Shopping for Canopy Beds

Any bed can provide a place to sleep, but a canopy bed does something more.

“You can create a room within a room,” said Sandra Nunnerley, an interior designer in New York. “It’s like a cocoon.”

That’s why she installed a custom canopy bed in her New York apartment and frequently specifies them for clients’ homes, as well. “They’re heavenly to sleep under,” she said.

There are various ways of getting a canopy effect. One is to buy a bed with a canopy structure; another is to do what Ms. Nunnerley did in her home: Mount a fabric canopy on the ceiling that suspends curtains at the corners of the bed.

Either way, a canopy can provide an extra touch of comfort heading into fall.

“We’ve done many of them over the years,” Ms. Nunnerley said. “And I’ve never met anybody who doesn’t like to sleep in one.”

• Does a canopy bed have to be draped in fabric? No, but if you buy a bed without fabric, you can add your own. “You can drape it in your fabric to customize it,” Ms. Nunnerley said.

• What about lighting? “You put your swing-arm lamps or reading lamps inside the canopy,” she said, by mounting them to the wall above the headboard.

• How high should the mattress be? “Especially in a canopy, I like to sleep 30 inches up off the ground,” Ms. Nunnerley said. “But that’s just a preference.” Some modern canopy beds hold the mattress as low as a platform bed.

PCH Canopy Bed

Teak platform canopy bed by Mash Studios

From $4,840 at Horne: 877-404-6763 or shophorne.com

Marco Bed

Hammered-iron canopy bed

From $4,475 at Oly: 844-354-2925 or olystudio.com

Vidga Room Divider

Customizable curtain-track system

About $46 at Ikea: 888-888-4532 or ikea.com

Canyon Arched Canopy Bed

Iron-tube canopy bed with upholstered headboard by Leanne Ford

$1,799 at Crate & Barrel: 800-967-6696 or crateandbarrel.com

Keiry Canopy Bed

Whitewashed-teak canopy bed

From $2,298 at Lulu and Georgia: luluandgeorgia.com

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