Do You Have a Matching Bedroom Set?

Take a look at interior decorating magazines. None of the designer rooms ever have sets. I love them to look pulled together without matching. I always think the matching stuff looks too much like a showroom, like you don't have a style so you have to buy the whole thing.

I had a matching set when I was married, but it was his set from his first marriage. We had it the whole 20 years we were together. I never really liked it. It was dark wood and very heavy.

Now I live in a one-bedroom apartment with my daughter and we have a white metal bunk bed from Sears, plastic tables and "dressers" from Ikea. But I like the room better. It's bright and cheerful.

When I have my own room again, I don't think I will look for a matching set. Coordinating is more interesting than matching, IMO.

Mine matches but its cherry so it shows a lot dust. I don't think it needs to match..its not like you are entertaining in there. Just get some nice comforter & throw pillows & you should be good!

I like a non-matching set of furniture. I think it is too much personally for everything to match. I think it looks better personally to have some different pieces in the room. Good luck

My EYEBROWS don't even match much less my bedroom furniture.

I have a dresser my mom bought when I was in grade school. There's a dresser that was my dad's when he was a kid and a huge (almost coffin sized) hope chest my husband built for me before we got married.

No headboard. They always damage the wall when my son jumps on the bed so that got pulled off and stored.

SOMEHOW it all works together.

There is "matching" and there is "goes together" - as long as it goes together, I think you're ok. You can see a lot of design shows where the furniture is complimentary, but is not a matching set.

I have never had a matching set. Neither has anyone I've known except for my brother. I thought having the matching set was sort of boring.

I urge you to do what you would like. Never mind what other's think.

Ours pretty much matches. It is all nice cherry, but not exactly all the same style. I would prefer pieces that did not match, but my husband doesn't.

I'm an interior designer. I hate when the whole set matches. Is so redundant. I will never have a bedroom set with matching dressers, night stands, and bed frame. Some people should steer clear of mix and match style though because they don't have an eye for it in which case they are better off with a matching set. That said, get the wood tones in the same family (does not have to be exact), the lines should relate (straight and edgy should not mix with curved and traditional....), and the metal hardware should be the same finish (satin nickels, bronzes etc....). Maybe match the night stand and dresser, but mix it up with an upholstered head board not the bed that comes with the set. ( We inherited half our landlords 7 piece bedroom set for the duration of our stay. Its so matchy matchy I was happy they didn't want to leave it all. my nightstands looked so much better than hers because it broke up that crazy 7 piece set. The finish was the same, hardware the same tone, antique classical lines.) However our lease is up in one year and my nightstands were different heights and made my new lamps look silly. So I invested in some gorgeous modern black nigh stands. It does not match our room but is taking us in the direction I want to go style wise for when we get our own furniture. Its kind of driving me crazy! It was almost better when my lamps were different heights)

If you are going to invest your hard earned money, into a bedroom set... I think, it would be best if it all matched... or at least went together well, style wise. Otherwise, you will just have another mismatched, bedroom environment.

If you say they 'kinda' match but not quite... then, will that bother you in the long term or not??? And is it, in the scheme you want? Decoratively? And color scheme wise and WILL it, match your existing bedroom colors/paint/rugs/flooring????
If not, then to me, that is not a good investment.

A piece can be a nice piece on its own... but the KEY thing is: HOW will it all mesh together, into a nice scheme? And does it match or not?
A scheme, can be of various pieces, but that are cohesive. And depending how you put it together.

i don't and i don't have much desire for it..i have all black furniture, even though it doesn't "match", it matches, ya know? just happens they are all crappo pieces but look nice enough. i have nice pictures and photos on the walls so it looks pretty nice when it is tidy. i am just in love with my MATTRESS. i could care less what the rest of my bedroom looks like if i have a good mattress. heaven.

none of my furniture thru the whole house matches! I'm an antiques freak, love vintage, & especially LOVE primitives.

In 1981, my DH & I bought a matched bedroom set. We have the cannonball 4poster bed left & that's it. If I had my way, the bed would be painted a soft black! He has an heirloom quarter-sawn oak chifferobe. I have a 1920s lady's fumed oak chifferobe. We also have black & oak Asian side tables, a cabinet-encased timeclock out of the Anheuser Busch brewery, & a few other pieces in the room. Oh, & let's not forget my Grandfather's tool & diemaker's tool chest! The drawers are lined in velvet, & it makes an excellent side table!

Nope, nothing matches! Soft peach walls glazed in metallic gold, dark tapestry drapery, & a wonderful solid red/orange hobnail bedspread.....love it! Oh, wait....yes, I have matching! The Asian side tables & the lamps on them - they're Art Deco & made of real onyx!

