RETREATING TO THE MASTER
Couple’s special bedroom design sets a relaxing tone
The problems in Jason and Karen Rash’s Tanglewood home didn’t come from the ground up when Hurricane Harvey dumped so much water on Houston — in this case, they came from the top down, through the roof.
A bad leak brought water into all of the family’s upstairs bedrooms — including the master — prompting the family to rip up flooring, make repairs and start refurnishing the home they’d moved into earlier that year.
The family — they have a 14-yearold son and a 10-year-old daughter — had lived in Texas before, moving away for 10 years to Louisiana and then Connecticut for Jason’s job as an auditor at an accounting firm, then returning to Houston in January 2017. Karen said they didn’t want to start over with furniture each time they moved, but when they bought their Tanglewood home, many things just didn’t fit.
They’d already done some work on more public spaces downstairs, so when the roof leak left the master bedroom in a soggy state, the couple got rid of everything.
Karen hired Katie Davis of Katie Davis Design through a mutual friend and had her create a whole new space. Davis said that when people move, living rooms and master bedrooms are often the rooms that need tweaking because floor plans and room sizes can vary so much. Working her way through the Rashes’ bedroom was a lesson in the essential elements of a great master bedroom. Here are five steps to get you there, too.
1. Composition
Starting the with shape of the room, the Rashes’ situation changed. Not only was their new Tanglewood home more contemporary than their previous home in Connecticut, it also was shaped differently — long and skinny.
To manage the square footage, Davis added a seating area on one end. Since the room was narrower, she brought in nightstands that were smaller to replace the larger ones they had before.
“Some master bedrooms are so large that you have to have a seating area or it feels empty and cold,” said Davis, 35, who opened her design firm a year ago after working as a lawyer with the Harris County District Attorney’s office for several years. “I like that a couple can go into their bedroom and sit and chat. If their kids have friends over, they can go to the master bedroom and not feel like they’re in there hiding on the bed.”
Davis considered using a small couch or loveseat in the room, but ended up with a pair of soft blue chairs and a pale pink tufted ottoman. “You don’t need a lot,” she said. “It’s a bedroom — it’s not like they’re bringing their friends in there.”
2. The bed
When Davis was hired, the couple had a mattress on the floor and nothing else, but Davis knew the Rashes previously had wood furniture that was dark and heavy.
This home was brighter and more contemporary, so it called for a different mix.
“In our Connecticut house, the furniture worked perfectly. You didn’t even notice it,” Karen said. “In this room, it was all you looked at — this massive headboard. It didn’t work, and we knew we wanted something more fresh and light. It really showed me how different furniture doesn’t work in different rooms.”
Davis opted for a linen headboard to add softness and texture to the room, but also so that the couple could move it into just about any other home in the future — if they choose to move again.
“I don’t like the bed to just end with nothing, so if it doesn’t have a footboard, I’ll put chairs there to finish the space,” Davis said. “If they don’t have room for chairs, I’ll use a footboard bench.”
Many homeowners or interior designers are opting for taller-than-ever headboards, but the height is simply about the homeowner’s taste. Davis, though, said that the higher the ceiling, the taller you can go with a headboard.
As for wood versus upholstered, it’s about form and function. Upholstery breaks up wood furnishings if nightstands, chairs or any dressers are wood. Additionally, if you like to sit up in bed to work, watch TV or read, having an upholstered bed is more comfortable, Davis said.
3. Color palette
Interior designers use one of two words to describe a master bedroom: calming or sexy. If you want it to be calming, a softer palette, whether it’s neutrals like cream, taupe or gray or colors like celadon green or lighter blues, is a good choice. If sexy is your goal, darker shades of neutrals are a common pick.
“We wanted something we could enjoy and relax in. If we want to watch TV, we have comfortable furniture,” Karen said. “It’s calming and peaceful, and I feel like she did that well with the colors she chose.”
The room had already been painted a pale green-blue-gray, so Davis used soft blue upholstery in the chairs and pale pink on a tufted ottoman to complement the light gray and white in the bedding that Rash purchased from Leontine Linens in New Orleans.
That ottoman takes us to the only point of contention in the project: Pink gets pushback from most husbands.
“At first, Jason wasn’t big on (the ottoman) because it’s really pink. I had to say, ‘I think you’re going to like it.’ It is a really pretty piece in the room,” Karen said.
4. Window treatments
Draperies always soften a room, and that’s important in a bedroom, where you’re creating an environment for good sleep. The Rashes’ bedroom had several short windows with shutters, but Davis added draperies to define each window and expand the room.
Want to make your bedroom ceilings feel taller? Davis recommends buying longer draperies and hanging them higher. Add some trim — Davis used a Greek key design — to the draperies’ lead edge for a nice detail.
5. Lighting
Accessories are the jewelry of a room, and lamps play a big role in that. Davis chose a pair of double gourd-style ice blue lamps by E.F. Chapman from Visual Comfort, which look good in the mix of colors and set a tone.
“I like using an interior designer because I don’t have a good vision or I think something is going to work and it doesn’t. I’ve made enough mistakes that I know I need to hire a designer and listen to them,” Karen said. “The other nice thing is everything was a really good price point, which helps. It’s not like I’m buying an expensive bedside table; you put drinks on them and they can take a lot of wear.”
Note: This is part of an occasional series of stories that looks at how a homeowner transforms a single room.
To be considered for this “One Room” feature, write to diane.cowen@chron.com.