{in the bedroom: only sweet dreams}

. . . positively mesmerized by the beauty of this grand & impossibly romantic room, a part of a beautiful apartment available for rent{!} in provence, on the ground floor of an hôtel particulier, {an urban "private house" of a grand sort, or a very grand town house}, dating from the renaissance that was once home to members of the family of the king of france . . . already astonishing with a pier fireplace and solid oak herringbone floors, but it’s the bedroom, complete with an extravagantly handpainted and vaulted ceiling, a glimmering and glamorous chandelier, and most of all, a gilded coronet bed drape {or crown canopy} in shades of the softest lilac that inspires a place where there can only be sweet dreams . . .

{p.s.}
* another stunning coronet: crisp linens & scalloped edges
* further reading: a brief history of bed canopies

{image: la madone via pinterest}

{room inspiration: vintage wallpaper}

. . . a complete and longstanding love-affair with floral wallpaper, especially hand-painted or vintage {or both}, and the more elaborate, the better -- and so, was absolutely filled with delight upon discovering this bedroom {thanks, felicity!} in a tiny {tiny} apartment in the east village, with walls enveloped in an incredibly stunning hand-painted 18th-century wallpaper . . .

{an excerpt:}

I want to know more about that wallpaper. It gives the room an ancient, exalted feeling.
It's 18th-century Chinese. I stumbled across it at an auction, this pile of dilapidated pieces that nobody else wanted. I had to have it. I found three large scenes, placed them around the room, and pieced in the gaps and torn bits. The idea was to create a jewel-box effect in the bedroom, with pattern to distract your senses from the tight quarters. I papered the wall in the spirit of a collage, trying to make the most of a beautiful old thing. . .

-- designer david kaihoi, house beautiful

************

{p.s.} the little trundle bed cleverly tucks away in the morning

{also lovely:} hand-painted wall murals

{images: photography by ngoc minh ngo for a small one-bedroom apartment made big by barbara king for house beautiful}