We purchase a beautiful bed and armoire years ago, it is pine. Then one mothers day my husband and daughter gave me an antique pine chair that I love.. They are the same wood, but different in color. We could not find a chest of drawers we liked so recently we purchased 2 Ikea chest of drawers that look like pine but are not. They are modern, so it breaks up the style.

Here is what I have learned..
It is your home. YOU get what YOU like. Unless you are staging a home.. it does not matter.

Even in the most expensive homes I have been in, the furniture is not all "matchy" in the Master Bedrooms. They use antiques, family pieces they have inherited, custom pieces and then Furniture from furniture stores. But because it is all of THEIR taste it comes together with the linens, accessories and artwork.

None of my furniture matches in my entire home. I pick pieces that I like when I see them and can afford them and just change things up now and then. Mine is mostly antique/rustic stuff. I love my husbands "western" style taste and it works for both of us. He's the main interior decorator in our place. If he could he'd barn wood every wall in our apartment. He's done it before ;)

Our set is matching. We bought it when we moved here from Germany 15 years ago. I am tired of it but it works and is in GREAT condition so I'm not complaining...

Mismatched can work - like the shabby-sheik (spelling)...it all depends on how the pieces complement each other!!

GOOD LUCK!!

Like you, our set was a hand-me-down. After 32 years of that (and a double bed) we were ready to get a new bedroom. We found an iron king-sized bed that we liked. Then we bought a dresser and chest (they matched each other) that went with it. The night stand goes with it, but is not a matched piece. The one that went with the chest and dresser was too large. Everything looks fine together. The wood pieces match the posters of the bed in color.

We just got our first real, matching bedroom set. We didn't want to pay brand new prices, so we got a really good deal on a used (albeit modern) set off of Craigslist. It's not big & clunky, more streamline & simple.

IMO, you just do what you want to do, though. I mean, it's your room, your mom can have whatever she likes in her own room at her own house. Do what you're comfy with :-)

No, ours doesn't match. I tend to buy nice things for the rest of the house including our girls rooms. They both have matching bedroom sets. Our room is full of the odds and ends of furniture. My husband and I have mismatched side tables, we don't even have a headboard, etc. so our room is pretty sad looking. I'm getting to the point of no longer feeling it is selfish to buy matching furniture for us so I plan to do that within a couple of months in fact. I think it will be our anniversary gift to each other :0)

Our bedroom set does not match. We have a huge king size sleigh bed that we bought together. Everything else is hand me down from somewhere - all antiques and sentimental though. It's funny b/c I am a really matchy/symmetry kind of person yet I don't like those huge matching sets of bedroom furniture. It's just too much of 1 thing I think. That said, do what makes you happy! Go out and look and see what you love be it a set or not.

Yes. We have a Hitchcock bedroom set that I bought one piece at a time...
My daughter has my old set from when I was a kid along with a couple of extra pieces and it all looks great.
My son has all the same light wood tones. The dresser was a "trash day find". The maple bed was a "real" purchase. The night stand was a find at one of our favorite "junk stores". We did get him an Ikea wall unit in a "black/brown" tone that looks great with everything else.
So - we have it all... Just be sure the wood tones are the same and you'll be fine.
LBC

I LOVE solid oak furniture, which means its old because they don't make it *solid* anymore like they used to. It's so 80's but I really just love it for some reason. So even tho I have bought most of my pieces separately, they are all the same wood finish, so technically they "match". Our bedroom set is a huge headboard/night stand thing that is all one piece and I love it although it was the same one I had with my ex so I'm trying to replace it *someday*. I do tend to like pieces that match, at least the same color/wood. Its kind of hard to comment on yours since we don't really know how much they don't match. But really, the only people that need to like it is you and hubby. =)

Mine do match. But husband is ready to get rid of them and make his own. But yes I like that they match, but they're cheaply made. I'd rather have furniture close in color and good and sturdy than junk that matches. And btw - you can always stain good wood a darker color. And with lighting, can you tell that they don't match exactly?

Love ours. Its from Bassett and will last forever. Excellent quality. Aside from our living room set, every other piece of furniture in our house is hand-me-down. We aren't going to even think about newer furniture until the kids are quite a bit older ;)

Nope--my dresser is in the closet-1 drawer is missing, and it is 12 years old--a hand-me down from my sister's first apartment - whiteish/greyish wood with bronze trim - yuck

Hubby's dresser was from a set that matches our long dresser (the mirror has been removed) - blonde wood with black trim - UGLY

Our bed is the Pottery Barn Valencia bed, which we bought shortly after we married since I was working there and got a 30% discount - gorgeous!

Bedside tables are from Target - clean lines, kinda Mission style, espresso finish with brushed nickel knobs

Yeah..one of these days our bed set will match, or at least coordinate! After the bathrooms and kitchen renovations are done....only God knows when THAT will be.

