Bed’s style can match décor or set tone

What kind of bed is most appealing to you? There are a great variety of styles to suit your fancy.

For example, if you have a dark heirloom dresser and nightstands, a romantic brass bed would look great in that bedroom. The more Victorian the bed, the better it will look with your heirlooms.

Sleek, more contemporary brass beds look great with glass and brass end tables in place of conventional nightstands. Those contemporary brass beds also look great with a conventional nightstand and, on the other side of the bed, a table covered in a tablecloth to match or coordinate with the bedspread.

If the clean, simple look appeals to you, check out a storage headboard with attached nightstands. A round mirror over the dresser would do well in this setting.

A four-poster cherry-wood bed always has that great homespun look, particularly with an overstuffed mattress piled so high you need a stepladder to get into it. A new twist on this old standby is an acrylic four-poster bed. It's a true fashion statement. Though this bed has four tall posters, it's contemporary.

If you like the Colonial look, a sleigh bed will tickle your fancy. It acquired this name because it looks like an old-fashioned, horse-drawn sleigh. It will do well in a Colonial, Federal or Early American setting, complete with patchwork quilts and a basket full of knitting materials in a corner by a rocking chair.

You can easily embellish your bed by draping soft material from the ceiling to the floor at the bed's four corners. Add a valance at the ceiling to create a canopy effect.

If your bedroom has only one solid wall for furniture placement, a custom-made headboard/dresser/nightstand combination can be constructed to fit the bill. The entire wall can be used for the headboard and dresser, with a nightstand projecting from the bed's side. This saves space and it's attractive.

As you can see, the possibilities are limitless.

Rosemary Sadez Friedmann, an interior designer in Naples, Fla., is author of "Mystery of Color." For design inquiries, write to Rosemary at DsgnQuest@aol.com.