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Canopy Bed Ideas (+ Everything You Need to Know About Four Poster Designs)

Whether you want to create an ‘enchanted’ sleep chamber or simply add a chic flair to a traditional style bedroom, these canopy bed ideas will offer refreshing style for any space.

Enchanting Canopy Bed Ideas

  1. No canopy. Just because a canopy bed comes with four posters does not mean you need to hang anything on it! Leave the bed bare – without draping fabric over it – to showcase its structural elegance.

  2. Drape your favorite scarves. The beautiful thing about a canopy bed is that there are no rules. You can decorate it any which way you want – even if that means draping your favorite scarves over the ledges to showcase your favorite colors and patterns!

  3. String lights. For a canopy bed aesthetic that looks like it came straight from the pages of a fairy tale storybook, string lights! The more miniature and ‘twinkly’ the hanging lights, the more the bedroom as a whole will feel royally enchanted.

What Is a Canopy Bed?

A canopy bed is a type of bed that is built with four posts that rise up from each bed corner. Whether it’s through a metal rod connecting the top of each of the four posts (so that the entire bed takes the shape of one large cuboid) or otherwise, these four posts are generally designed in such a way as to allow for a canopy to be draped over them and provide a ‘covering’ around all sides of the bed.

Canopy Bed Styles

Canopy beds come in a variety of styles; while the most popular styles will feature ‘four poster’ bed frames in which metal posts either rise straight up vertically or come together at an angle (to form one point above the bed), your choice of canopy bed comes down to your own unique style personality. Bed frames that rise up to curvy ‘carriage-like’ silhouettes – along with farmhouse style canopy beds (which feature thick wood posts or panels) – are among the more unusual canopy bed variations.

How to Place a Canopy on a Canopy Bed

There isn’t one ‘standard’ way to hang a canopy on a canopy bed. Drape the canopy so that it covers only one side of the bed (leaving the remaining three sides exposed) or so that it exposes only one side (keeping the remaining three sides covered). For a lighter, breezier feel, you can even forgo ‘draping’ the canopy altogether, and instead gather it together so that it is pulled back in sections, like curtains.

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Editorial Disclaimer: Articles featuring tips and advice are intended for educational purposes and only as general recommendations. Always practice personal discretion when using and caring for furniture, decor and related items.