All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
27 inviting design ideas for English country bedrooms
An English country bedroom can come in many forms, from a low-ceilinged, beamed attic in an old cottage with uneven walls and floors, to a graceful room of grand proportions in a Regency villa. The age of the house might conjure up images of traditional decoration, full of patterned fabrics and antique furniture; or the eccentricities of the architecture might suggest that a cleaner, more pared-back approach will work. There are plenty of looks for country bedrooms that we love: patterned wallpaper, brass bedsteads and quilts are wonderful for creating a sense of warmth, while traditional four-poster beds with stately hangings are irresistible in the right setting. Equally, a white-washed wall and modern wooden furniture can seem just right in ancient rooms where the quirks of the surroundings need to be balanced by a simple aesthetic. Whatever you're going for, our favourite country bedroom ideas are sure to provide you with inspiration.
Paul Massey1/27This perfectly traditional country bedroom belongs to interior designer Carlos Garcia's Norfolk manor house. The four-poster was built around a pair of Gillows posts and has curtains in Robert Kime’s ‘Tree Peony’ linen. The sofa is covered in Volga Linen’s ‘Tuva’ in celadon, with cushions in ‘Lynxia’ silk by Robert Kime.
Dean Hearne2/27Kathy Crisp's Victorian house in the Sussex countryside is filled with objects and artworks collected over a lifetime. Her daughter's room was inspired by the spare room at Charleston. The bed is a secondhand Laura Ashley bed frame found on Facebook Marketplace. The lampshade and base were made for Chapel House Studio.
Martin Morrell3/27Involving an ambitious restoration project and a reconfiguring of the layout, James Thurstan Waterworth and Scarlett Supple’s transformation of a Wiltshire farmhouse has resulted in a calm, pared-back interior defined by James’s eclectic antique finds. An Eighties Ron Rezek ‘Orbit’ lamp for Bieffeplast on the bedside table provides a minimalist contrast with the headboard upholstered in an antique fabric sourced by Scarlett. The freestanding bath in the en-suite bathroom, added by James and Scarlett, is from Burlington. They also opened up the attic above the main bedroom to create a double-height space.
Paul Massey4/27Rich with history, this 16th-century Cotswold millhouse has warren-like rooms and secret nooks that have been enhanced by its owners’ collections of antiques and vintage textiles, along with colourful accents. A bed hanging from an antique shop in Shropshire stands out against the pale linen curtains and Farrow & Ball’s ‘James White’ on the walls, ceiling and original beams in this more recently built part of the house. The earthier tones of a bedcover made from a Bennison fabric remnant, a cushion found in a charity shop and rugs inherited by Renshaw ground the scheme.
Paul Massey5/27A spare room in the same house features ‘Snowflake’ wallpaper by Nicholas Herbert in old red and curtains in Lewis & Wood’s ‘Stockholm Stitch’ fabric in cream/red. Combined, the two are the backdrop for an antique bed with a geometric quilt.
Dean Hearne6/27Designer Bodil Bjerkvik Blain brings warmth and richness to a neglected outbuilding, transforming it into a warm cocoon with upholstered walls and worldly antiques. The walls in this bedroom are upholstered in Lowish Plaid (teal) from Colefox and Fowler, echoing the print on the sofa downstairs. The furniture – including a French armoire – is all antique, sourced by Bodil from the UK, America and Italy mainly.
Dean Hearne7/27In the main bedroom of this Victorian farmhouse, the wallpaper is GP and J Baker's Ferns, which continues onto the canopy above the vintage Ralph Lauren bed. Where antiques didn’t work, Bodil adapted existing furniture or designed new furniture to fit neatly into the spaces. In the main bedroom, she felt that looking up at a wooden ceiling might feel “a little crass”, so she designed an elegant canopy to hang over the owners' existing linen Ralph Lauren bed. She also designed armchairs with marginally extended legs so that the very tall family could comfortably sit and enjoy the warm, yellow sitting room.
