Art Deco Master Bedroom with Arched Glass Wardrobes

The low platform bed is a deliberate choice against the tall peach wall behind it. A high headboard would have cut into that colour and made the room feel shorter, so the olive upholstered headboard sits low and wide instead. It keeps the sightline across to the wardrobes open. A low bed suits a room with good ceiling height like this one, though it is a little harder to get out of than a tall divan, which is worth knowing if that matters to you.

It is a carved wall panel with an art deco fan pattern in a soft cream, with the TV mounted flat against it. The relief catches light and gives the screen wall texture without adding colour, so the television almost disappears into it when off. Below sits a low white media console with a fluted front and copper handles. Keeping this wall pale balances the deeper maroon and olive elsewhere in the room.

Light works on several levels. Recessed spots sit in the peach cove ceiling, a warm strip washes the perimeter, and a backlit mirror and a small lantern in the wardrobe niche add glow at lower heights. A brass floor lamp and a bedside lamp cover reading. There is no harsh central light, which suits a bedroom. Splitting the cove and the spots across switches lets you drop to a soft setting at night without getting up.

The tall window carries an art deco metal grille in a fan pattern, with a roman blind above it and a garden view beyond. The grille doubles as security and pattern, so the room needs no heavy shutter. A round marble bedside table and a lamp sit beside it, and an olive tub chair takes the corner as a reading spot. The blind handles glare and privacy while the grille keeps its shape on show even when the blind is down.

The arched glass wardrobe wall is the largest single cost, since curved reeded-glass shutters and a full-height run are made to measure. The carved TV panel and the metal window grille follow. Paint, the bed and loose chairs are the lighter spend. To save, straight reeded-glass shutters cost less than arched ones and give much of the same effect, and a plain painted feature wall can stand in for the carved panel while you keep the wardrobes.

It can, because its character comes from finishes rather than floor area. In a compact room you keep the low bed, one feature colour like the peach and maroon, and a shorter wardrobe run in the same reeded glass. You would drop the tub chair and the second feature wall to keep the floor clear. The trick is sticking to two or three materials, so a small room reads considered rather than crowded. Fewer big moves beat many small ones.

They are more practical than they look. The ribbed glass hides fingerprints far better than clear glass or high gloss, and a quick wipe keeps them clear. The one thing to accept is that a strong colour or clutter behind the glass will show through as a blur, so they suit folded clothes and boxes rather than an open jumble. If you store a lot on view, mix in some solid shutters for the messy shelves and keep glass for the rest.