Thank you all so much for the sweet emails, comments and tweets of support about the scariness of last week. I’m sure you heard that hurricane Irene was milder than expected by the time it got to New York, which Michael and I were very grateful for. It ended up being a really nice family weekend. Anyway, thanks again for all the love, concern and support. We had offers to stay at readers homes all over the east coast! I really love you guys. xoxo
Timothy Whealon for Veranda
I’ve been working with Joanna on decorating her bedroom. It’s sooo close to being done and it looks really great! I can’t wait to share the projects here after she does a tour on her blog. The headboard was a killer DIY that you will love, and we really wanted something amazing above the bed, which we found last week and which you will also LOVE! So exciting.
Katie Ridder
Last week we were brainstorming about what size art to go with. I like it when art is placed where it can be easily viewed. Art hung really high on a wall or above a big piece of furniture (like a bed) really should be fairly large. Almost across the board, I only like using a small sunburst mirror (especially for a curved headboard) or really big artwork above a bed. I also don’t mind a grouping of frames, as long as the images are pretty simple and don’t need to be looked at up close.
Laura Seydel
We ended up going with a HUGE photograph above Joanna’s bed – it’s almost the width of her mattress. It’s getting printed this week and hopefully hung next. In my mind and my sketches, it looks amazing! :) These inspiration images are giving more confidence too.
Coburn Architecture
I’d love to hear – what do you have hanging above your bed?
This month’s Elle Decor
Elle Decor showhouse
Kips Bay Showhouse
Elle Decor
Sara Story for Domino
Madeline Weinrib in Elle Decor
Missoni
Peter Dunham
Jenny-
While Irene went easy, she was not so kind to many others leaving water and damage behind. Our weekend was nice to, we had a chance to stay inside and think about what we will hang over our bed!
I vote for a large abstract. My husband votes for nudes. We have a collection of artwork from his great uncle, nudes. I do love them.
pve
So glad things weren't as bad as first thought. We have a collection of canvas prints, one is a picture from our wedding & another from our fifth anniversary. We plan to add to the group every 5 years. I love these canvas prints!
So glad to hear you fared well – we experienced terrible floods here in Queensland earlier this year, so I'm happy to hear Irene wasn't quite as bad as expected. As for artwork, I'm an artist and without fail, bigger is always better. A large piece above the bed, almost the same width, works really well, so I'm sure your room will look fantastic. Can't wait to see how it all comes together. K
The last three homes we have lived in, the only place to put our king bed has been under an off-center window. It has driven me crazy.
Glad you all are ok–we were right across the river in Fort Lee and are pretty happy that Irene was less ferocious than expected.
I have a print of Max Dupain's 1937 'Sunbaker' above my bed. I love it (even thought its a print).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunbaker
Emily
I LOVE that Julia Rothman wallpaper. I was so excited to use it in our nursery except I couldn't convince Mr. H+F. He said the birds looked like dive bombinb pigeons over the baby :(
I have a huge abstract canvas above my bed. Love it! Makes a big statement.
We used to have a large photograph over the bed of a blue sky but we live in earthquake-land (aka Los Angeles County) so I took it down so now there's a screw where the photograph used to be over our bed
I LOVE huge artwork over the bed in place of a headboard! great post!
-meesch
http://www.aperfectkindofday.com
Thank goodness Irene lost some steam!
I have a huge piece of an old tin ceiling I salvaged from a building salvage warehouse. I painted and antiqued it and it cost me $7! You can see it here: http://hopestudios.blogspot.com/2010/05/master-bedroom-wrap-up-complete-with.html
Can't wait to see the huge picture!
We hung a big Klimt from IKEA over our bed. I love the size!
I'm glad to hear that you and your family fared okay, Jenny, and that you had an opportunity to spend some quality family time together.
I'm so excited to see the transformation of Joanna's bedroom–I loved what you did with her apartment last year!
This is the kind of post I need bc I've been trying to find the right thing for above my bed for over a year. My problem is that I need it to be crazy inexpensive (under $50). I want something just like this – big and something I won't get sick of.
