All Made Up

Mothers, beware. Some of the decisions you make will craze your daughters for a good portion of their lives. My mother is a decorator, so for the most part, I've always had great bedrooms. If you were to ask my mother which one of my rooms was her favorite, she would say she's particularly proud of the olive green-and-red English Tudor-inspired one, complete with a running border of griffins -- not every girl's ideal bedroom. I protested so much that in our next house, she let me select my own paint color. In direct response to the previous color, I chose a dusky pink (Mom wouldn't let the word mauve be uttered, but that's really what it was) and a fabric with tiny roses.

Today, as I create my own bedroom, I have a list of considerations that had never occurred to me before. What kind of mattress do I need; what will my bedstead be? What about the linens -- and all the dressings: quilts, duvets, shams, bolsters, bed skirts? The choices can be so overwhelming that sometimes I would gladly hand the decision over to someone else, even if it meant visions of griffins. In narrowing my choices, I've identified three styles that speak to different parts of my personality: romantic, minimalist, and classicist. Here are some guidelines to help you pinpoint your own style.