Miguel Flores-Vianna8/27Working with decorator — and longtime friend — Rita Konig, tastemaker Deborah Needleman takes the slow approach in crafting her house. In this primary bedroom, a vintage coverlet from Paula Rubenstein hangs behind the Charles H. Beckley headboard. The vintage sofa is upholstered in a Nina Campbell fabric. The bed is dressed in D. Porthault linens and a hand-loomed blanket by A Little Weather.
Tom Griffiths9/27Having found this tiny cottage in Oxfordshire five years ago, Victoria Barker has reversed the effects of a characterless renovation to create an irresistibly pretty interior. The wallpaper in this bedroom is by Molly Mahon, and the bed was designed to sit beneath the beams, with an upholstered headboard and frame again in 36 Bourne Street's ‘Little F’ linen in ‘Tutti’.
Mark Anthony Fox10/27This main bedroom was once two rooms but the owner had removed a windowless dressing room to make it into one when she moved into the house in 2013. Lisbon-based upholsterer Luis Máximo dressed the four-poster in the main bedroom in ‘Honfleur’ in blue green, with a headboard and ottoman in ‘Injigo Lace’ in blue, both by Bennison Fabrics.
Boz Gagovski11/27In this main country bedroom, the calm, plain painted walls are offset by a headboard in a textural geometric fabric, above which hangs a framed textile. The bed is dressed with a cushion of another highly-textural fabric and covered in a thickly woven Welsh blanket, which became a kind of formula that we used for the other bedrooms in the house. Small-scale textured fabrics sit against walls painted in Vert de Terre from Farrow & Ball. The headboard is covered in Sambar from Turnell & Gigon. The curtain fabric is Seine Port from Pierre Frey. The bedside lamps were converted from vases found on eBay.
Simon Brown12/27Old beams and wallpaper – in this case ‘Indienne’ from Lewis & Wood – make for an inviting combination in the bedroom of this Herefordshire farmhouse. The colour palette is soft, with muted patterns and a classic brass bedstead contributing to the sense of warmth.
James McDonald13/27Modern and traditional meet in Tobias Vernon's Somerset cottage, where antique furniture sits next to contemporary pieces (as well as a wonderful art collection) against a clean, simple backdrop of white walls. An Ian McKeever etching and a Svenskt Tenn brass candle sconce hang above Tobias’s childhood Habitat bed, now painted Farrow & Ball’s ‘Emerald Green’. The hand-woven linen throw is by Catarina Riccabona; the oil paintings are by Emma Alcock.
Paul Massey14/27The interior designer Caroline Holdaway had already decorated two houses for Robin Muir and Paul Lyon Maris when they enlisted her help on their new Cotswolds home. In this small guest room, a bedcover and curtains in Christopher Maya’s ‘Ostrich’ linen in charleston from Holland & Sherry pick up on walls in ‘Moss’ by Paint & Paper Library. The antique ceramic finial on the window ledge is from Brownrigg.
Ben Pentreath15/27Marrying old and new is a difficult task in a grand country house, but Ben Pentreath has managed it with considerable flair in this Regency villa in Hampshire. Traditional toile de Jouy gets a bold reinvention in this bedroom, where Manuel Canovas’ ‘Bellegarde’ toile de Jouy in rouge, from Colefax and Fowler, was used throughout. Farrow & Ball’s ‘Pink Ground’ on the ceiling contrasts with woodwork painted in its ‘Blue Gray’. The ceramic ‘Charlotte Candlestick’ table lamp is from Hector Finch.
Michael Sinclair16/27Attics always make for charming guest rooms, especially since their architectural quirks only have to be tolerated for a short time! Textile designer Natasha James has created a magical space in her country house in Yorkshire, combining Cole & Son's ‘Sweet Pea’ wallpaper with two of her own Tasha Textiles prints – ‘Honfleur Reverse’ on the armchair and eiderdowns in ‘Jaipur’. The kilim rug came from Natalia Violet Antiques.