Glad you didn't feel the effects of Irene too badly this weekend…
I made some wallflowers for the space above our bed. I love how they are 3D and make our room filled with furniture hand-me-downs feel more current and modern. Of course, I also love that I made them for free! Haha.
http://www.thehappyhomebodies.com/2010/11/free-modern-wall-art-project.html
Holy Missoni! That is my fave!
Glad you're all safe!
We just moved and I haven't gotten to putting the bedroom back together yet so I've got absolutely nothing above my bed. Ugh.
I LOVE the look of big artwork over the bed but have never gotten over the years we lived in California — nothing like a Midwesterner moving to earthquake territory. Since I worry about something hitting me in the middle of the night, we restrict our over the bed to cloth — recent favorite was a big patchwork hanging of Jams World prints (Hawaiian shirt company). Bright colours and won't hurt if they land on us mid shake.
Do you have any suggestions for either easy DIYs or cheap resources for big pieces of art like this? We are actually living in a barn at the moment (long story, my blog is covering the crazy transition) but its a beautifully remodeled barn and we are in need of something large to take up the vast space above our bed.
Where can you print a picture that large? Do you frame it or put it on a canvas?
Great post! We have a Suzanne Kassler for Ballard sunburst mirror over our bed – hanging over a curved headboard of course. :)
Yes, looooooooove the huge art above the bed! In our old apartment, we had this enormous antique Chinese screen that my parents "donated" to us — it looked fantastic (until they took it back!) In our new place, we painted the walls of our bedroom dark charcoal grey and then made this enormous sign from plywood and letters: http://nothingbutbonfires.com/2010/08/how-make-large-graphic-sign. It makes a huge impact when you walk in the room. I love it more and more every day
Totally agree with the oversize art! I'm trying to figure out what to do over a couch in a living room with a huge vaulted ceiling and this is right up our alley! Thanks for sharing :)
I love the inspirational photos! I have been following your blog for a while and always end up walking away with great ideas and things to try. I just recently redid my bedroom (for the most part) and ended up deciding on two canvases that formed one larger painting. I'm obsessed with chevron and just had to figure out how to incorporate. Funny thing is that I just posted today! http://changeofsceneries.blogspot.com
The upholstered headboard is such a great option – it can really help soften the room. Can't wait to see the final results!
I have a 48"hx36"w abstract painting over my bed. I like it but wish it was wider. Also I will be painting soon and although the artwork doesn't/shouldn't match I'm not sure it will show to its potential on dark turquoise walls.
we have our initials over our bed. very pottery barn like. i ordered the last name by mail to be wooden and painted to match our room decor…and the other two letters i found at hobby lobby. it takes up the entire width of the mattress, and frames the headboard nicely.
I've got a large photo but it's not quite as gigantic as those photos/paintings! I love the big art! So dramatic yet simple as just one piece. Beautiful. So glad you stayed safe with Irene!
I love huge pieces of artwork above beds – I have one in my room! It's a giant 4'x4' abstract piece that a friend of mine created a few years ago. It's one of my favorite items I own.
http://mysemi-grownuplife.blogspot.com/2011/08/my-bedroom-bucket-list.html
We have a large mirror, which is round and kind of reminds me of a cross between a sunburst mirror and a sputnik light. I actually shared some pictures of our master bedroom recently on our little blog. http://worthingtonwords.blogspot.com/2011/06/house-pictures-before-after-master.html
I also love the idea of a giant photograph, black and white or color!
We are in the stages of debate over which oversized photo to hang over our sofa. You can see some of our choices here:
http://thenestinggame.com/2011/07/08/experimental-art/
I can't wait to see what you do! I'd love to hear details about printing, mounting, costs, etc.
All the good stuff.. Ha!
I have faith that it's going to look amazing. With your eye for design, it's bound to look amazing. These photos you shared with large artwork hanging over the bed are great examples. Can't wait to see her room when it's all done!
I'm interested to find out about reasonably priced framing options for large format photos/art. Thanks!
I am in desperate need of some really large artwork for the space over my bed…love the image you found!
