Ten Bedhead Designs Over Ten Glorious Years

Milestones in life often lead us to reflect on our lives so far and with our 10th birthday celebrations now in full swing, I’m finding myself doing quite a bit of it myself!

In preparation for our birthday, I spent much time looking through old photos and pondering what led me to feel so passionate about helping people create their perfect bedrooms.

The bedroom as a haven was instilled in me from a young age.

I can remember as a child, my mother wallpapered my bedroom in a beautiful blue, especially for me. Mum actually even made a bedspread in the matching fabric and plain valance to go with my hospital wrought iron bed. I adored my bedroom then – a haven for reading books and heavenly dreams. The idea of custom made was clearly introduced to me at an early age!

Looking at the pictures below – from the woodshed on our farm that became the first showroom to my husband, children and even Princess Priscilla the Pig – I’m struck by how important home, family and that need for ‘hygge’ have been on my journey.

There’s a sense of love, comfort, cosiness and contentment that I have at home with my family on the farm that I bring to my business too.

Creating beautiful bespoke bedheads for my customers, that bring a sense of ‘hygge’ into their homes too, has been my passion from the beginning.

I invite you to come along on a little trip down memory lane with me as reminisce on the very first ten bedheads I created below…

The Portobello was the first bedhead ever created as I could manage upholstering it on my own (manoeuvring a king size on the wool table was tricky at the best of times!) The left image is dressed in a large check which makes me smile as I see gingham making a popular resurgent at present.

This enduring, classic shape really has stood the test of time with our latest release in the monochrome patterned Monarch fabric at right.

This reminds me how far we’ve come! The very first Luella bedhead was similar to the Portobello but my husband and I cut out the corners to create a curved feature.

We photographed it in our garden at the farm with clear blue skies as a backdrop. Since then my talented team of upholsterers are now at the helm (thank goodness!) and we have included an optional piping detail but its essence has remained the same.

The image at right brings back fond memories of our collab with Anna Spiro Textiles.

Our cat Digby has always had discerning taste and the Stella bedhead was a favourite of his in the early days! The very first design was an interpretation of the Portobello but with curved edges. Striking in its simplicity, today Stella has been reinterpreted into the fun and playful more rounded silhouette below, yet still maintains the refined quality that made it so popular all those years ago.

At left is a bedhead I designed especially for a client in Wangaratta Victoria in 2008. I delivered in the farm ute and took a happy snap on install! Fast forward to 2017and you’ll see our Valentine bedhead at right, from a collaboration with Kravet featuring Kate Spade New York which was released last October. Kate’s fabrics were just calling for a special Heatherly Design new collection release.

True magic happened when the Fenwick bedhead was born. Evolving from the incredibly popular Portobello, I wanted to play with a sewn cross stitch detail instead of a button feature. What resulted was a bedhead that has become a signature Heatherly piece.

It doesn’t matter how many cheap copies are out there, this design originated here at Heatherly Design. Transcending all ages and styles, the Fenwick is a timeless classic.

As time went on, I was becoming more experimental with my design – and I suspect also gaining more confidence. After the success of the Fenwick, I created the Sackville bedhead with its subtle panelling detail.

Today the design has become a mainstay of our collection and a great choice for lovers of understated contemporary design. Our shoot (at right) with the Sackville dressed in Villano Water lily linen is still a personal favourite.

When Josh and Jenna – two of the original contestants from the incredibly successful TV show The Block approached us to create a special buttoned bedhead, it seemed only fitting (seeing as they were filming in the suburb of Richmond) to call it the RICHMOND Bedhead!

With this design we played with scale by having smaller panels and extra detailing in the buttoning. These elements have made the Richmond one of our most popular designs and this initial collaboration with THE BLOCK has seen us go onto create bedheads for many of the contestants over the years. In 2017 alone, we created 13 bedheads for the series!

Always dramatic and grand, the eighth design I created was the Empire. Her curves may have changed a little in the last ten years (like many of ours) but today she remains bold, striking and oh so glamorous.

From the button detail she began with (at left) she has developed into the stunning bedhead at right with optional contrast inlaid and edge piping.

Now the Kensington bedhead has a special place in my heart. Not only was it the bedhead my daughter Eliza chose for her bedroom but it was also my first deep buttoned creation.

This felt like a turning point in my design, as though I was really taking things to another level and the response when we released the Kensington was so positive too. The bedhead shown at left was the very first one I made and shot in the wool shed! It had a regal, almost majestic look.

I adored seeing it in Josh & Elyse’s Master Bedroom on the last series of The Block (at right).

The Chelsea bedhead came about after a special request from a client in Sydney and it has gone on to become one of our best sellers. The design has fundamentally stayed the same over the years – a harmonious mix of contemporary and traditional elements.

Discover more Heatherly bedheads here.