Restful Bedroom Retreat

When Coastal Living style director Heather Chadduck came across a fresh floral fabric by Victoria Hagan Home Collection, it inspired a large-scale makeover. "I immediately wanted to upholster every inch of my bedroom with this gorgeous floral!" Heather says. "The muted tones and oversize scale keep the design from feeling too girlie."

Like most who have fallen in love with the "perfect" fabric, Heather soon realized she couldn't swathe every surface. "It was too expensive to use everywhere, so I had to make a few yards go a long way," she says. She focused on creating a bed canopy and then used the leftover fabric for pillows and a desktop.

Bed: Portica Queen Canopy Bed by Room & Board; roomandboard.com.
French settee: antique; for a similar look, try the Natural Linen Settee (W2506) from Wisteria; wisteria.com.

To make things fuss-free, choose white for your walls and linens, and then mix in an accent color that you love. "Lately, I've been obsessed with a pale shade of blue-gray," Heather says. "It's so calming, perfect for a bedroom." She used navy blue details to complete the look. She elevated her plain white curtains by adding a blue ribbon trim and found sheets with a simple scallop accent.

• Wall paint: Extra White (SW7006) by Sherwin-Williams; sherwin-williams.com.
• Ceiling paint: Jubilee (SW6248) half solution, also by Sherwin-Williams.
• Paint on moving parts of windows: Jubilee (SW6248) full strength, also by Sherwin-Williams.
• Rug: For a similar look, try the Braided Jute Rug, from Ballard Designs, ballarddesigns.com.

Splurge on a few yards of your favorite fabric, and then use it sparingly on several key items in your room. Heather's floral fabric made appearances on the canopy, pillows, and desktop. "I got away with using about 7 yards," she says. To avoid having to buy extra material to meld together two pieces for the canopy, she suggests taking a piece from one bolt and adding a 4-inch mitered band of linen around the edges.

Style Secret: "Canopies tend to sag over time, so if you want yours to be tight, make it a few inches smaller than the inside dimensions of the bed," Heather says.

Inspiration fabric: Four Seasons/Winter (4006-01) by Victoria Hagan Home Collection; victoriahaganhome.com
Fabric on the desk chair and bedside lampshade: Twilight Rhythm/Mist (4004-02) by Victoria Hagan Home Collection.

Toss in nontraditional finishing touches to upgrade your look. A vintage European basket makes a unique and functional bedside table. (Good-bye, clutter!) Heather upgraded an ordinary lampshade with the same fabric she used on her desk chair. She made a boudoir pillow out of a Hungarian grain sack and customized it with her monogram.

Urn lamp: antique; for a similar look, try the Jonesport Urn Table Lamp, Ballard Designs, ballarddesigns.com.
Curtains: Aina linen curtains in Bleached from IKEA; ikea.com.

Create an inspiring desk with leftover canopy fabric. All you need are a basic hollow-core door and two sawhorses. First, Heather covered the door with a layer of felt; then she wrapped it with extra fabric. "I finished the edges with the same decorative trim that was applied to the curtains and repeated the nail-head design from the settee," she says. style secrets: If your desk isn't high enough, add casters to the sawhorse legs. To protect your fabric and provide a smooth writing surface, cover the desktop with a thin piece of glass.

White side chair: antique; for a similar look, try the Louis XVI Square Back Side Chair from Ballard Designs; ballarddesigns.com.
Lamps: Balustrade Lamp (1730L) by Aidan Gray; aidangrayhome.com for retailers.