Do You Have a Master Bedroom? You Shouldnt! Tips for Remodeling Your Bedroom

The word "master" is an antiquated term that suggests control, domination, and inequality, and in today's cooperative partner and/or single parent household, the label "master suite" has become obsolete. In that light, master bedrooms would more properly be called "main bedrooms" in today's society.

Far removed from the hubbub of family rooms and busy kitchens, the bedroom is the place where your day begins and ends. Surprisingly, however, main bedroom redecorating frequently ranks near the bottom of most people's home renovation lists. But if you want an immediate uplift of your emotional state, there are few projects that will do that more effectively than remodeling your main bedroom.

Remodeling Your Main Bedroom for Happiness

The main bedroom, with its softened textures, serene artwork, and muted patterns, intimately captures the warmth of a home. Passion colors, such as red, purple, royal blue, rose, or the gilt of gold, add drama and indulgence. Plan your main bedroom design with private times in mind, beginning with the purpose of the bedroom. Do you want a Passion Boudoir, Reading Room, or Private Sanctuary?

Passion Boudoir

French women are known to create the sexiest bedrooms in the world, and like many French women, today's homemakers often plan for sex and decorate accordingly, creating evocative, enticing bedrooms. Here are a few suggestions for creating a Passion Boudoir:

Flattering colors contribute to personal beauty and are erotically appealing. Choose seductive colors like Rouge Red, Lipstick Reds, Creamy Peaches, and Subtle Pinks. Make sure the colors enhance your natural beauty. Be daring and use bold colors on the walls.

Luscious fabrics will set the stage for sensuousness. Use silky, velvet, and chenille textures in combination with nubby textures. Use fabrics that remind you of a favorite shared memory. Exotic patterns, such as animal prints or tropical florals, conjure images of faraway journeys.

Locating mirrors in unusual places, such as the tops of dressers or side tables, reflect dancing candle light. Tropical plants and trees, uplit with special lights, also cast exciting shadows.

An intimate bistro table, set with two chairs, invites private conversations. Dressing tables, furnished with feminine accessories and intimate objects, add mystery and romance to a room.

Just the presence of a bed tray suggests the possibility of the ultimate pleasure: breakfast in bed, while soft lighting, candles, essential oils in a diffuser, and gentle oscillating fans effectively complete the décor in a Passion Boudoir.

Reading Rooms

If you're one of the many people who love to read in their bedrooms, you might consider designing your main bedroom with lounging and reading books in mind. Since eye experts warn that it's bad for a person's eyes to read while lying down (because we tend to hold the book too close), you might begin by enabling proper reading posture by installing padded headboards.

Another consideration is lighting. Eye experts claim that readers need at least two reading lamps of at least 175-200 watts, but that type of lighting would seem quite harsh in a bedroom setting. In fact, as my friend Madi, a devoted bedroom reader, says, "My reading time is some of my most important time, intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally. It's the most intimate time I give myself; it compares to what others may call meditation. Just being in a space that's warm and comfortable with a good book is the greatest thing in the world to me, and any bright light would change the ambience of that quiet time."

Madi certainly isn't alone in cherishing her reading time, or in opposing harsh lighting in the bedroom. So instead of individual lights, consider equalizing the overall lighting scheme by adding other less obtrusive lights across the room.

Good colors for Reading Rooms include Old World Ivory, Antique Amber, Sage Green, and Slate Blue. These soft colors reflect light without glare and also support peaceful feelings.

Squishy pillows, luxurious Afghans or throws, landscape paintings with distant horizons, and mirrors for private reflections add feelings of indulgence. A great lounge chair with a floor lamp and nearby tea table completes the additions to a perfect Reading Room.

Private Sanctuary

Perhaps you'd rather turn your main bedroom into a personal retreat, where you can escape and unwind from a busy day. Surround yourself with photos of friends, family, and places you love, as well as your favorite artwork and meaningful mementos. Under-furnished private sanctuaries can also give you the space to contemplate and daydream.

Good colors for private sanctuaries include dark Forest Greens, deep Chocolates, Mochas, Navy or Cobalt Blues, and Eggplant. Darker colors create a womb-like feeling and aid deep sleep.

A writing desk, accompanied by a comfortable chair, induces journal and letter writing. A small refrigerator will make you feel as if you can enjoy your time in the bedroom without interruption, and a television offers the opportunity to watch your favorite movies and shows. Room-darkening window coverings also encourage deep sleep and aid in the restoration of your soul.

Living Room Furniture in Bedrooms

Bedrooms can truly become living rooms when they're furnished luxuriously -- like a private suite. Adding furniture usually considered living room pieces automatically upscales the importance of your bedroom. Sofas, rocking chairs, or matching overstuffed chairs help create the feeling of an oasis.

The bedroom is the most personal of all the rooms in our home. In fact, as a Realtor, I've been in houses on home tours where the main bedroom was off-limits. That may seem strange, but it only served to add to the mystery of the home. I've also been in a delightful home where the living room itself had actually been turned into a fabulous main bedroom!

Only you can decide the best bedroom setting for your personal preferences and lifestyle, but if you want to make a dramatic change for the better in your life, there's no better way to accomplish that than remodeling your main bedroom!

Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.doghousetodollhouse fordollars.com/pages/5/index.htm

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Israeli Armored Personal Carriers drive to the Gaza Strip, near Israel's border with Gaza, southern Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009.  Israeli tanks, infantry and aircraft hammered dozens of Hamas targets overnight Wednesday as Israel's leaders discussed whether to expand the 12-day operation meant to stop rocket fire into Israel. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)AP - Israel resumed its Gaza offensive Wednesday, bombing heavily around suspected smuggling tunnels near the border with Egypt after a three-hour lull to allow in humanitarian aid. Hamas responded with a rocket barrage. Despite the heavy fighting, strides were made on the diplomatic front with the U.S. throwing its weight behind a deal being brokered by France and Egypt.



President-elect Barack Obama gestures during a news conference at his transition office in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, where he introduced Nancy Killefer, not shown, to the newly created position of chief performance officer. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)AP - Pointing with concern to "red ink as far as the eye can see," President-elect Barack Obama pledged Wednesday to tackle out-of-control Social Security and Medicare spending and named a special watchdog to clamp down on other federal programs — even as he campaigned anew to spend the largest pile of taxpayer money in history to revive the sinking economy.



Illinois U.S. Senate Appointee Roland Burris, left, meets with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)AP - Senate Democrats beat a hasty retreat Wednesday from their rejection of Roland Burris as President-elect Barack Obama's successor, yielding to pressure from Obama himself and from senators irked that the standoff was draining attention and putting them in a bad light. Burris said with a smile he expected to join them "very shortly."



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President George W. Bush, center, poses with President-elect Barack Obama, and former presidents, from left, George H.W. Bush, left, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, right, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)AP - Confronting a grim economy and a Middle East on fire, Barack Obama turned Wednesday to perhaps the only people on the planet who understand what he's in for: the four living members of the U.S. presidents' club.



Rescue workers evacuate residents from a flooded neighborhood along  McCutcheon Rd. near Orting, Wash. Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. The rapidly rising Puyallup River forced hundreds of people in the area from their homes. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)AP - Rain and high winds lashed Washington state Wednesday, causing widespread avalanches, mudslides, flooding and road closures as the heavy snowfall that has buried parts of the state began to rapidly melt.



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In this Nov. 23, 2008 file photo, singer and actress Queen Latifah poses on the press line at the 2008 American Music Awards in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg, file)AP - "The Dark Knight" could soar away with several trophies Wednesday night at the 35th annual People's Choice Awards. The Batman film will vie for awards in such categories as favorite cast, action movie, on-screen matchup and superhero.



AP - An eastern Pennsylvania man may face up to 37 years in prison for tearing open a neighbor's door with a chain saw. Police say 34-year-old Robert Kane began sawing through the front door of Jamie Zaleski's apartment in Scranton while Zaleski and several friends ran out the back.

In this Nov. 30, 2008 file photo, New York Jets coach Eric Mangini looks up at the scoreboard during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The Cleveland Browns have agreed to hire Eric Mangini as their head coach, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)AP - Eric Mangini is the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns, a week after being fired by the New York Jets. A person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press that Mangini will be introduced Thursday at a news conference at the team's headquarters in Berea.



An Israeli soldier stands atop a vehicle after crossing into Israel from the northern Gaza Strip January 7, 2009. (Amir Cohen/Reuters)Reuters - Israeli aircraft and tanks pounded the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and troops battled Palestinian guerrillas on the ground as U.S. backing for a proposed truce raised expectations of an end to the 12-day-old offensive.



President Bush greets President-elect Barack Obama at the White House, November 10, 2008. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)Reuters - The U.S. budget deficit will swell to a record $1.186 trillion in fiscal 2009, congressional forecasters said on Wednesday, the result of an economic recession that has cut tax receipts and caused massive government bailouts of banks and automakers.



Senate-designate Roland Burris talks with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Reid's office on Capitol Hill, January 7, 2009. (Larry Downing/Reuters)Reuters - In an abrupt switch, Democratic leaders began talks on Wednesday to swear in Roland Burris, appointed by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.



United Auto Workers (UAW) President Ron Gettelfinger (C) addresses the media as UAW Vice-Presidents listen at the UAW Solidarity House in Detroit, Michigan December 12, 2008. (Rebecca Cook/Reuters)Reuters - United Auto Workers bargaining teams are arriving this week in Detroit as the union gears up for negotiations with General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC, which are mandated to cut labor costs under a $17.4 billion federal bailout.



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Reuters - The case of Ali al-Marri, accused of being an al Qaeda "sleeper" agent and held for 5-1/2 years at a U.S. military prison in South Carolina, will be an early test for President-elect Barack Obama.

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Bernard Madoff is escorted in a vehicle from Federal Court in New York, January 5, 2009. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)Reuters - Accused swindler Bernard Madoff should be jailed for violating a court order by mailing $1 million worth of diamonds, watches and other jewelry to friends and family, U.S. prosecutors told a court on Wednesday.



Smoke billows following an Israel air strike in Rafah near the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt. Israel on Wednesday approved an even tougher war on Hamas, warning residents to flee southern Gaza ahead of planned bombing of cross-border tunnels, as the Palestinian death toll passed 700.(AFP/Said Khatib)AFP - Israel on Wednesday approved an even tougher war on Hamas, warning residents to flee southern Gaza ahead of planned bombing of cross-border tunnels, as the Palestinian death toll passed 700.



A local worker controls a gas valve and the gas pressure at the gas-main center of FGSZ Natural Gas, in Vecses, Hungary. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday laid down terms for a resumption of Russian gas shipments via Ukraine to Europe as tens of thousands of Europeans suffered heating cuts amid freezing weather.(AFP/Attila Kisbenedek)AFP - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday laid down terms for a resumption of Russian gas shipments via Ukraine to Europe as tens of thousands of Europeans suffered heating cuts amid freezing weather.




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