BEDROOM GUISE

No frills or cloying colours — this feminine bedroom comes together with a soupçon of sophistication and generous drapery

Jeffrey Fisher on going feminine without the frill.

Hi Jeffrey,

After graduating university and finding a job, I decided — with my parents’ encouragement — to stay living at home to save money for my first condo. Since my parents didn’t require rent money from me, I’ve been able to buy my condo in just over two years. As a housewarming gift, my family is buying me living room furniture. Do you have any chic, affordable bedroom ideas?

I want my bedroom to be sophisticated and feminine, but not flowery. I take possession in September and don’t have a lot of reserve funds for decorating. Thanks for your help. – Marlisa How lucky for you that your parents didn’t buy you the clichéd set of luggage as a graduation gift from university. Instead of hinting that you leave the nest, they encouraged you to stay to collect some feathers to make your own. More and more, 20-somethings are doing the same thing to get a foot on the property ladder. Applause to parents and offspring alike.

The photo on this page from interior designer Laura Martin Bovard (lmbinteriors.com) features everything you’re looking for: It’s chic, urban, sophisticated, worldly, fresh, refined and feminine. OK, so I’ve added a few adjectives, but to me this is the perfect inspiration for your new bedroom. The room could be featured in a high/low magazine spread. For you, let’s concentrate on giving you the look on the low side, starting with the focal point of the room: the bed.

Ms. Bovard created the dreamy bed by hanging a valance with drapery side panels from the ceiling, adding visual height to the room. Though the valance could be pricey — depending on the fabrics and trim you choose — there is a way of doing this on the low side of your budget. Buy inexpensive ready-made drapery panels in contrasting colours and hang them back-to-back or look for sheets on sale and use the (lined) flat sheets to create the side panels and valance. If you have a bit of DIY ability, you could actually make this valance yourself.

Alternatively, you will be surprised at how affordable this is to have sewn at a drapery shop. As for the patterned trim, use an inexpensive fabric with grosgrain ribbon sewn on either side to provide a finished look.

The hotel-style bedding is clean, crisp white with a double line of embroidery and, if you use a bedskirt, you won’t need anything other than a metal frame to house your boxspring and mattress. No expensive bed frame required.

Take note of the calming colours in the room. The walls are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Linen White and the trim in Pittsfield Buff. I like that the trim is darker than the wall; it gives definition to the room. The addition of the soft pink on the valance trim and decorative pillow is feminine, without being girly. And not a floral print in sight.

When I ask Ms. Bovard about the use of mismatched night tables, she tells me it gives the room an interesting look. She finds that matching feels “a little too department store-esque.” She also points out that “the finishes and heights make them relate to each other but they are different enough to create a more layered look.” All good pointers when starting your furniture search.

I do like the addition of the matching Moroccan mirrors and porcelain lamps that help instill a sense of symmetry. And if you can believe it, Ms. Bovard tells me the launching- off point for the entire room was the hanging star pendant. Remember to switch out your builder’s light fixture when you move. It’s a small, relatively inexpensive detail that will make a noticeable difference to your bedroom.

I hope you respond to the inspiration of this well-designed room as much as I have. I think it ticks all your boxes for a sophisticated, feminine bedroom in your first condo to call your own.

— Jeffrey Send your design question to askjeffreyfisher@gmail.com