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The four poster bed has long been synonymous with a very specific type of country house. Picture one, and you'll surely find yourself imagining an ornate creation of dense, dark wood, laden with heavy swags of fabric. It's probably positioned in a grand room, complete with cornicing, hand-painted walls and china dogs. But today's four posters are nothing of the sort. These subtly theatrical bed frames have been revamped and reimagined; they are, to use a dreaded word, cool.
As House & Garden contributing writer, Eleanor Cording-Booth, wrote back in 2023, "the modern four-poster bed now feels like a viable option for just about any bedroom. Designers are choosing slim, fuss-free wooden or black metal frames for projects of any age and size."
MAY WE SUGGEST: How to do a four poster
One such designer is Top100 member Nicola Harding, who recently launched her furniture collection, NiX. As she says, "a four poster bed is a sure-fire trick for delivering a thrill. Our NiX four posters are designed to feel traditional or contemporary depending on what you combine them with."
The "thrill" of a four poster is something Oona Bannon, of Pinch Design, also champions. "Perhaps it's our inner prince/princess flights of fancy, or perhaps it's that we simply feel more secure and cosseted with an overhead canopy involved, but sleeping in a four poster bed makes one feel extremely lucky, quite spoilt and incredibly regal. It's amazing how a fairly simple combination of vertical and horizontal additions can transform a sleeping experience."
That said, you don't need to be actual royalty, with palace-like room proportions to opt for a four poster. Whilst people tend to shy away from putting a four poster bed in small room, the vertical posts can actually help to draw the eye upwards, creating the illusion of height in even the teeniest of spaces. In the Berdoulat project seen below, the four poster just about scrapes the ceiling, creating drama in a room that is otherwise relatively fuss-free.
Many interior designers agree, and we've seen brilliant examples of imposing four-poster beds used successfully in very small rooms. As Nicola confirms, her "favourite way to use a four poster is to fill a small space; creating surprise and delight. In a small room, it instantly transforms the underwhelming into the fantastic." "In a large room, a four poster balances the scale of the space, but we love them even more in small rooms as they feel quite medieval and private," says Oona.
Then, of course, there's the question of drapery. You can add curtains for a more relaxed look, or lean into a contemporary four poster's clean-lined form. With this, a four poster is more transformable than an upholstered headboard, or a cast iron bed frame. As Nicola says, “drapery, whether a little or a lot, adds romance and creates a magical sense of being held and protected. Yet without it, a four poster can feel crisper and cleaner.”
Rose Uniacke offers a pared-back version of the four poster: simple iron railings suspended from the ceiling, adorned with swathes of crisp linen. It's a great way to get the look of a four poster, without eating into a room's footprint.
Ultimately, today's four poster offering is more accessible. Whether your rooms are small or large, eclectic, maximalist, traditional or clean lined, there will be a four poster that fits in. Below, we've highlighted a few of our favourites.
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