Bed Nook Mini Makeover: The Plan

I'm dreaming of an even cozier little nook.

I live in a floor-through railroad-style apartment, which is an old style of apartment commonly found in cities like New York, where each room leads directly into the next. Since there are no actual hallways, the middle rooms essentially act as such. And while I absolutely love the charm of living in a railroad apartment, it definitely presents some design challenges.

When I first moved in, I decided on a non-traditional layout where my “bedroom” (which is really just a nook off of my living room) is one of those challenging middle rooms.

Here’s a snapshot of the (very much not-to-scale) layout to hopefully paint the picture:

What trips me up the most is the door that’s in the nook. It looks like it could be a harmless little closet, but in actuality it’s a portal that leads to the entire other half of the apartment.

Energetically, it’s hard to feel completely settled in a sleeping space when there’s a door this close to your head. In fact, in feng shui, it’s typically a big no.

And while I don’t plan to move the bed from where it is right now, I *am* planning a few changes that I think may make a really big difference in how I feel when I lay my lil head to sleep.

First, I’ll be adding a narrow marble shelf along the wall across from my bed. I’ve already tried using various little tables/stools in this spot as a bedside table, but nothing has felt just right.

The idea is that this shelf will physically act as a spot for my nightly glass of water and some decorative objects (a candle, a flower vase), while energetically acting as an anchor in the space, helping the nook to feel a bit more like an actual room and less like a transient space.

I just so happen to have this perfect piece of marble left over from when I was redoing my bathroom (it’s from the same slab as the piece of marble on top of my tub). Initially I had it cut to use as a shelf in my kitchen, but ended up deciding against it.

I also already have these beautiful brass brackets that I had bought to go with it.

Next, I plan to add a brass wall sconce just above the left side of my headboard. I imagine it will make this space feel so cozy at night, again, helping it to feel like its own intentional room.

I like the idea of using this black shade to help add more contrast in here. Aesthetically, the colors in here have been feeling a bit too mid-range for me. Adding in some darker elements will help to give the eye a place to land, making the space feel more grounded and complete.

Perhaps the biggest change I want to make is to add ceiling-mounted curtain rods (with corner connectors) above the bed so that I can add curtains on either side, essentially creating the look of a canopy bed. My ceilings are 100 years old, so there’s a chance the mounting will not be successful, but if all goes as planned, I really think this will make a huge difference in dialing up the coziness in here.

Now, it may end up feeling too fabric-y in the nook since I already have a pair of curtains hanging in the archway, but I could either remove the floral curtains altogether, or use something sheer (maybe these?) for the new curtains to keep it all feeling lighter. We shall see!

Another fun touch I want to do is to add some ornate stenciling to the door with these. Aside from the fact that I’m completely obsessed with stenciled and hand-painted details at the moment, my intention is to make the door feel more like an intentional piece of art and less like a portal to the other half of the apartment.

Stencil inspo from here, here, and here.

And eventually, I’d like to add a rug in here as another way to anchor the room, but I haven’t yet been able to find the right one, so that may be a later thing.

Stay tuned to see all these updates come to life soon! I’m excited.