21 Cozy Beds Nestled in Wall Nooks
The most cherished spots in a home are often those that feel special and tucked away. These clever wall nooks are smart solutions for small spaces, but they also add a surprising—and totally custom-made—twist to children's or guest rooms. These cloistered spots are perfect for curling up with a good book or for an afternoon nap. We've gathered 21 bedrooms from the AD archives that use nooks to maximum effect, from modern bunks to elegant canopied alcoves. Peruse these secluded spots, but don't be surprised if you find yourself wanting to curl up and stay a while.
Photo: Oberto Gili1/21In Joy de Rohan-Chabot's French château, an Empire bed is framed by silk-damask curtains; the wallpaper and chair date from the 19th century.
Photo: Björn Wallander2/21The bunk room in a Montana home decorated by Markham Roberts is partially sheathed in reclaimed corral boards.
Photo: Pieter Estersohn3/21In an Aspen, Colorado, vacation home devised by Atelier AM, the beds in the bunk room, served by a blackened-steel ladder, are of wire-brushed oak with coverlets of Loro Piana cotton (the curtains are made of the same fabric); the lamp is by Côme, the armchairs are vintage Jeanneret, and the rug is by Ashbury Hides.
Photo: Björn Wallander4/21The Fornasetti desk in a child’s room of a New York townhouse decorated by Delphine Krakoff is paired with Ponti chairs; the bed by Pamplemousse Design is upholstered in a Pierre Frey fabric, and the rug is by Denis Colomb Lifestyle.
Photo: Simon Upton5/21In handbag designer Fiona Kotur’s Hong Kong home, the built-in beds, cabinetry, and desks in her sons’ were made by local artisans; the ceiling light is by Pottery Barn Kids.
Photo: Pieter Estersohn6/21dam-images-decor-2015-08-nook-beds-nook-beds-01.jpg
The guest room of this Cape Dutch–inspired house in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, features custom-made box beds accented with curtains of a Chelsea Editions check. The residence was designed by McAlpine Tankersley Architecture and decorated by McAlpine Booth & Ferrier Interiors.
Photo: Roger Davies7/21dam-images-decor-2015-08-nook-beds-nook-beds-02.jpg
At Casa Kulanu, the Napa Valley home of interior designer and Summer Hill creative director Rela Gleason, which she shares with her husband, Don, a child’s guest room features a chalet-style box bed that has been nicknamed the Heidi Nook.
Photo: William Abranowicz8/21dam-images-decor-2015-08-nook-beds-nook-beds-03.jpg
At Coco and Arie Kopelman’s retreat in Nantucket, Massachusetts, a weather vane from Nina Hellman Marine Antiques stands guard over a custom-made trundle bed in a children’s room. The residence was renovated with Botticelli & Pohl Architects and Nantucket House Antiques and Interior Design Studios.
Photo: Derry Moore9/21dam-images-decor-2015-08-nook-beds-nook-beds-04.jpg
In an attic room for guests, the bed is contained in a chintz-lined niche with a rococo frame. The mid-19th-century residence in London’s Holland Park was renovated for a couple by Nicky Haslam of NH Design.
Photo: Luke White10/21dam-images-decor-2015-08-nook-beds-nook-beds-05.jpg
Designer Francis Sultana and architect Thomas Croft renovated a triplex apartment in a 19th-century London mansion for its art-collecting owner and her family. Included in the design is a children’s bed-and-library unit designed by Croft.
Photo: Tim Street-Porter11/21dam-images-decor-2015-08-nook-beds-nook-beds-06.jpg
Singer-actress Cher can curl up on the late-16th-century Chinese opium bed to watch TV in her Los Angeles duplex, which was designed by Martyn Lawrence-Bullard.
Photo: Pieter Estersohn12/21dam-images-decor-2015-08-nook-beds-nook-beds-07.jpg
A pendant light with a shade by Shades From the Midnight Sun is installed above the master bedroom’s Charles H. Beckley bed in this Millbrook, New York, weekend home.
Photo: Michael Moran13/21dam-images-decor-2015-08-nook-beds-nook-beds-08.jpg
In the master cabin of a 65-foot wood-hulled vessel, the ceiling dome lights are by Perko and the bedding is by Frette. The boat was hand-built by Gannon & Benjamin Marine Railway and outfitted by architects Peter Shelton and Lee F. Mindel of Shelton, Mindel & Assoc.
Photo: Benjamin Benschneider14/21dam-images-decor-2015-08-nook-beds-nook-beds-09.jpg
This Olson Kundig Architects–designed family compound in the Cascade Mountains features a bunk room with plywood beds dressed with Garnet Hill linens that echo the colors of the Flor carpet tiles.
Photo: Dan Forer15/21dam-images-decor-2015-08-nook-beds-nook-beds-10.jpg
The master bedroom of this Key West, Florida, beach house occupies a dormer that interior designer Stephen Knollenberg added to the front of the house.
Photo: Scott Frances16/21In a bedroom of designer Alexa Hampton’s Manhattan apartment, a Massimo Listri photograph overlooks an Anthony Lawrence-Belfair bed clad in a Colefax and Fowler plaid; the table is by Alexa Hampton for Hickory Chair, and the carpet is by Stark.
Photo: Douglas Friedman17/21At designer Brigette Romanek’s Los Angeles home, the loft bed in one of the girls' rooms was fabricated by Quality Custom Cabinetry and the chair is by Gaetano Pesce.
Photo: Simon Upton18/21In a bedroom at an 18th-century Marrakech riad, embroidered pillows from Fez and Rabat brighten an antique Spanish bed; the chair is Indian, the table and chest of drawers are Syrian, and the carpet is a vintage Beni Mrirt.
Photo: François Halard19/21Set in front of an 18th-century tapestry, an antique lit à la polonaise is dressed with vintage D. Porthault bed linens and an Indian coverlet at a château in France’s Val de Loire.
Photo: Oberto Gili20/21A guest room at the Martha's Vineyard summer home of Lynn Forester de Rothschild and her husband, Sir Evelyn, is outfitted with twin beds designed by Mark Cunningham; the curtains are of a Robert Kime fabric from John Rosselli & Assoc. and were made by Anthony Lawrence-Belfair.
Photo: William Waldron21/21An Albert Hadley wallpaper and matching fabric, available through Harry Heissmann, energize an attic guest room at the upstate New York home of Christopher Spitzmiller; the antique spool bed (once owned by Hadley) is outfitted with Leontine Linens bedding, and the lamps are by Christopher Spitzmiller.
