Sleep Talk Blog, Bed and Mattress Guides
A Definitive Guide To Velvet Beds
Aug
The bed is the room's centrepiece, and velvet is ideal for making it stand out. This high-quality fabric is classy. It's comfortable and, today, more affordable than ever, having come a long way since it was more a privilege of the rich. Just a tiny amount can have a significant impact. The fabric oozes that inviting feel a bedroom should offer you when you retire after a hard day.
Velvet is a material that has had revival after revival for generations, a sumptuous and highly tactile fabric that suggests luxury and glamour.
Why choose velvet?
Velvet is versatile. It works subtly with the light, and the colours take on real depth, adding warmth to a room. Whether you have painted panelled walls or bare-brick ones, the velvet will fit right in no matter what style you opt for. You can opt for a more traditional or modern look, and velvet will still work magic. It's a timeless fabric, and although the years will roll by, the velvet will always feel fresh rather than dated.
Flair Lola Velvet Bedframe
What's crushed velvet?
There are several different types of velvet. Silk, plush velvet, and cut are just a few, but one of the main types you'll come across in velvet furniture offerings is crushed velvet. It's a popular choice and is a hit with TV personalities and the recent interior design trend "Eclectic Glam." Some people might also refer to the material as 'crinkle velvet.'
Birlea Cologne Fabric Bedframe
As you'd imagine, crushed velvet has a distressed look. The fabric has an irregular pattern - the nap of the material points in different directions - and a crumpled texture. As a result, crushed velvet - as does velvet, in general - picks up the light and takes on a shimmer and gorgeous visual texture that projects the feeling of glamour and luxury we associate with velvet. Manufacturers achieve this crushed effect by twisting the fabric while it is wet.
Velvet bed types and sizes
Think of velvet, and you'll think of luxury automatically. Don't conclude that you must go for a large bed if you want a velvet bed frame. You don't. You can order velvet beds from us in a range of sizes:
- Single.
- Small double.
- Double.
- Kingsize.
- Super kingsize.
Ottoman velvet beds and TV beds - comfort and practicality
When choosing a velvet bed, you might think you must forego practicality, favouring style and comfort. You don't. Velvet beds can be efficient as well as luxurious. If you want to enjoy the comfort and not sacrifice storage space, choose one of our ottoman beds. If you save yourself space, not to mention the trouble of finding a separate TV unit, you could opt for one of our TV beds. Either way, the luxury and comfort will be there.
How to choose a velvet bed
Serene Alexandra Velvet Bed
Our velvet beds come in different styles. You can go for the more stripped-back style with a simple standard velvet, which has a smooth look, or you could opt for the luxury of crushed velvet. The crushed velvet's irregular patterned style captures the light, conveying serious glamour and drawing the eye immediately to it. As flexible as velvet is, you'll need to bear this when considering how the bed will work with other room elements, such as the decor.
Choosing a velvet bed frame
Bed frames offer the perfect opportunity to inject a significant dash of style into your bedroom, which is one of the reasons why they're so popular. First, of course, your frame should match the room's fashion, which is a reasonably straightforward task, given velvet's versatility.
Check the size of the mattress. It should be the right size for the frame. If you buy a bed frame with a slatted base (more below), you should check that the slats are no more than 7 centimetres apart. More comprehensive than this can inflict undue wear and tear on your bed, and you'll have to replace your mattress sooner.
You should also measure the size of your room and compare it to the size of the bed. The bed is a statement piece; you'll lose that effect if it's too large for the room. The room should look inviting, not overwhelm you.
The height of your bed frame will be necessary, too. A higher one will convey a greater sense of space, whereas a lower bed frame infuses the room with an almost Zen-like sense of calm and is a little closer to the futon style of bed.
Bed bases
There are two different types of bed bases when it comes to our velvet beds:
- Platform.
- Sprung-slatted base.
Platform bases offer a firm base for your mattress, are aesthetic, and have a simple design. These bases are low, flat, and made of wood. They're also ventilated and have no wooden slats. They're a good option if you're looking to keep your costs low.
Sprung-slatted bases are a lot different. First, the design of these bases makes them mattress-friendly. The slats' curve causes them to bend as you either rest on the bed or get up off it, making the mattress more comfortable. In addition, they tend to be stronger than traditional base alternatives.
Headboards
Headboards offer back support and help to keep your pillows in place while you sleep. In addition, they provide stellar opportunities to get creative and add some style to your room. You can buy headboards separately on our website, but headboards from part of our velvet beds already and, in this case, will come in three main styles:
Smooth Headboards
Panelled Headboards
Buttoned Headboards
If you go with the smooth option, it's a step away from the more traditional style that goes with velvet. Since a headboard's job is to support the back, you might also feel more comfortable leaning against it.
