COUNTRY LIFE PROMOTION
The history of bedroom design can be traced a long way back but like the history of beauty itself, it has no clear or defined starting point.
Throughout history, rich and prosperous kings, queens and empresses had the habit of adorning their rooms with accumulated riches. The ancient Egyptians, for example, would often sleep on beds which were adorned in gold leaf and scrollwork hanging pictures, silk drapes and other spoils of the crown around them.
This same practice can be observed in the Assyrians, the Persians and the ancient Greeks who similarly adorned their beds with inlays made from expensive materials such as mother of pearl.
During ancient times, luxury was a right of the extremely privileged due to the enormous wealth gap that existed between the rich and the poor. In ancient Rome, beds, tables and chairs were made by skilled tradesmen and carpenters, mostly for the very upper echelons of society.
Moving forward several hundred years, it became landowners and aristocrats that were the wealthy and their bedrooms were often adorned with imported silks, chaise longue’s, mirrors and other fineries to which their wealth entitled them. This is also one of the first times when freestanding objects such as desks and chairs became consistent in bedroom styling.
With the industrial revolution, prices were brought down, production increased and the new dawn of an era heralded not only new methods of production but also a new aesthetic. The fourposter bed became not only a privilege of the rich, but an object which served a purpose. Many more people were able to afford their own furniture and things such as these were seen as practical and useful.
Today we find that not only are we part of the “ultra-modern” zeitgeist, which sees bedrooms marvelled at for their minimalism (quite a leap from the adornments and draperies of old where fine detail and extravagance was celebrated) but we are also able to choose from a rich back catalogue of influences and styles that have graced society through the ages.
Today, luxurious fitted bedrooms take influence from many styles such as Gothic, Tudor, Victorian, Retro, Kitsch, French, Spanish to name just a few of the aesthetics which have been fashionable in the past. From the exotic to the elegant, there are fitted bedrooms now available which not only celebrate styles gone by but which combine different styles in a new way, seeking to create new definitions of luxury.
The style of the bedroom is continually evolving and the most important factor is that now you don’t need to be a queen to afford a little luxury.
