With the master bedroom’s reputation as a sanctuary, it’s not often that you see a designer taking an edgy approach to it. Yet for this year’s SF Decorator’s Showcase, designer Jeff Schlarb did exactly that, creating a darkly romantic master bedroom that cocoons you in both comfort and a sense of the avant-garde. The bedroom’s success lies in Schlarb’s expert use of color, his thoughtful plays on symmetry, and, yes, those rock n’ roll fringe-covered walls. To learn how we can replicate the artful look in our own master bedrooms, we reached out to Schlarb to get the DL on how exactly the room came together, as well as his best tips for art, lighting, and customizing your boudoir.
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The Inspiration
Schlarb knew he wanted the master bedroom to feel like a retreat, but didn’t necessarily want to repeat the bright, light palette that dominated the rest of the house. To make the room feel special, he says he elected to make it a “moody, recharging, romantic respite.” From there, Schlarb selected the room’s statement-making indigo hue. Thanks to its boldness, the color not only directed the room’s palette, but also its romantic mood.
The Layout
According to Schlarb, the room’s layout was driven by the need to achieve balance. “The room, in this case, is very straightforward,” he says. “There is only one wall to put the headboard on; there is only one place for the dresser.” Because there wasn’t much wiggle room for the furniture layout, Schlarb utilized asymmetry when it came to accessories like pillows and lighting. “Building unexpected moments makes spaces feel collected and real versus static and predictable,” he says.
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The Walls
Fringed walls might not be the first thought you have when you think “relaxing retreat,” but when applied in such a large quantity, the effect is less Vegas showgirl and more soothing ripples on a lake. For Schlarb, they also add a much-needed textural element to the room while still being plenty fun. He notes that “fringe reminds people of fashion. It feels a certain way and makes people happy.”
The Furniture
There’s no talking around the piece de resistance, by which we mean the bedroom’s custom bed and ottoman. For Schlarb, the bed was born out of the need to build both more form and function into the room. “The bedroom is a typical rectangle aside from the entry door which is located on a curved corner,” explains Schlarb, “So the shapely ottoman nestled up to the bed played with the curve of the entry.” He also notes that the ottoman—which he affectionately calls the sidecar—“adds function to an otherwise unused bit of real estate.”
5 Tips for Nailing the Look
1. REFINE YOUR PALETTE
In order to simultaneously create drama and tranquility in a bedroom, Schlarb recommends limiting your color palette. “In this case [the showroom bedroom], we have indigo, cream and pops of autumn colors. By keeping the colors more consistent, I believe that creates a calm experience.“
2. LAYER YOUR LIGHTING
When working with dark colors, blasting your space with overhead light can feel out of sync. To remedy this, Schlarb encourages “a mix of sconces, lamps, and dropped pendants.” If you do need overhead lighting, he reminds us that “dimmable fixtures are your friend, either from a hardwired switch or operability on the lamp itself.”
3. GO ASYMMETRICAL WITH PILLOWS
Neat stacks of two-by-two pillows may work in a standard retreat, but for one that capitalizes on drama, Schlarb recommends employing an asymmetrical pillow pile on the bed. He also likes using asymmetry to remove focus from an architectural flaw, be it an off-center door or window. “Asymmetry creates the same balance that we are looking for when there is attention tugged another way.”
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4. SELECT ARTFUL FURNISHINGS
To create intrigue, ask yourself where furniture function can merge with form. For Schlarb, that was the bed. By adding the “sidecar” the bed not only increases in function—since as Schlarb notes it serves as a “delicious spot to put on shoes, lounge or check your Instagram feed”— but this highly customized feature becomes the furniture equivalent of haute couture.
5. INTEGRATE SCULPTURE WITH PURPOSE
Schlarb seamlessly worked both sculptural accents and sculptural furniture into the space—and that’s no accident. “If there are going to be sculptural furniture pieces in a space, there has to be more than one or two,” says Schlarb. “If we only have one piece, then it becomes the one ‘shiny’ object; the center of attention. Since we want the entire room to flow, the dramatic decisions have to be peppered throughout so that the whole space feels artistic.”
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All photos by José Manuel Alorda