An example of a canopy bed.
A canopy bed is a beautiful and elegant piece of furniture and also has the practical benefit of blocking out additional light in the morning. While they have a long history and there's a traditional style, a canopy bed can be made with a variety of styles as long as the basic concept is met: a bed with a curtain above it. Does this Spark an idea?
Four-Curtain Canopy
The most authentic style is one of the most complicated, but it can look beautiful. Most canopy beds have a frame of some kind, which can either be built using wooden or plastic rods, or four curtain rods suspended from the ceiling above the bed. The frames are typically attached to the four corners of the bed and hold the frame about 6-1/2-feet above the floor. If you choose to use curtain rods instead, make them 6 inches longer than the bed on all sides.
With the frame in place, you can use a string to simulate how the curtain will drape over the bed and make adjustments accordingly. With the frame in place, all that remains is to attach your favorite fabric as the curtain. You can attach Velcro to the curtains to keep them closed.
Single Canopy
Some bedrooms won't accommodate a full canopy bed, perhaps because of a slanted ceiling. In this case, an elegant alternative is to make a single curtain canopy. Attach a curtain rod at ceiling level above the head of the bed, and place another ceiling-level rod parallel, but about two feet back from the foot of the bed. You can dangle string again to see how the curtain will fall, and make measurements for the curtain. Ideally, you will make it around the same width as the bed but a couple of feet longer. Stretch the canopy between the curtain rods, so that the foot-level end of the drape hangs a few inches down from the ceiling, and the rest drapes behind the bed.
No-Sew Variety
A final option for making the canopy is to attach all of the fabric to a single point on the ceiling and drape it downward from there. You will want a good few yards of fabric, 9 yards long will take care of a single bed, while larger beds will need more. You can use an embroidery hoop or light square frame to push the fabric outward to create more space under the canopy. You will want to put the center point about head-level, in the middle of the bed, so that the fabric falls evenly over either side. A single strip of fabric could take care of the two sides, if pinched in the middle, while a second piece--one-third as long as the initial piece--should drape down the back of the headboard.
Tags: curtain rods, curtain will, frame place, from ceiling, take care