Given the choice, don't get a matching set. It's easier, I know, to just get everything matchy matchy. But if you have pieces you love that look good together, THAT'S the best way to go. The pieces will mean more to you and it won't look dated in a few years (which is what often happens with a matched set). If you look at design magazines, websites, etc, you'll NEVER find full matching sets, but the furniture will all be complementary and will be tied together through color, fabric, style, etc. Have fun decorating!

My bedroom is a set but I hate it. It reminds me of hotel furniture now--not cheap garbage but just....blah I guess. It is 13 years old almost. We do not use the headboard because we never got around to putting it on right. The bedroom set I want is the bed, and then dressers from a different set that would look good because the same color.

We do not have a set. We have a modern steel bed, one glass bed side table, one inlaid wood night stand, a Chinese console table and a Korean tansu/chest of drawers. Much prefer the eclectic look.

We got our bedroom set 15 years ago when we first got married. My grandparents in law purchased it from an estate sell after some guy passed away. Ya..we have the dead guy's bedroom set.

It was a free set for us poor college students. We were so grateful to have a matching set..although it looks totally 70's. Financially we could buy a nice replacement set to our liking. But it really isn't a priority.

I think if you are going to the effort to buy a set then make sure you REALLY like it. It doesn't have to match exactly..but it should go together without driving you crazy after awhile. You don't want buyers remorse after buying a big set.

Good luck and best wishes with your bedroom makeover! What fun!!

Yes, we have a gorgeous dark tobacco-colored matching set that we just LOVE. It is very modern and we are really happy with it.

Not clunky at all.

I think your "vision" has a lot of character. I think the wood tones should match, but the pieces don't necessarily have to be from the same set. Go with what YOU like. Afterall, you will be the one looking at it everyday!

I'm not a big fan of any matchy matchy furniture. A bedroom "set", like a dining room set seems a little dated to me. Your Mom's idea that it will be tacky to not have the peices match is the opposite of what I think. Just buy what you like. I always look at interior design magazines and online before decorating a room. Get a feel for what you like and then you can buy furniture and accessories that have the same look.
As others mention go to antiques stores, estate sales, etc. Any large city has lots of used furniture stores where you can buy high quality peices you may not be able to afford (or even get) brand new.
If you get what you like and follow some basic design rules it will never look dated and you will get a much more creative, uniques and high end look than buying everything at once from a furniture store.

my bedroom is all wood, nothing painted is mostly the same kind of wood but if you get good wood pieces you can usually get away with them being a little off because it is wood. We have picked them up pieces at a time but it all kinda flows.

Kind of. I have a bed I simply adore with a high leather headboard, and two dressers that match each other and look like they match the bed. The dressers were clearance deals at Walmart, and I got them for $40 each!
I have a matching couch and loveseat, and that's the only thing I have that actually goes together. Even my dining room table and chairs are from two separate sets!

No, we don't have matching bedroom set and I'm fine with it. I'm only in there to dress, do sleep and do other things so doesn't bother me. Most people don't see my bedroom so I don't care what they think personally. :)

Ours is mis-matched and it makes me nuts! My husband and I both have high quality dressers from our childhood bedroom sets so we didn't want to dump them and get something new. He had a bedside table of a different color and I found one at a garage sale for my side. All of the 4 pieces of furniture are a different color. We really need someone to refinish them all and make them the same color. We've been saying that for 8 years..... I agree with your mom. If they're all a slightly different color you'll notice it when they're all in the same room. Maybe try same color pieces from different collections, try Ikea which has lots of options, find a more Swedish looking set which is typically a cleaner line, less bulky design, or (if you're more on top of things than we are lol) find some great thrift store/garage sale pieces and refinish them in a matching color.

I think it is how my brain is wired but I would go nuts if my furniture didn't match.

In our guest room we have an old dresser that used to be his grandmothers. He is making me a head and foot board, oh and mirror to match. Thankfully one of his many hobbies, I almost called them habits, is carpentry.

My mom and dad did the mismatch thing, I know it was to save money. That is where my need to match comes from.

No, my nightstand is a file cabinet, my headboard is ethan allen, it all matches and is the same type wood but we carefully selected it seperately

We have a matching set that was also handed down to us by my in-laws. I'll share it's hideousness with you....

There's a wagon wheel done in relief on the headboard, all the wood is in slats, and the dresser has a covered wagon done in relief on it. I honestly love it, but it's so old it's falling apart. My husband hates it. My own mother thinks it's hideous..oh well. It works. It's furniture. :)

When I was young, living with my parents, my mom bought be the best bedroom set ever..it was all one piece. I don't know if they are called wall units, or what, but it basically had a "night stand" on each side of the frame, with two drawers below each, a cabinet with two shelves above each, a huge mirror behind the bed, and below the mirror (behind where you lay your head) was a huge cabinet in all that empty space that you didn't even know was there but that you would lift up the "shelf" and there it was. I'm not talking some dinky thing, either..this thing had TONS of storage, all the shelves were at least 12 inches deep, deep drawers, etc..plus the huge flat area across the top for display..oh, and it had built in recessed lighting above the mirror with a little button right behind where you laid your head to turn it off, etc. The whole thing was so huge and heavy, solid oak..she still has it, and won't give it to us. ARGH!!!!

