How to Make Your Bedhead Work Harder
A bedhead can be so much more than simply a decorative bed accessory to pile up your pillows up against
Your bed is already one of the hardest-working pieces of furniture in your home but, with some clever ideas, it could work even harder. Bedheads can be a simple decorative detail, or a handy surface to lean on for late-night reading – but they can also be so much more. So if you’re in the market for an upgrade, tap into the multi-functional possibilities of this piece of furniture and consider choosing – or designing – a bedhead that will provide anything from extra storage to a mini gallery, or even expand the sense of space in your bedroom. Let these ideas inspire you.
Divide – store – and conquer
This bedhead houses lights, shelves and drawers, but that’s a distraction from its cleverest purpose. Look behind the bed and you’ll start to see how the design allows for a pretty ingenious use of space.
In a room where the only place for built-in wardrobes is behind the bed, this bedhead doubles as a low room divider and makes the seemingly impossible suddenly an option. The area behind the bed almost becomes a walk-in wardrobe, and allows the bed to remain pointing at the windows.
Here, there’s just enough room to open the wardrobe doors, but sliding ones would work if the gap were a shade narrower.
This bedhead houses lights, shelves and drawers, but that’s a distraction from its cleverest purpose. Look behind the bed and you’ll start to see how the design allows for a pretty ingenious use of space.
In a room where the only place for built-in wardrobes is behind the bed, this bedhead doubles as a low room divider and makes the seemingly impossible suddenly an option. The area behind the bed almost becomes a walk-in wardrobe, and allows the bed to remain pointing at the windows.
Here, there’s just enough room to open the wardrobe doors, but sliding ones would work if the gap were a shade narrower.
Stretch out
This off-centre bedhead does a great job of creating the illusion of more space in this compact bedroom. Rather than stopping at the edge of the mattress, it continues beyond it on one side to fill the entire back wall – tricking you into seeing a kingsize rather than a double bed.
If you apply the same rule to clothes, it works in much the same way – take the classic skin-coloured shoe = longer legs as an example. By not breaking up a line, you naturally extend it. And here the bedhead also houses a reading light, plus there’s space for a diddy table, too.
This off-centre bedhead does a great job of creating the illusion of more space in this compact bedroom. Rather than stopping at the edge of the mattress, it continues beyond it on one side to fill the entire back wall – tricking you into seeing a kingsize rather than a double bed.
If you apply the same rule to clothes, it works in much the same way – take the classic skin-coloured shoe = longer legs as an example. By not breaking up a line, you naturally extend it. And here the bedhead also houses a reading light, plus there’s space for a diddy table, too.
Take the rail way
This isn’t so much a bedhead as a built-in storage unit with a bed tucked inside. It shows that shelving isn’t the only open storage that can be built into a bedhead. Here, there’s also space for a hanging rail. It’s not full wardrobe scale, but it’s good enough for last night’s clothes, a pair of bathrobes or an overnight guest’s crease-able bits and pieces.
Above, there’s space for extra blankets, towels or bulky luggage, while directly over the bed there’s room for a lamp. Keeping the colour scheme the same shade throughout the room prevents this multi-compartment bedhead looking bitty and crowded.
Discover more ideas to max storage in your bedroom
This isn’t so much a bedhead as a built-in storage unit with a bed tucked inside. It shows that shelving isn’t the only open storage that can be built into a bedhead. Here, there’s also space for a hanging rail. It’s not full wardrobe scale, but it’s good enough for last night’s clothes, a pair of bathrobes or an overnight guest’s crease-able bits and pieces.
Above, there’s space for extra blankets, towels or bulky luggage, while directly over the bed there’s room for a lamp. Keeping the colour scheme the same shade throughout the room prevents this multi-compartment bedhead looking bitty and crowded.
Discover more ideas to max storage in your bedroom
Open up with a mirrored border
This lavish bespoke bedhead has a bit of a 1930s Hollywood boudoir look to it, don’t you think? You can almost picture Jean Harlow or Carole Lombard padding about the room in a silky robe and high-heeled slippers…
But back to the bedhead: this design is more than just Tinseltown glamorous – the built-in mirror bounces light from the windows around the room, and plays with spatial perception, as it appears to offer a glimpse of another room behind it, fooling the eye into seeing a far larger space than is there. It could work wonders in a compact or dark room, as well as one needing a little stardust…
This lavish bespoke bedhead has a bit of a 1930s Hollywood boudoir look to it, don’t you think? You can almost picture Jean Harlow or Carole Lombard padding about the room in a silky robe and high-heeled slippers…
But back to the bedhead: this design is more than just Tinseltown glamorous – the built-in mirror bounces light from the windows around the room, and plays with spatial perception, as it appears to offer a glimpse of another room behind it, fooling the eye into seeing a far larger space than is there. It could work wonders in a compact or dark room, as well as one needing a little stardust…
Reflect the window
Here’s another canny use of mirror in a bedhead. In this room, the effect is window-like, as the multi-paned bedhead echoes the design of the French doors in the room. It adds light and space, for sure, but also creates an interesting focal point in an otherwise neutral, simply decorated space. This is a great way to build in a striking design detail without adding colour or visual clutter.
12 inspiring alternatives to a traditional bedhead
Here’s another canny use of mirror in a bedhead. In this room, the effect is window-like, as the multi-paned bedhead echoes the design of the French doors in the room. It adds light and space, for sure, but also creates an interesting focal point in an otherwise neutral, simply decorated space. This is a great way to build in a striking design detail without adding colour or visual clutter.
12 inspiring alternatives to a traditional bedhead
Twin it to win it
These boxy, salvaged-wood bedheads give this twin guest room a warm atmosphere and a grown-up feel. But they are also chunky enough to provide a much-needed horizontal surface in a teeny space where almost everything apart from the beds is wall-hung.
