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Take Me Away

by Amanda Bedgood

Robin Arceneaux finds a way to escape without ever leaving home. Robin Arceneaux finds a way to escape without ever leaving home. By Amanda Bedgood / photos by robin may

Friday, Feb. 1, 2013

We're redefining romance. The new romance is less about garish hues and animal prints. No heart shaped tubs around here. We are looking for the kind of bedrooms that really do put you in the mood. Places of respite. Peaceful. Tranquil. And that doesn't always start with romance as the inspiration. It didn't for Gerilyn Roth.

"Romance wasn't in mind," Roth says of the design process for the soft blue-hued guest bedroom in the Arceneaux home. "We were going for calm and serene. An escape."

What they created is a room that has few of the hallmarks of romance as we think of it but all of the elements that add up to modern romance from the soft hues blanketing the space to the combo of luxe and casual fabrics.

A raw linen on the headboard combines with rich drapery and lace sheers for a room that is a study in balance.

"The casual linen paired with the silk drapery makes it romantic. It's not too dressy and not too fussy," Roth says.

A TV cabinet was custom built to accommodate a narrow wall and hide electronics from view. The gustavien chest recalls bits of romance with washed colors and soft hues inspired by Swedish aesthetics. The end tables flanking the bed are of the same style. And a large monogram harkens to days gone by.
"That brings a bit of nostalgia," Roth says, explaining a turn of the century tradition in which women hand-stitched their own monograms (leaving blank the middle letter until they were wed) to display once they were officially the lady of the house.

Above the inviting bed hangs an antique chandelier.

"It's carved wood. Italian. It's romantic. It has an Old World feel," Roth says.

The combination of nearly white-washed pale cool hues and cozy bedding may have created a room for guests at the Arceneaux home. But the truth is that it's fast becoming the lady of the house's favorite spot to escape.

"It may be my favorite room in the house," Robin Arceneaux says, noting it's a great spot to curl up and read. (And often one of the last places her three children will come looking. Don't worry, we'll never tell.)