The buttoned velvet headboard retains its elegance despite any marks it may acquire. The aesthetic design of the headboard can distract you from the effects. You might even forget all about them.
Serene Anastasia Velvet Bed
A panel-type pattern on the headboard offers flexibility when it comes to combining your velvet bed with other elements of the interior design. That said, on an ottoman velvet bed, which is closer to a divan bed, they have an incredibly timeless feel to them.
Footboards
A footboard can give your bed a more conventional look and is a traditional finish. Also, the bed looks neat, and on a more practical note, your footboard helps to stop the mattress from slipping. Footboards also provide a stellar opportunity to get decorative.
When it comes to footboards, again, you have two options:
- High footboards
- Low footboards
Opt for a bed with a high footboard, and you can make your bed the room's focal point. High footboards project a sense of grandeur and chic. In addition, they have tremendous cosiness because they give you a cocooned feeling when you combine them with tall headboards.
Low footboards are the way forward if you're trying to achieve a more contemporary feel and aesthetic in your room. Their lower height works well, too, if you want your room to look more spacious.
Choosing a colour
Opt for a neutral tone such as grey, and you'll give the room a comfortable, pared-back look that contributes to any sense of spaciousness you've wished to create. Note, of course, that you won't be trading this in for elegance. Instead, go for a steelier or silvery style of grey, and you can seriously up the glam factor of your bed.
If you're looking for something versatile, beige won't disappoint you. It's naturally warm and subtle. Beige will work wonderfully well if you've gone for a refreshing teal or blue decor. Darker beiges work terrific with red; if you've decorated them in pink, they'll match up well with the beige regardless of the tone. Alternatively, you can work manner on style with your beige, producing a layering effect that infuses the room with a sense of calmness.
Brown is another generous colour for colour coordination and goes hand in hand with velvet material, thanks to its sense of timelessness. Combining brown velvet with green decor will give the room a fresh, organic feel. You can go for an extra luxurious touch in your room by introducing gold accents.
Black is the colour of sophistication. If you've furnished your room in lighter colours, black offset them superbly. It's a mysterious colour and blends nicely with gold or silvery colours. There's more to black than mere offsetting, though, since it's a receding colour that conveys a sense of space in the room. Don't forget that any marks appearing on the fabric won't show up as quickly on black as on white or cream fabric.
How to clean your velvet bed
Velvet is soft and luxurious, and, as such a fabric, you should handle it carefully. However, it's more straightforward to maintain than you think. One important thing to know is the type of velvet fabric. You can clean polyester or cotton velvet at home, whereas silk and other materials are more delicate and would be best left to a professional cleaner.
Weekly maintenance is the best policy. You should hoover the velvet each week and brush away any debris with a soft brush. Remember to touch in the direction of the pile. If you spill something on your velvet bed, immediately get a clean, dry, absorbent cloth to blot the spillage. Then attack it with a small amount of soap and water, and blot the stain from the spillage further until it disappears. Always dab and not rub, or you'll worsen the stain.
Velvet needs to dry fast when you clean it. To speed things up, you can go over it with a hairdryer. When the velvet is dry, brush over it in the pile's direction to return it to its average direction.
Should you spot a mark or dry stain somewhere and decide to tackle it yourself, test any cleaning agent you intend to use, even soap and water, on a small hidden spot first. You don't want it to discolour the fabric. Then, if everything looks in order, apply and blot.
There's also a dry method, which is similar to the above. Once you've brushed away all the debris and blotted the stain with a dry cloth or paper towel, add a small amount of dry-cleaning fluid to the stain and dab gently.
When to hire a professional cleaner
Stains such as blood, ink, paint, nail varnish, or machine oil don't come out quickly. Trying to tackle these could damage your velvet if you get things wrong. It would be better to hire a professional cleaner in these circumstances.
The above maintenance tips will help you clean your velvet bed in sporadic spillages and everyday cleaning. Professional cleaners should clean an item entirely upholstered in velvet from time to time to keep your bed in the very best condition.
If you have any doubts regarding the material from which the velvet is made, contact a professional cleaning service. They'll have special equipment that can clean the velvet without damage to the fabric or the bed itself.
Enjoy your velvet bed.
Velvet is beautiful. Quite simply, stunning. Make it a part of your bedroom, and it spells luxury. Consider things such as your room style, what you want the velvet to achieve, the colour and style of the velvet, and your purpose for these. Don't forget more practical features of the bed, including the headboard, footboard, and any storage opportunities. Any requirements these should meet, either in style or in practicality.
Once it is set up, take the best care with regular cleaning. Take no chances, however. Velvet is a piece of high-quality fabric, and if you have any qualms about how to clean it, hire a professional cleaning service and let them take care of it so you can get the very best out of your velvet.