Canopy Bed Accessory Ideas

Creative ideas for decorating canopy beds

Does your canopy bed look more like a backyard tent with wooden legs? If so, that's OK. Not everyone has a gift for hanging and draping. All it should take to create a fresh and vibrant look for your bedroom is some interesting canopy bed ideas and a lovely canopy bed cover or set of curtains. Here are some suggestions on picking the best canopy bed accessories for your style.

Moody materials What kind of mood do you want for your canopy bed? Romantic? Ethereal? Cheerful? Secluded? Switching to a lighter or heavier material could make a huge difference. A lot of people prefer canopy bed covers made from velvet, silk, muslin, or chintz. Twill, serge, woven tapestries, and fur-lined cloth were used in the first canopy beds in Europe in the Middle Ages. Calico or gingham would be a nice look for a country-style bedroom. Curtain call Some of the earliest canopy-style beds were known as tester beds. The tester was a rectangular panel supported by four posts. Curtains would be hung from the tester and drawn to keep out drafts or enhance privacy. Whether they're used alone or in combination with canopies and valances, canopy bed curtains are still ideal for creating intimacy and romance. If your bed can't support a tester-like covering, curtains could be hung directly from a curtain rod on the ceiling.

Other canopy bed ideas

Bed canopies can be cut to floor length for a cleaner look or cut longer to create a luxurious "puddle" effect.

A canopy doesn't have to cover the entire bed. A crown canopy that covers just the headboard area, for example, would be stylistically similar to traditional half tester beds.

Braids, cording, fringes, or welting are just some of the ways that you could craft a unique look for your canopy bed.

Don't forget about linings. They'll not only give your bed canopy longer wear, but using a coordinating print or color on the back of your fabric panel would add decorative interest to your bed.

Don't settle for just one type of canopy bed cover. Canopy beds are uniquely versatile, and changing the look of your bed to match the season is one way of keeping things fresh in the bedroom.

Mosquito nets are now available that are surprisingly attractive, and they're obviously a great choice for those summer nights when the bed bugs bite.