3 Interior Designers Transform The Same Bedroom

[Narrator] These three interior designers have been given

a photograph of an empty, spacious bedroom.

They have free reign to design it in any way they please.

Hi, I'm Alvin, and when I'm designing bedroom spaces,

my design style is cozy, luxe, and modern.

Hi, I'm Laura.

My design style is tailored, layered,

and classically modern.

Hi, my name is Lula,

and in my designs I try to bring in

a mix of softness with roughness.

[Narrator] No clients, no restrictions, just blank space.

So the original rendering of the room is very white.

It has carpet, it has a lot of recessed lighting,

and it looks like it has a built-in entertainment unit,

or entertainment space for your television.

So when I'm looking at this space,

it is obviously very big. It's very large.

For me, it feels a little bit too spacious.

The room that I see, it's very non-descript,

it's carpeted, which was very big 20 years ago.

All the way to the end you see this balcony

and you see that there is natural light.

And then here you're just creating this space

that only has this sad little window around here.

So, the first thing I'm gonna do is

just blow out the back wall,

and then create this beautiful circular arch

matching the circular window.

That is all the way at the back.

In my opinion, when bedrooms are too big,

I think we all just end up filling up with furniture,

and we wanna make sure that

each space feels unique and special and functional.

So, I think initially what I would do

is make this opening an arch to soften up the space,

just to smooth it all out.

So what I think we should do is

add some stationary panels on either side,

and each of those stationary panels is going to help us

to create a more intimate environment.

But you can still see out.

So they'll actually be French doors,

but the French doors will be sliding

and then if they're sliding, it won't take up any space.

So, the traffic flow will still be easy

between the two spaces.

We're not having to worry about

where the doors are folding back to.

So, I think on the wall here I would do this wallpaper.

It's a very graphic print.

It is based in neutrals,

but it is still has a very graphic print to it.

And I think that would really give some a pop to the room.

I would remove the built-in and do like a wood veneer wall

with a curve to mimic the curve of the arch here.

But another thing that you can do is

also do that same curve in a bronze mirror effect.

So, the main concept was sort of to create this bedroom

as if it was the sky.

And then for the sky, I thought,

there's this marble from Brazil that it's beautiful,

like it almost mimics the sky.

It's called azul cielo.

So, it will be that marble

all around the walls everywhere, treated.

And then on the ceiling,

I don't know if you've been to Grand Central

and you see the constellation in the main room.

So, then the idea was to bring in that same constellation

painted with like little details of gold and white

into the ceiling of this bedroom.

So, this ceiling is feeling very flat right now.

So, instead to make this ceiling feel a bit more interesting

we can put a tray in here.

And then when you put the tray in there, I would love to

also do some beams across the ceiling as well.

And then for the ceiling and walls,

I would do a tadelakt finish.

It is Moroccan plaster that comes from Marrakesh.

And again, it really just softens everything up

because it is plaster.

So, there's a window over here on the left,

and whenever we have windows,

I love having windows in this space,

but we definitely need to make sure that

we are, A, giving the room privacy,

but also that we're doing something

for the light levels as well.

So, we wanna filter that light coming through the window.

And I think that we'll do a Roman shade on this window.

The Roman shade will cascade beautifully

in the front of the window,

and just filter all the light as it comes in.

So, I thought let's do like a long vertical opening.

It will also increase the sensation of the space

being taller than it actually is.

So, I thought about this like pill-shape window,

and then mirroring it on the other side

to create this very like soft light

that is not direct light.

With the window here on the left,

I would add just a drape,

just left justified to it, or right justified

shall I say, just a drape here,

just to soften up that hard angle of the corner.

Because remember, I would curve all of the hard angles,

but the wall not so much.

So, that curtain would just kind of disguise that hard turn

and just soften that up a little bit.

So, we wanna make sure that we can, A,

give privacy to that space,

and also that they can do different things in the two rooms.

Somebody can be sleeping,

somebody can be reading a book out there.

So, on this wall of windows,

this new wall of windows that we've created,

I want to do some drapery hanging down here.

So, we will use this beautiful flax-colored linen,

and we'll do what's called a European pleat,

which is when it's pleated just at the top.

It gives a very lovely sort of tailored look to the fabric

as it hangs down.

And then we'll hang it on a french rod.

I mean, this window can open

and you can actually sit on the frame,

like the frame, you don't see it on this rendering,

but like that the wall is very thick,

so you can sit on the frame, it opens from below,

and you can sit on the frame and just look at the view.

So, for the flooring

I would do a white oak wide paneling floor.

I love the color

and I think this just brings everything together

in the full design.

And then of course a rug underneath the bed

because it'll just really soften it up.

Nobody wants to get outta the bed and touch a cold floor.

