I had a few comments about the fabulous pair of canopied twin beds above from my last post on designer Katie Leede, and thought I might share a few other examples for those who are thinking about taking this project on, either as a DIY or professionally done. I haven’t actually stumbled across any formal tutorials, but I think from examining the photos, it must not be too difficult. The beds above employ two simple curtain rods, with one attached to the wall and the other hung from chains on the ceiling. Two rod pockets are sewn into the fabric and a trim border has been added to the front. The long piece of striped fabric the width of the beds runs from behind the headboards to close to the ceiling where the first rod is attached to the wall and is then draped to the second suspended rod.  A matching striped bedskirt creates visual harmony.

I have numerous examples of similar canopies, although they all have small differences worth examining. One key to this style is for the fabric to be just the width of the headboard. The panels in the photo below are more sophisticated and involve more sewing, with an Indian block print centered in a border of lavender fabric and trimmed in tape.  But here, no rod pockets were necessary because there are no curtain rods or poles – it looks as if the fabric has been attached directly to the wall. Again the fabric stops a foot or so before the ceiling, and then is draped upward to form the canopy by attaching the fabric directly to the ceiling. A similar length overhang here creates a similar valence effect in the front as in Katie’s version above.

Again, a stripe has been used below to great effect and again, continued on the dust ruffles. Like Katie’s room, the stripes are reminiscent of a circus tent and we see animal accessories, art and wallpaper, leading me to believe this is also a child’s room. One change here is that the fabric against the wall goes all the way up to the ceiling – no gap is left – perhaps because the ceiling height is lower or perhaps because it would be too busy to have the toile-like wallpaper show above the stripes. Note that the fabric has been allowed to drape from the first ceiling attachment to the next…

…unlike this example. Here the fabric is stiffer and squared off by having it run along the ceiling. Again we see the continuity with the bedskirts and the stripes, although this room clearly feels like an adult space.

In this less permanent showroom set up, we see our first example with skirtless beds. The panels are also simpler, with no trim or borders and seem to be installed with rods. This would be very easy to pull off with very little complicated sewing. And like the mirrors in the example above, a decorative detail attached to the canopy is used to draw our eye.

Here Lauren Liess created a crib version of the canopy using a painters dropcloth which she stencilled and then simply attached with a stapler to the ceiling. More details on this project can be found here.

Another very easy DIY approach features two simple swing curtain rods attached to the wall at the ceiling height with fabric draped over them, creating a canopy that runs the opposite direction. I like this idea when you need to frame a window, since it creates a canopy and curtains all at once.


There are many other gorgeous, albeit more elaborate, canopy beds out there, but I really do like these simple flat versions. Let me know if anyone actually tries to make one!

And for more canopy bed ideas, don’t forget to check here and here.

Image credits: 1. Katie Leede, photo credit: Lisa Romerein, 2. via Southern Accents, photo credit: Pieter Estersohn, 3. Alessandra Branca via Aesthetic Oiseau, photo credit: Thibault Jeanson, 4. Suzanne Kasler via StyleBeat, 5. Lauren Liess via Pure Style Home, 6. Better Homes and Gardens