A table or shelving at the far end of the bedroom could get in a guest’s way, so the extra space created by the bedheads is a design luxury. And in a guest room, especially, a place for a welcoming vase of flowers is worth creating.
The ideal bedhead-cum-shelf should be broad enough to take a cup of tea, a pair of specs or a book. There may be space for a mini lamp, too, but don’t force things if not: the walls are your friends.
These boxy, salvaged-wood bedheads give this twin guest room a warm atmosphere and a grown-up feel. But they are also chunky enough to provide a much-needed horizontal surface in a teeny space where almost everything apart from the beds is wall-hung.
A table or shelving at the far end of the bedroom could get in a guest’s way, so the extra space created by the bedheads is a design luxury. And in a guest room, especially, a place for a welcoming vase of flowers is worth creating.
The ideal bedhead-cum-shelf should be broad enough to take a cup of tea, a pair of specs or a book. There may be space for a mini lamp, too, but don’t force things if not: the walls are your friends.
Fall for cupboard love
This cute, cottage-y room in a converted Cotswolds house has made nice use of the narrow alcoves either side of the bed. Pretty, but hardly a new idea, right? What makes this design sing is the simple way the rustic bedhead has been built as part of this wooden architecture.
Plain vertical planks not only connect the spaces at the head of this bed, making the whole homely arrangement look as if it’s been there for hundreds of years, but the uprights over the bed are cleverly topped with a narrow shelf, just wide enough for bedside paperbacks and a favourite framed picture.
This idea is great if you don’t have much space for bedside tables, or don’t want to clutter them up. Just make sure the edge of the shelf is flush with the rest of the bedhead, or it will be very uncomfortable when you’re sitting up in bed.
This cute, cottage-y room in a converted Cotswolds house has made nice use of the narrow alcoves either side of the bed. Pretty, but hardly a new idea, right? What makes this design sing is the simple way the rustic bedhead has been built as part of this wooden architecture.
Plain vertical planks not only connect the spaces at the head of this bed, making the whole homely arrangement look as if it’s been there for hundreds of years, but the uprights over the bed are cleverly topped with a narrow shelf, just wide enough for bedside paperbacks and a favourite framed picture.
This idea is great if you don’t have much space for bedside tables, or don’t want to clutter them up. Just make sure the edge of the shelf is flush with the rest of the bedhead, or it will be very uncomfortable when you’re sitting up in bed.
Play and display
This bedhead unit works all sorts of wonders, providing enough space for a lot of clothes storage around its edges. I also like the way it creates a tidy recess for matching, built-in bedside tables – sizeable ones, to boot.
The really good-looking part, though, is the shelves inside the recess, which provide heaps of room for a moveable art display or collection of treasured photographs. And keeping the wood dark and moody means the lamplight creates a super-cosy, soporific glow.
This bedhead unit works all sorts of wonders, providing enough space for a lot of clothes storage around its edges. I also like the way it creates a tidy recess for matching, built-in bedside tables – sizeable ones, to boot.
The really good-looking part, though, is the shelves inside the recess, which provide heaps of room for a moveable art display or collection of treasured photographs. And keeping the wood dark and moody means the lamplight creates a super-cosy, soporific glow.
Opt for a private view
If your guest room opens onto a very public part of the house, common for downstairs bedrooms off living rooms or kitchens, this is a nice idea. The bedhead provides storage and a coffee perch, but more than that it creates a visual barrier between the bed and the door – making the space as you enter the room almost an in-room corridor.
It’s handy for privacy if, say, one guest is still in bed and the other is up and opening the bedroom door onto the room where everyone’s having breakfast.
If your guest room opens onto a very public part of the house, common for downstairs bedrooms off living rooms or kitchens, this is a nice idea. The bedhead provides storage and a coffee perch, but more than that it creates a visual barrier between the bed and the door – making the space as you enter the room almost an in-room corridor.
It’s handy for privacy if, say, one guest is still in bed and the other is up and opening the bedroom door onto the room where everyone’s having breakfast.
Keep illuminating company
Who needs bedside lights? Do away with extraneous objects entirely by choosing a super-modern bedhead with built-in illumination – the ultimate luxury for a minimalist sleep space.
TELL US…
Which of these bedheads would you like in your home? Share your thoughts and photos of any other inventive bedheads in the Comments below.
MORE INSPIRATION
Make Your Bed and Lie in It: 13 Creative DIY Bedheads
The Burning Bedhead Question: To Blend in or Stand Out?
DIY an Upholstered Bedhead Then Change the Colour as You Please
Who needs bedside lights? Do away with extraneous objects entirely by choosing a super-modern bedhead with built-in illumination – the ultimate luxury for a minimalist sleep space.
TELL US…
Which of these bedheads would you like in your home? Share your thoughts and photos of any other inventive bedheads in the Comments below.
MORE INSPIRATION
Make Your Bed and Lie in It: 13 Creative DIY Bedheads
The Burning Bedhead Question: To Blend in or Stand Out?
DIY an Upholstered Bedhead Then Change the Colour as You Please
There’s plenty of space for a bedside lamp in this room but, thanks to this bed design, there’s no need. If you have an old-fashioned, wrought iron bed like this, or indeed any other style with bars, it’s easy to weave fairy or garland lights around the bedhead. It’s a playful touch for a teenager’s room, or a creative decorative detail in an eclectic adult’s space.
Just make sure your lights plug into a socket with an on-off switch, rather than an extension lead where they need to be unplugged to be turned off. As such, it’s probably not one for a young child’s room. However, you can also buy rope lights with in-line switches, which would do away with this issue entirely.