BEDS & BED LINEN
BED SPREADS
For centuries, sumptuous bedspreads, coverlets and quilts have been important elements of bedroom furnishing. Crimson silk worked with gold thread was the stuff of royal fourteenth- century quilts; Henry VIII’s bed also boasted splendid covers quilted in gold and silver; humbler Tudor households made do with embroidered linen and serviceable woolen blankets. Washable, brightly printed Indian chintz bedspreads, known as “palampores”, were first seen on European beds over 300 years ago and were imported from Madras by the East India Company; contemporary regal four posters, however, favored more elaborate bedspreads of damask and velvet.
Marriage quilts were something special- Victorian girls would spend years stitching their own – and in colonial America, betrothed girls would be expected to stitch at least twelve everyday quilts as well as a marriage quilt for a trousseau. Styles, colors and fabrics Bedspread fashions may come and go but for cottage and attic bedrooms a traditional patchwork quilt teamed with a simple iron, pine, or painted bedstead is a recipe for success.
Grand, more formal beds can take a dressed-up patchwork quilt. A frilled or pleated valance showing below gives a variety of different effects. The fabric could echo or contrast with colors in the quilt, bedhead, window dressing or upholstery fabrics. Quilts and bedspreads in children’s rooms in pastel-colored fine cotton prints with embroidered angles edges look enchanting appliqued with alphabet or animal motifs.
For more unusual applique inspiration, say, in an Edwardian-style child’s bedroom, Kate Green away’s characters would also look appropriate worked in typically muted grey-greens, blues, cream and terracotta. Lace and crochet bedspreads always look feminine and pretty, providing a soft, glamorous contrast to sturdy brass and iron bedsteads.
BEDS & BED LINEN fortunately, it is not hard to find new versions of authentic nineteenth-century lace designs as these are still being made. A fine white or cream voile or lace ‘overspread’ with a gathered skirt can cover an existing chintz quilt for an exciting new look and give added protection at the same time. Throw over bedspreads consisting of a simple hemmed sheet are useful in informal bedroom schemes and are quick and easy to make.
For grander beds needing a more luxurious, finished look throw overs can be quilted and lined with a complementary coordinating fabric in a tiny geometric print. Alternate bed covers according to the season with a heavy quilt for winter warmth and a light cotton cover for the summer. A tailored bedspread with a paneled or pleated skirt lends dressed-up dignity to a four poster.
In one-room apartments and spare bedrooms the bed needs to blend in unobtrusively as part of a seating arrangement. Suitable fabrics here could be a plain linen union or cotton pattern or paisley prints in sophisticated burgundy, navy, charcoal and bottle green will also work well. To add interesting detail, pick out the piping and pleats in a fabric to match the curtains and upholstery.