The overall design of most floor plans make this the most spacious bedroom in the house and usually a rectangular or square-shaped space. Arranging your bed, lighting and a location for an entertainment center are top priorities. Larger master bedrooms may also have room for additional furniture in a sitting area.
What do you spend your time doing in your Master Bedroom? I know that is a very personal question, but how you primarily intend to use your master bedroom -- determines what the layout and design should be!
Master Suite with Sitting Room Space
Do you just sleep in this room, or do you want to spend time in the Master Bedroom -- Reading, "Relaxing", Exercising, Working, Watching TV and getting away from the other people who may also live in the same house?
Space and Location
Do you want your master bedroom to be close to children's bedrooms and play area's?
or on the other side of the house from them? Clearly this will depend on the ages and activities of your children or other people living in the house with you.
Is it large enough for lots of activities or does it need to be more like a cocoon to feel safe & secure while sleeping?
Does it need to have room for your stationary exercise bike and other equipment?
Will you need a desk in your master bedroom as a workspace?
Take a look for where you would be able to place a television. Do you want to be able to look straight at it while sitting in bed or can it be off to one side? One recent floor plan we reviewed had a large master bedroom, but due to the window placement the location to place the bed looked straight at the double entry doors to the room, so the television had to be placed way to the left of the bed and large entry door.
Another situation is where the room is a long rectangle. How far away from your viewing position will the television be placed? You may not want the screen to be too far away on the other side of the room depending on the size of your screen.
What colors do you want to have surrounding you in this room? Choose relaxing, soothing or calming colors.
Access to clothing closets may be along one of more walls of this room limiting your furniture arrangement. Many master bedrooms only have one wall where the head of the bed can be placed.
If you are bored with the limited placement for the head of the bed consider locating the headboard diagonally in a corner. Use the space behind the bed for storage, a tall plant, or lighting.
The head of the bed can also be centered in front of a window. Use a low head-board or just create the look of a headboard with curtains, draped fabric or a decorative painted pattern. There are even stick on wall decorations which come right off if you are renting and your decorating options are limited.
Lighting
Do you want to spend time reading in bed? How much external light comes in from the windows? And, how many windows are there?
Do the blinds or curtains cut out enough light so that you could sleep during the day time if you needed to?
Can the Master Bathroom be closed off from the bedroom area so that if someone has to go to work early - the door can be closed so that the bathroom light does not shine in and keep the person still in bed awake!
Direct light from Master Bath!
To the right is an example of a master bedroom where the bed can only be placed along one wall and the bathroom vanity lights shine directly out at the bed.
Noise
Do you want it to be quiet?
Do NOT put your pool equipment outside the master bedroom windows! That is our most recent lesson learned from the house we built a few years ago. Take a look at where the heat pump or air conditioning unit is located.
What about the wind? Is the master bedroom in the corner of the house that most of the weather and storms come from? This might make it difficult to sleep on stormy nights.
Are their gutters or other things that will make dripping noises at that corner of the house?
How close is the bed location to the bathroom and its "sounds" ?
Do you like to sleep in on the weekends? Living on a Golf Course means the sand trap rakers and greens keepers will be outside your window before it is light out - disturbing that great weekend sleeping in routine.
One word of warning about Bedrooms that share one wall with a Family Room where the television, video games, computers or stereo's are used a lot - it may be loud in your Master Bedroom also! Do not place the television or stereo speakers in a position against this wall or the sound will be transmitted thru the wall, and it may be louder in the bedroom than in the family room. This problem can exist in many homes with a Split Floor Plan.
Your Master Bedroom is where you spend a high percentage of hours during your lifetime!
Make certain it is comfortable, meets your activity needs and make it livable for you!