Bedroom Basics - A guide to planning your sanctuary

The sweetest dreams happen in the best bedrooms. It’s the place where you start and end every day. Use this handy bedroom guide to create your perfect sanctuary.

The Bed

You’re likely familiar with the most popular bed sizes: twin, full, queen, and king. Queen size is the most popular, although king beds are rising in popularity as our home sizes continue to grow. Couples sharing a bed will be most comfortable in a queen-sized or bigger, although a full can work for smaller homes, or for guest rooms. Twin beds are most common for children’s bedrooms – “twin” indicates that you might put two identical beds together in one room. Some extended sizes are becoming more popular, most specifically California King, which is longer than a typical king size, but more narrow.

Twin 39" x 75" Full 54" x 75" Queen 60" x 80" King 76" x 80"

In most bedrooms, the bed is the focal point: it is often the largest piece of furniture, and certainly the most important! The great thing about Amish furniture is that you can mix & match your bed & case piece styles.

Let your bed be the featured focal point

There are a few factors to consider when choosing your bed placement. First, you’ll want to be sure you can walk on both sides of the bed, so leave at least 18” on each side, or more, if your nightstands require it. You also want to consider where light enters your room. Some people prefer to wake up in a sum beam, while others prefer a darker area, so place your bed according to your preferences. Also, consider your line of sight from the bed. Psychologists suggest that some people may feel trapped when they can’t see a door from their bed. And if your bedroom features an en suite bathroom, you probably don’t want to see the toilet from the bed. Other considerations might include locations of outlets, lighting, and TV hookups, if applicable.

Case pieces

A traditional bedroom set usually includes a dresser & chest of drawers, and in many conventional stores, those are your only choices. Our Amish builders offer a much larger selection, including various sizes of dressers & chests, plus wardrobes, chifforobe, jewelry armoires, and more.

Small Dresser - Long Dresser - Mule Dresser

When choosing your dresser, consider how the size and scale will work in your room. If you have a big room with high ceilings, chose a larger dresser. Of course, consider your own size and scale too! If you’re the type who likes to get ready in the dresser mirror, be sure you can comfortably use the mirror at the mounted height. Choose additional case pieces to suit your storage needs. If you have small closets, or just like to hang all your clothes, we can incorporate hanging storage into our wardrobes, chifforobes, and man’s chests. Items with adjustable shelves, like our armoires and mule chests, are great for folded sweaters or accessories.

Mule Chest - Doctor's Chest - Chifforobe - Man's Chest - Armoire

When arranging your case pieces, there are a few easy rules to follow to ensure accessibility & a balanced layout. First, be sure to plan at least 30”-36” in front of drawers & doors, to allow plenty of room to open them & access the content. Because the bedroom is a more private room, meaning fewer people in it at a time, you can get away with more narrow traffic paths. 18” is adequate on either side of the bed, of course, allow extra room for access into any case pieces, closets, or under-bed storage drawers, wherever applicable. Otherwise, 24”-30” of clearance between objects is adequate for most bedrooms, but 36” will be more comfortable for any areas where two people may cross.

Foot of the bed

Don’t overlook the area in front of the foot of the bed! Unless you’ve chosen a bed with drawers in the footboard, this can be the perfect place to add storage, seating, or both! Basket benches can hold extras while providing a place to put on your socks, and cedar chests, offered in five sizes, are great for storing extra linens and blankets. For a more formal or traditional look, we also offer turned-leg benches with upholstered tops for comfort & elegance.

A cedar chest at the foot of the bed is convenient for both sitting & storage

The TV

There’s nothing wrong with having a TV in your bedroom, but don’t let it take away from the overall design of your room. Consider placing it opposite the bed, for easy viewing, or plan it into a soft seating area, with upholstered lounge chairs, if you prefer. Many of our bedroom suites offer a matching TV stand, or a number of our dressers can be built with a TV shelf to hold wiring & components. If you prefer to hide the TV, many of our case pieces can accommodate that as well, with options including TV swivel shelves and pocket doors.

Bedroom set with matching TV stand

Cool extras

Our builders have put a lot of thought and consideration into their designs & options, adding many options & upgrades to optimize your storage needs. Because our pieces are built-to-order, with standardized stains across all our builders, we can offer options beyond a traditional bedroom set, finding the right pieces to suit your needs and matching the finish to your bedroom set.

Jewelry is easily accessible while the mirror still faces forward

One area where our builders really excel is jewelry & accessory storage. Jewelry armoires, with small drawers, necklace doors, and lift-tops with mirrors are always a popular choice. Other options include jewelry cheval mirrors, which sit on the floor and slide to reveal hidden compartments, or dresser-mounted mirrors, with slide-out wings with necklace hooks.

This mirror with sliding wings can be attached to any style dresser

Of course, we haven’t forgotten about men’s accessories! Cheval mirrors can be equipped with tie racks, or rotating mirrored storage cabinets can hold just about anything on adjustable shelves. For a true gentleman’s luxury, our hardwood valets are just right for getting dressed in the morning.

Ties, scarves, and shoes

Need more help?

Come talk to one of our furniture experts. We'll be happy to help you choose a style, design your layout, and walk you through all of the additional options & upgrades.