Paul Massey17/27In one of the cottages on Prince Charles' Cornish estate, the decoration is clean, simple and unfussy. White walls warmed up by colourful textiles will always be one of our favourite looks for a cottage. The quilt is from The Romantic Englishwoman in Lostwithiel.
Simon Brown18/27With a large family and frequent guests, the owner of this house in Hampshire tasked Henriette von Stockhausen with creating elegant and versatile interiors that help to tie together the original Georgian rooms and a recent extension. In the main bedroom, Henriette has designed an extra-wide four-poster bed that is extra tall, too, to keep it in proportion. The owner’s preference for calm colours prevails here, with a Ziegler Sultanabad carpet, a sofa with a back lowered to the height of the bed behind it and the leafy arabesques of a pair of antique mirrors, against Lewis & Wood’s ‘Indienne’ wallpaper.
Michael Sinclair19/27Loft conversions in cities and towns are often small spaces ideal for children or guests. The top of a barn conversion, on the other hand, can be a fabulously spacious main bedroom removed from the hubbub of daily life. Light colours and scrubbed or limewashed beams keep them bright. The main bedroom of Jo Vestey's Oxfordshire farmhouse has Jo's photographs ondisplay and a Japanese light on the desk. The dark beams, floors and desk contrasts nicely with the white rug and walls, giving an overall look that is both clean and rustic.
Elsa Young20/27Jeanetta Rowan-Hamilton of Nettles Cashmere restored her tin-roofed fishing lodge in Scotland after inheriting it from her parents. She abhors waste and loves change of usage, and is often seen in the salvage section of her local antiques shop. In one of the four bedrooms, Jeanetta has repainted this pair of Victorian beds that were her grandmother's. The neutral tongue and groove walls and ceiling brings the feel of old and new together.
Davide Lovatti21/27A bedroom on the first floor of Tom Helme's Carskiey Estate has a soft, pastel palette, with window and bed curtains in a matching 'N-098' wicker linen from Fermoie. Pink and green is a classic colour combination, and it doesn't come much more traditional than that perfect four-poster bed.
Simon Upton22/27One of the guest bedroom at Bowood House in Wiltshire has walls covered in Colefax & Fowler's 'Bowood' design - a pattern named after this house with interiors by John Fowler. The same pattern features on the bed valance, headboard, curtains and chair upholstery.
23/27Layers of pattern decorate the main bedroom in the Hampshire home of designer and antiques dealer Max Rollitt. The room is lined in Pierre Frey's 'Sans Papillons' wallpaper and features a canopy bed.
Paul Massey24/27Designer Guy Goodfellow has made the window a feature in this manor-house bedroom in Devon. Its casement is painted in Rose of Jericho's 'Mountain Green', framed by thick linen curtains and with a smart seat underneath. The ceiling is painted with floral motifs, giving the appearance of pargeting. To replicate these murals, try the painter Dawn Reader.
James Fennell25/27Several shades of blue are combined to great effect in this bedroom at Badminton House in Gloucestershire. The bed hangings are in 'Hops' by Colefax and Fowler. For a similar soft-blue paint to that on the walls of this room, try 'Sky Blue' from Papers and Paints.
Simon Brown26/27In the spare bedroom of Caroline Holdaway's cottage, an olive-stripe flatweave rug from Sinclair Till contrasts with a vibrant tartan rug from Toast used as a bedspread and cushions made from fabric pieces left over from projects.
27/27Alexandra Tolstoy's Oxfordshire cottage is a charming mix of old and new. Emma Burns of Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler worked with the existing features of each room to breathe new life into them. The bedroom's orange velvet curtains (out of shot) were an original fixture, though Emma had them remade and hung from an antique pole to match the quilt (which she sourced from Colefax and Fowler Antiques). The wallpaper is 'Alice' by George Spencer, while Oka is a good match for the embroidered cushion covers.
