A bedroom is a place of retreat: one’s private space to read, sleep, love or dream. When decorating, think about who will be using the room, how it will be used and the occupant’s personality and tastes. Will she feel most relaxed in a romantic room with white furniture and ruffled bed linens or in a modern room with simple furniture and sleek lines? Perhaps a more exotic style with bamboo night stands and leopard print bedding will be most appealing. After deciding upon a style, careful thought must be given to decorative elements such as bedding.
Upon entering the room, the occupant should be welcomed by a comfortable bed dressed in attractive linens. Fluffy pillows, comfortable sheets and a cozy bedspread are essential, but a stylish bed skirt is an important finishing touch. A bed skirt fits over a mattress set’s box spring, hiding it and lending a more coordinated look to the bed. It also hides storage boxes, dust bunnies, slippers and anything else that finds itself under the bed. It consists of a panel that fits between the box spring and mattress and fabric that hangs down to the floor, called the drop.
Bed skirts are available for any budget and are sold everywhere from discount superstores to pricey department stores. Before purchasing a bed skirt, measure the distance from the top of the box spring to the floor to find the length of drop needed. While the most popular drop is 15-18 inches, other sizes can also be found. For beds with non-traditional drops, the Internet offers a variety of choices or custom skirts can be ordered.
Bed skirts come in different fabrics, from sturdy poly/cotton blends to sumptuous silk and soft chenille. They can be purchased in neutral colors such as tan or white to match any bedding, or in colorful patterns or solids to coordinate with other fabrics in the bedroom. Some manufacturers create entire bedding sets, so that bed skirts, comforters, accent pillows and even curtains coordinate.
There are a variety of styles to choose from when looking for a bed skirt. The three most popular are ruffled, box pleated and straight. The fabric of a ruffled skirt is gathered at the top, making the skirt appear fuller. A box pleated skirt features pleats several inches wide, all around the skirt. A straight skirt falls right from the panel to the floor.
The skirt will benefit from a touch-up with a warm iron after removing it from the package, so that it will hang on the box spring without unsightly wrinkles. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for washing and caring for bed linens. While many bed skirts are machine washable, some prefer to have pleated skirts professionally dry-cleaned and pressed to avoid ironing all those pleats by hand.
While usually not the most eye-catching element of a bedroom, a bed skirt with a coordinating color and texture can add to the overall harmony of the room, helping to create a peaceful refuge for the occupant
