The properly dressed bed, simple or elaborate, has never ceased to charm. And beds remain one of the surpassingly beautiful forms of the 18th century, when they were both an intimate refuge and a public announcement of wealth and taste.
In the simplest houses, with only one or two rooms, everyone slept together by necessity. But the first step toward gentility and a more refined way of life came when the heads of the household withdrew at bedtime to their own chamber—or, in the grandest households, the lady to her own, the gentleman to his—and shut the door.
In this most private of spaces, women performed their toilette, or invited their closest friends to draw a chair to the tea table for a gossip, or reached in the darkness of the night to rock the cradle of their newest child. It was the place where a gentleman tilted his shaving mirror to catch the light by the window, or drowsed by the fire in a capacious wing chair.
What would you do in your ultimate retreat? Eat chocolate?
Portions of this article are taken from WILLIAMSBURG Decorating With Style