Hi! I'm glad you guys didn't get hit by Irene too terribly. Thanks for putting up beautiful pictures to take our minds off it. They do remind me, though, to ask you a question: Do you know a good source for (hopefully) inexpensive grasscloth wallpaper? I'm pining for a blue-ish gray for my bedroom, but I'm having a hard time and thinking about abandoning the dream…
nothing. i have nothing over my bed, and i never have! i've decorated my whole house, but never known what to do! can't wait to read your readers comments! xoxo
Without a doubt I love oversized art above a bed (or just about anywhere really). Unfortunately, above my bed I have an oversized window instead! Luckily, it's a pretty window and hopefully the pelmets I'm making will finish it off. Love your inspiration pieces and can't wait to see what you do wit the room.
Funny the week the east coast has an earthquake you write about things hanging over beds. We used to live in California and never had anything over our bed.
Over our king bed now we have 2 13" x 19" wood carvings from China that are mounted on Hermes orange dupioni silk with black frames (22"x29"). They were my in-law's and hung over their bed in the 1970s. My husband's grandfather worked overseas and brought them back from his many forays in China. I love the 70s ugly orange has made it's way back and is such a simple pop! But no pea green or brown fridges, please.
we dont have a headboard, so theres plenty of room for the hanging kimono. its a humble, rural man's kimono–brown with tiny white ikat motifs.
we stayed up until the wee hours watching the weather channel as irene neared NY. so glad it was not as bad as it could have been.
I have a Japanese paper folding screen I inherited from my grandmother! It makes a decent headboard of shorts (at least it'll do until we manage to get a read headboard)!
I have a collage of handmade cards from friends, pictures, art paintings from when i was little, photos, and a few other things above my bed.
love your blog! totally great perspective with always something deep and interesting. We were also surprised by how "not bad" irene was, but we also had a amazing family day, sad that it took the prospect of a natural disaster to make it happen. It's sad how fast the NYC pace is!
as a painter im always a big fan of big art over the bed! love all these inspiration shots :)
the space above my headboard is bare and sad. I've never known how to handle the high-ish height, but seeing these images gives me total confidence to go BIG!
We have a large, vintage ceiling medallion that I found at a resale shop. It hangs over our low platform bed. It's simple and elegant.
We don't have anything hanging over our bed… another West-Coaster (but in Seattle) who's afraid of earthquake damage. But we're planning to get a new bed and I'm going big and tall with the headboard to fill all that empty space!
I have a very large original WWI poster, entitled, "America's Tribute to Britain" see here for a reproduction of it:
(http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Tribute-Britain-Giclee-Frederic/dp/B0033Y4QPK ) This is flanked by two gilt bronze Regence sconces with candles, an unexpected display above a bed in an NYC L-shaped studio.
I have a very large original WWI poster, entitled, "America's Tribute to Britain" see here for a reproduction of it:
(http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Tribute-Britain-Giclee-Frederic/dp/B0033Y4QPK ) This is flanked by two gilt bronze Regence sconces with candles, an unexpected display above a bed in an NYC L-shaped studio.
We are afraid to hang anything over our bed because we live in earthquake territory! With that said, we have had a large wooden subway print hanging above us with words we put together based on our marriage which we consider a 'work in progress'! I just take it down each night before we go to sleep and then hang it back up on the morning. Total pain in the butt though. Waiting for hubby to come up with something sturdy and strong to keep it on the wall if they start shaking. :)
As some other readers have commented, I would also love to hear your sources for large-format printing.
We have a print of a sunday afternoon by Seurat over our bed. It's good-sized, but I wish it was a smidgen larger.
For those with an interest, there is a wonderful place in NYC for large format printing, as well as the ability to manipulate color, etc. Duggal Photo:
http://www.duggal.com/
We have all our couple-y photos hanging above the bed. Our apartment is small-ish and there's nowhere else to put those kinds of photos where it won't seem like we're screaming "Look at USSSSSSSSS!" to our guests. So the bedroom is a good place for them. We live in CA, and I think as long as you hang things properly — using wire and picture-hanging hooks, as opposed to balancing the frame itself on a nail — you needn't worry about things falling off the walls. If it's a big enough earthquake to bounce the picture up off the hook, I'd be more worried about pieces of the ceiling falling down on me.