We have a matching bedroom set, and we love it. If you are going to go with mismatched I would be very careful. I think it would look best with vintage pieces or something more bohimian.

Sorry... Didn't read all the responses. Hope this isn't a repeat.
When we were first married, we had cheap bedroom furniture. Mostly matching. Then we bought a nice matching set. Cherry. After 15-20 years and about 10 moves, it was showing some signs of age. Also, we wanted a king size bed (vs the queen we had.) At that time (and over the years when I just wanted to add pieces) I really wish I hadn't bought a matching set. I wish I had stuff that coordinated instead. That way, I wouldn't have to buy an entire room full of furniture at one time. In the end, I didn't. I bought one piece at a time. It didn't look great after the first couple pieces, but it got better. Now, people don't realize it's not actually a set until I point it out. I did match the wood. I strongly recommend not matching! Go with coordinating. You will appreciate it when it's time to replace any of it.

Nope - we need one bad. We don't have a headboard or anything either. we did when we had our queen, but when we got our king (6 years ago) we didn't get new stuff. We need it bad, but I dont want to spend that kind of money or finance it.

My parents didn't get a bedroom set until my sister and I were in our teens. She was over the moon when it finally happened. When I moved away from home my mother said, "I waited for so many years to get a bedroom set and I don't wan you to have to wait as long as I did." So she helped me pay for mine. We split the cost for a sleigh bed, dresser and two nightstands that match in style, wood and handles. I've had it for 14 years so far and don't regret it. It's survived a few moves so the wood has received a few dents and dings but I'm sure it'll last us for many many years.

I remember my parents sleeping on a king sized mattress on the floor using an old dresser my father had when he was a kid. Beat up and way too small. When they finally got their bedroom set the room felt put together and complete.

We do but only because my son needed a new dresser so we gave him our old one and the husband just had to have a matching set. The set we picked isn't even 5 years old and the paint is peeling off the headboard and footboard. He had to have this set and I wanted something else. Why did I give in to him, I have to idea.
I am never ever buying another matching set again.

I have a head board I made myself, it is suede. My night stand is an old school desk I found at a thrift shop. Our dresser was hand made by my SOs father when he was a little boy. My desk came from a auction shop and is very old. to round out our storage we have wooden boxes I brought home from Japan. Nothing matches, but it all has feeling, and makes our room "ours". To me, matchy matchy stuff from a store just feels too sterile and not really homey.

Matching in that it's all wood ;)
We bought a new bed a few years ago that I love but hated the dresser and nightstands that went with it. They would not fit in our room at all and would hold less then what we were replacing. The dresser we have is similar in finish color as the bed but came from another store. The night tables are a whole other color but still look nice in there. As close as we get to anything matching in our house is it's all some sort of wood really. I can never settle on just one wood.

Have you ever gone to estate sales, consignment shops, or auctions? Even upper-end thrift shops sometimes get amazing pieces of furniture. They often have unique pieces as well as complete classic bedroom sets. We went to an auction last week and saw a gorgeous name brand complete bedroom set sell for less than $300. If you get so lucky as to find stuff you like you don't have to use all the pieces from the set, you could even sell what you decide you don't want on Craiglist and subsidize the cost of your bedroom furniture. The challenge is you have to be open to what comes your way and be willing to decide quickly. I'd suggest going to the preview days before the auction so you can have time to check out the pieces, measure to see if they will all fit and even comparison shop on line to see what would be a good price point for you. If you find what you want even at a higher auction price, it will be at least half what you would pay new and much of the older stuff is made better than the new stuff. Also, if you are willing to mix and match you will certainly be able to find special pieces, but it does take time. Maybe get the new headboard and then decorate around that choice. You can buy a gorgeous armoire, tables, night stands, vanity, dresser and chairs at auctions and consignment shops and put them together to coordinate with what you choose as your jumping off point. (My family is in the Interior Design Business and this advice comes from years of top quality furniture bargain hunting.)

I've always admired the matching sets at the store, but nothing I have goes together. At least there's a story behind each piece. Headboard with reddish-brown wood frame- denim in the middle(we built), tall dresser and small round table that was my grandmother's, armoire we bought from the unfinished furniture store(we stained it brown), night stand I built and stained dark cherry. Light brown TV stand that we're not using and my husband won't get rid of because it matches bookcases in another room. Black table with silver legs from IKEA. It might look better if everything was closer in color or style(especially if it was all antique).
I'd love to start over and get a set with a matching headboard and footboard, and I've always wanted a low dresser with a mirror.