Gothic Themed Bedrooms
One popular style of bedroom design is the gothic theme. It's not just young people who appreciate this theme - you don't need to be a pale-faced young goth to appreciate the dark sensuality or historical appeal of a gothic bedroom, be it traditional medieval or more of the fantastic style. Gothic imagery appeals to the dark, sensual and wild side in all of us.
Decorating is a very personal thing, no-one can make decisions for you, so on this page I'll just suggest a couple of decor ideas you might like to consider when designing your resting place.
Colour
The first place to start is, of course, the gothic colour scheme. Blacks, reds, greys and even bone white. Don't overdo any one colour, especially the black! try to resist the (understandable) temptation to just paint everything black.
Furniture
Medieval gothic furniture tended towards simple materials (wood, iron,etc) and ornate decoration. Intricate candle holders and four poster beds with richly coloured hangings were an example. The Victorian era took this trend even further with flourishes and twiddly bits added almost everywhere.
A very useful piece of furniture for the gothic bedroom is the chest. Gothic style storage cabinets and armoires can add character to rooms whilst also being practical. One possibility is to take an existing cabinet and apply gothic motifs where appropriate. Of course if you have a large budget or DIY skills you could either buy or make your storage units in shapes such as coffins.
Decor
Having put the basic framework of your gothic bedroom in place you can now finish it off with an appropriate choice of bedding and accessories. Everything from mirrors and clocks to jewelry boxes can be bought with appropriate gothic themed designs. Skulls, spiders and bats are popular design motifs.
For bedding you can either pick and mix or buy matching sets. This is one area where I personally prefer simple designs and colours to ornate flourishes.
The use of mirrors might seem strange, especially given that vampires can't use them! However you have to be practical when designing your bedroom - you'll need to be able to see yourself at times. In addition a mirror can help a room seem larger, balancing the oppressive feel of lots of black. They often come with gothic motifs such as skulls bones which also add to the overall feel.
Ultimately your design choices are limited only by your imagination - and those of gothic tastes tend to have very active imaginations! Hopefully this page has given you a few design ideas and tips to get you started. A big advantage of gothic decorating is that it doesn't have to be perfect - I bet Dracula never hired an interior designer for his castle dungeon! That said, the gothic look and feel doesn't necessarily mean being uncomfortable. I can't imagine any vampire turning down the chance to sleep in a coffin lined with memory foam.
Good luck with your project and remember: even goths are allowed to enjoy themselves occasionally!