Colours for a Bedroom

Yesterday I popped in to see a friend who is redecorating her bedroom and as it is such a typical decorating dilemma I get asked to help with I thought I would share it.

My friend L has recently turned an unused veranda off her bedroom into a walk-in closet and moved her bed back into the alcove that formerly housed the wardrobe cupboards, minus the doors.
She loves all things French and has chosen a lovely colour combination of palest green and linen taupe for the room but is stuck on how to proceed to bring the room together.

Melinda's own bedroom features a banquette covered in pale aqua,picked out from the headboard fabric.

My first step to get any project moving is to look for inspiration. Both the bedrooms I have shown here are by Brisbane decorator and store owner, Melinda Boundy from Lily G.  Melinda's own bedroom, above, is a similar colour scheme to L's and in this case the starting point was the fabric she loved.
The second bedroom was designed for a client of Melinda's and the starting point was the gorgeous wallpaper, "Emperor's Garden" by GP & J Baker. The colour combination was again, taupe plus  french blue found in the wallpaper, mainly used in accents like the lamp bases and scatter cushions.

What makes both these bedrooms work is the use of eclectic elements such as mis-matched bedside tables, layers of different fabric textures and just one central area of pattern, namely the fabric headboard in Bed #1 and the wallpapered wall in Bed #2.

The injection of personality comes from the antique furniture and accessories such as the daybed in Bed #2. Some of the items are inexpensive reproductions, some are the real thing, but they have been cleverly mixed together.

For my friend L, I would suggest she wallpaper the alcove behind the bed, or if she is feeling more adventurous, upholster the alcove, French style, in padded fabric.
For the curtains, I would take a cue from Melinda's bedroom and do a generous two-tone linen swathe.
I would grab a luxurious linen bed cover from Aura or Bianca Lorenne and look for some interesting bedside tables - and maybe a dressing table, painted in a French white.