Cherry bedroom furniture has a traditional look, and this has led some people to believe that this style of furniture is old-fashioned or out of style. Bedroom furniture is expensive, so nobody wants to spend thousands of dollars to end up with a bedroom suite that looks tacky.
Cherry bedroom furniture isn’t out of style. This timeless furniture style matches well with a wide variety of colors and interior design concepts. Real cherry wood works well for bedroom furniture, but wood that has been treated with a cherry varnish is considered gaudy.
Cherry wood might be an interior design style that is associated with an older time, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not still stylish. Keep reading to learn more about how to use cherry bedroom furniture in your interior design plans.
Cherrywood Furniture Is Still Popular
Some interior design experts have lamented the increase of cheap wood furniture that has been stained with a cherry varnish to look like cherry wood. However, this isn’t reflective of cherry wood as a design element. Many of these cheaper furniture sets do look out of style, but real cherry wood can give a room a rich and lustrous look.
Cherrywood Matches Many Interior Design Styles
One of the best things about cherry bedroom furniture is that it can be used with many kinds of interior design styles. Here are some of the different interior design styles that can be used with cherry bedroom furniture (Source: Rochele Decorating):
Minimalist
Minimalism is an interior design style that focuses on keeping the bare minimum number of possessions in a space to achieve an uncluttered look. Minimalist designs can often look spartan and cold. Cherry furniture in a minimalist bedroom is a good way to introduce some natural elements to an otherwise stark design style. (Source: Tarkett)
Mid-Century Modern
Mid-Century Modern is an older interior design style that was popular from the WWII era through the 1960s. Mid-Century Modern features a lot of warm brown colors in its color palettes as well as other rich colors that go well with cherry wood.
Traditional
Like Mid-Century Modern, Traditional interior design style focuses on older, more dated interior design styles. Traditional is an interior design style that never goes out of style since there are always people who will prefer a more classical look versus contemporary minimalism.
Transitional
Transitional interior design incorporates design elements from both Traditional and Modern design styles. Using cherry wood in a Transitional bedroom style can help make balance out the starker Modern elements of the room.
Bohemian
Bohemian is an eclectic design style that draws elements from many different other kinds of styles. When used in the bedroom, this interior design style often features rich, warm colors paired with neutrals. These are both color palettes that work well with cherry furniture.
Quaker
Quaker interior design often features bright, airy neutrals and wooden design elements. While cherry is a wood color that is usually darker than other woods used in Quaker design, cherry sapwood is lighter than traditional cherry wood and can work well with other Quaker elements.
Rustic
Cherry bedroom furniture looks good in a rustic interior design because rustic design incorporates a lot of wood. Unfinished cherry wood is the best type of cherry wood furniture to pair with this design style. Rustic bedroom designs often incorporate quilts and other farmhouse accents that can accommodate many color palettes.
In general, bedroom plans that focus on wood elements or feature more traditional design aspects rather than contemporary ones tend to look better with warm cherry furniture.
Cherry Varnish Can Look Cheap
The reason that cherry bedroom furniture has a checkered reputation is that there are a lot of cheap varnished wood bedroom suites on the market that are varnished with a cherry stain. This stain is meant to mimic the look of cherrywood, but it often doesn’t do a good job of it.
While this type of bedroom furniture can be more economical than true cherrywood furniture, this varnished imitation can look cheap and tacky compared to the real thing. (Source: City Data)
Natural Cherry Is More Modern
Cheap varnished cherry is an out of style look, but natural cherry tones are showing up more and more in modern bedroom furniture designs. These high-end woods can add luster and rich color to more neutral bedroom palettes or can help pull together a more eclectic look.
Cherry furniture can give a room an outdated look if it is a varnish or a stained wood, but using authentic cherry bedroom furniture can give a room a sumptuous and sophisticated look.
The Type of Cherry Furniture You Use Matters
When it comes to using cherry bedroom furniture, the type of cherrywood you use determines whether the look is stylish or not. Cherry bedroom furniture can come in some of the following varieties (Source: Impressive Interior Design):
- Black cherry: Black cherry wood (also known as American cherry) is one of the darkest cherry woods available for bedroom furniture. This intensely dark wood looks great against bright white interior design palettes and minimalist elements.
- Sweet cherry: Unlike dark black cherry, sweet cherry wood is a rich golden color that features high levels of contrast. This type of cherry bedroom furniture can look great with a Quaker or rustic interior design plan.
- Chilean cherry: Like sweet cherry wood, Chilean cherry is a pale gold that verges on pink, and this soft wood grows slightly darker as it ages. This causes the colors to become richer with time.
- Patagonian cherry: Patagonian cherry is one of the medium tones of cherry wood and can sometimes have an orange cast. This rich-colored bedroom furniture is a good choice to mix with eclectic or Bohemian design styles.
People might only think of cheap varnished wood when they think about cherry bedroom furniture, but the truth is that cherry wood furniture comes in a wide range of colors. Many people have never even seen real cherry bedroom furniture.
Colors to Match with Cherry Furniture
One of the reasons that cherry bedroom furniture doesn’t go out of style is because this furniture comes in so many colors and can be paired well with many different accent styles. Here are some of the bedroom designs and color palettes that can be paired well with cherry bedroom furniture for a contemporary and stylish look:
- Neutrals: Darker shades of cherry wood, such as black cherry, look sleek and stylish next to neutrals like ivory, white, and sand tones. Neutral palettes help draw the eye to the dark wood and help it act as the focal point of the bedroom, especially when used as a dramatic headboard in the bedroom suite.
- Dark colors: The warm colors in cherry wood help to act as a contrast to dark, dramatic jewel tones such as indigo, emerald green, and cobalt blue. The combination of these two colorful elements can act as a good backdrop for Bohemian and eclectic bedroom designs.
- Pastel colors: Pastels look good against cherry wood for a rustic farmhouse look or to bring out Quaker design accents. Like dark colors, pastels can act as a contrasting element to the rich, warm tones of the cherrywood.
No matter whether you favor jewel tones or prefer a lighter color palette, there is a type of cherry bedroom furniture that would work well in the space. This is one of the reasons why cherry is considered such a versatile wood element in interior design.
Real Cherrywood Is Timeless
Most people who dislike cherry bedroom furniture dislike it based on the cheap, varnished knockoff versions they’ve seen in discount furniture outlets. But real cherry bedroom furniture can be a great foundation for several stylish bedroom designs.