So, the rug would be a Moroccan rug

with a little black and gray

just to pick up on the wallpaper again.

So, you have the clouds,

and then you have the sky.

For the clouds, I mean, you can definitely see the rug.

So, the main concept for this bedroom

was to have just softness.

So you walk in, you take off your shoes,

and then everything around it is soft.

So the marble is soft, it's curved,

and then the same thing for the floor.

So it's just one rug.

This is a llama rug, like very tall pile, tall hair

from Uruguay that I really love.

They're called mixy rugs.

They're just so soft, I just can't stop touching it.

So currently, there is wall-to-wall carpet in the space.

I think we should take out the wall-to-wall carpet

and put in hardwood floors instead.

I always love to use reclaimed wood floors.

They're much more sustainable and they're really beautiful.

They bring in, especially into a space like this

that feels pretty new and flat,

that it brings in some character

and patina to the space as well.

So hardwood floors.

But then of course when you're getting out of bed,

you want it to be soft underfoot,

so I think that we should bring in a lovely soft rug.

And so Moroccan rugs are beautiful.

Benny rugs makes beautiful rugs.

In the alcove area by the balcony, I would do a hammock.

I think a hammock will be perfect

because you can lay there, you can sleep there.

And I don't need to create a traditional seating area there

because I'll create seating elsewhere.

For the second part of the bedroom

was to have this gathering place.

So what I decided was to sort of follow

the same texture of the floor,

and then sink in the living room to have

like you know something that is sort of anchoring the space.

Almost emphasizing that circle way more

was to have a hanging fire pit

go like at the center of this like beautiful circle

where people are gonna be sitting.

So, we're going to create a sunroom off this bedroom.

And any sunroom of course needs a beautiful way to sit

and enjoy these gorgeous views outside the window.

So, I think that what we should do is

have two chairs that are gonna face out towards the window,

and then we'll have a coffee table,

a small table in between,

and then that way you can set down your drink,

you can set down a book.

It can be styled beautifully.

So for the bed I would do something in a teddy material.

It'll still be in the neutral material,

but it'll be cozy and soft to the touch.

For the nightstands, I would do brutalist nightstands.

They'll be big and they'll have wood features on them,

just to balance out all the softness.

Hard and soft really balance each other.

I love swings and hammocks

and just anything that is not touching the ground.

So I thought, okay, why not just elevate the bed

and hang it where like two chains on the side,

it's still stable,

but I think the effect that you get is just very strong

of just like elevating a bed from the ground.

Almost as if it was floating, like in a way like,

the bed was like so against the wall,

and you almost like didn't see like the side of the view.

And I think here, just like moving the bed

away from the wall and like bringing it up,

you can also get a very nice view of the fire.

So you will sort of win both.

You will win the view to the window,

and then you will also win the view to the fire.

So as we're looking at this space,

it's obviously very big.

We can definitely do whatever size bed we want.

So, I'm gonna put in a king size bed,

and I'm thinking about a wood frame bed.

I think that's gonna really bring in that natural element

that we wanna have in the space.

And I think that if we do something that is

sustainably made from rapidly renewable wood,

we can just make sure that

we're being responsible with the design as as well.

So the sofa at the foot of the bed

is from Lula in Georgia,

and it's in this beautiful velvet cream color.

It's really beautiful.

It kind of lends itself to being at the foot of the bed,

and its not, it doesn't take itself too serious as a sofa;

especially because it is armless.

So on that wall, I want to do something custom,

and I would like to make sure that

it really just takes over this whole wall.

So, what we can do is have one section that's for storage,

and then another section

that will actually just be the desk.

The window's right here

so you can look out and see your views.

So on this built-in dresser that we have on this long wall

I'd like to do a decorative detail inside the top drawers,

and then also potentially in the front doors as well.

And so this is a tambour detail.

So this design is basically,

you can do lots of different designs.

This one is rounded, it's rather small,

and that way we can put that into a small space,

like these top drawers.

We're gonna do it vertically.

So, that really just makes it feel a little bit taller.

But, it really just will give a really interesting detail

across the front of these doors.

For the overhead lighting,

we will keep some recessed lighting,

but I think you need a star feature.

So this light fixture is from Kelly Wearstler.

It has pieces of alabaster in it.

So again, it'll give off that warm glow for the room.

And for the bedside we will do sconces

in the same alabaster and brass finish.

I prefer sconces over table lamps

because they free up table space.

So then, the two lights that are on the bed frame

are by Verner Panton.

They're called moon lights.

In the rendering they're closed,

but when you open them they sort of like unfold like this,

and they twist, and it's in the silver.

It's a very magical lamp.

So since we are immediately seeing right outside

when you walk into this room,

I don't want anything to block that view.

