour scheme is both cheerful and calming at the same time and the space is pretty and appropriate for both the owner and her guests.

Boudoir #3: Tropical Luxury

Three years ago, I imagined a beautiful black and white bedroom, featuring a green velvet headboard. I created this space as Room #1 in my very first show for Design Week and had that headboard in storage for two years, waiting for the perfect project.

This finally came when I had to decorate an Ocean View penthouse on the north coast. Palm print fabrics in black and white, black and green and artwork in black and gold were the perfect finishes to this luxurious space. Yes, it’s the tropics, but that velvet certainly looks and feels good!

Here’s to waking up every morning with the thought that something wonderful is going to happen. Your bedroom has everything to do with that.

— Angelie Spencer