It never occurred to the owners of this house in Arlington’s Williamsburg neighborhood to put their bed against a wall of windows—but reconfiguring the primary suite in this way made all the difference.
“It became the focal point of the room,” says Suzanne Manlove, principal of Manlove and Company Interiors, “with the button-tufted king-size bed and the windows becoming one big element.”
Floor-to-ceiling window treatments completed the effect by allowing the three windows behind the bed to read as one continuous wall of glass. With the revised layout, Manlove was also able to move the couple’s wall-mounted TV to a less conspicuous spot that isn’t visible from the hallway.
She left the existing wall colors and hardwood floors alone, introducing a complementary palette of soft teals and neutral beiges with pops of orange—the husband’s favorite color.
The slender, brass-footed bench at the end of the bed is counterbalanced by solid wood bedside tables and dressers made in West Virginia. “We like to mix up the weight of furniture,” explains the Arlington designer. “Some things are leggy. Some are more solid and sculptural. This makes the whole room feel balanced and not too heavy.”
A mixed-media painting by artist Vesela Baker from Anne Irwin Fine Art in Atlanta ties it all together. The bedroom was completed in 2024 as part of a larger refresh that also included a first-floor family room.
Prior to the makeover, an odd space between the sleeping area and bathroom—too wide to be a hallway, but too narrow for much else—sat mostly empty. Now it’s a luxe sitting area with a love seat and textured ottomans overlooking a small balcony. The ottomans can be moved aside to create floor space for yoga.
“It’s a comfortable place for the owners to relax, read a book or have a conversation at the end of the day,” says Mark Manlove, the firm’s VP of marketing and operations. “There’s lots of natural light.”