So the light fixture that we bring into this room

will bring a lot of light,

but it's not gonna block your views at all.

I don't tend to want to use recessed lights in a bedroom.

You just look up and it just sort of feels like

you just have all this light staring down at you,

and you're not performing surgery in a bedroom.

So we like to just make sure that there's layers of light

that feel really comfortable,

and that everybody looks beautiful.

And then on either side of the bed we'll have bedside lamps.

And those bedside lamps,

I love to do really sculptural, interesting bedside lamps.

These will be stone, and they'll have a beautiful shade.

Now, when it comes to to lampshades,

I'm all about functionality.

So I wanna make sure that these have a linen shade,

and then that way all the light comes out.

Because if it's too opaque of a shade,

if it's too solid of a material,

the light's just gonna go up and down.

[music playing]

I will also add in some black olive trees

because I think they're sculptural,

and I think any space needs a sculptural element,

and plants are the way to go for that.

The benefits of having plants for your space is

they cleanse the air,

and they just really make everything breathable.

We can also fill up this room with plants as well

because there's never too many plants in my opinion.

And so, we'll have all the greenery outside,

and we can bring some of that greenery inside as well.

Then, on top of the bed

you will get like this mix of really like textural,

beautiful shearling, mohair, lamb, rabbit,

like you know different textures for all the pillows

and all the bedding that I think sort of

bring the space together-

together with the blue

On the wood veneer wall, I would do a television

because sometimes you want to lay in bed,

or you want to sit at the sofa and watch television.

And the television can also double as

a piece of artwork as well.

And a space that feels relatively boxy and new,

like this one, I always wanna make sure that

it feels really welcoming and warm.

And the way to do that is not only through

beautiful textures and materials,

but also through really personal items as well.

And so in this space,

I would like to bring in some vintage accessories.

I'm also a painter, so I love to paint original pieces,

and I think that if we had a couple of original pieces

up here really large next to the window,

that will give you something really interesting to look at

on the left side wall as well.

And then we'll make sure that

all the bedding feels really luxurious.

We'll layer the bedding, we'll have some linens,

and other textures that feel really soft and inviting.

[music playing]

I love this bedroom because it has this feeling of

being suspended in clouds.

So for me here, was circle and heaven in a way, or the sky.

So I think, that's what I love more about this room.

So looking at the finished design

I feel like I want to jump in this bed and relax.

I think the room is simple, sophisticated, and luxurious.

I love how this space came together.

It was exactly what I was imagining.

I was hoping for a space that would feel like

it has more character,

and like it is a little bit more livable,

and more personalized.

And so bringing in these vintage doors

to create another space, it's more inviting.

It's almost a little bit mysterious,

like what's out there in the sunroom?

And so it draws you out,

but also makes you feel more intimate in the space.

[music playing]

Wow

Gorgeous.

Nice.

I love this arch that you have going on,

and I love that- it kind of feels like

we did a similar thing here where we kind of like

treated that other room as a separate space.

And then you just like took it all the way-

All the way.

A little bit further than that

Yeah.

All the way.

And made it like a whole separate space, I love it.

Even think, they're kind of cousins.

Yeah, they're cousins

'cause we both rounded out the ceilings.

Yeah, yeah.

Oh, I love that detail, yeah, really so-

Oh, I thought you, this was light.

And I'm like, no, that's wallpaper.

Yeah, it's wallpaper.

I love that you arched the opening

between the bedroom and what you've created,

almost like a sunroom.

I love how warm everything feels.

[Alvin] Definitely want to go for warm.

[Lula] Yeah, yeah.

I love how you use the French doors to

separate the seating space.

Like, I absolutely love that.

I love how you added the beams in the ceiling.

It just feels so warm.

It feels very like California modern.

I love that.

[Laura] Thank you.

This is amazing.

Like this is like,

I feel like I'm on vacation looking at this space.

Like is the bed floating?

Yes, the bed is hanging, so it's like suspended.

[Alvin] Wow.

[Lula] And then this whole thing is like this very

plush alpaca rug.

So yeah, the bed is floating

and then the living room is sunken.

Wow.

So it's like-

[Lula makes a brushing noise]

Instant vacation.

I would never wanna leave this room.

What's happening on the ceiling here?

That's really interesting.

That's very, that's a very good question.

So basically it's just this,

like my idea was to make this into sort of the sky.

So then this would be the clouds, and then this is

this like cielo marble that is light blue.

And then here there's a constellation.

Oh cool.

So sort of like in Grand Central, how you have that

constellation, so.

Yeah, yeah, cool.

We all put an effort into making separate functional spaces.

[Alvin] Yeah.

And you can go from one space to the next

and have a different, you know, a different environment

and a different, you know, sort of experience in each space

but it still feels united and cohesive.

[music playing]