Interior Inspiration
TENTED ROOMS
A glorious tented effect in Palermo; Guido Taroni.
Decorative flair: these fabulous tented rooms from the World of Cabana and the pages of Cabana Magazine are sure to inspire your own decorating, no matter the size of your room or the scale of your ambition...
No decorative flourish captures the magic and nostalgia of childhood quite like a tented bed - or, better still, an entirely tented room. Whether this is achieved by draping fabric around the bed or walls, or by going all-out and hand-painting a Trompe L'oeil tented ceiling, the effect is always magnificent; at once dramatic and whimsical, sophisticated and playful. The tented room is a stroke of design genius, which we love at Cabana.
For decades, interior decorators of all design persuasions have embraced tented rooms and effects, using fabric or paint to bring decorative flair to otherwise featureless rooms, or to demarcate a cozy space within a larger area, or channel the romantic atmosphere of a bygone era or distant place. Cast your eye over these 15 tented spaces and you're sure to be spirited away by scenes reminiscent of 1920s-style boudoirs, carnival-esque big tops, childhood dens, safari tents and theatre-like curtains. Use these fabulous interior visions as inspiration for your own decorating projects, no matter the size of your space or the scale of your ambition.
British decorator, David Hicks, was a master of the tented room; © David Hicks in Colour.
Left: All over stripes by Renzo Mongiardino; © Mongiardino: A Painterly Vision. Right: A more subtle, but no less impactful, tented ceiling in Christophe Gollut's home in Gran Canaria; Mark Luscome-Whyte, Cabana N16.
A safari-esque tented room in Suffolk, dreamt up by painter and muralist, Alan Dodd; James McDonald, Cabana N17.
Interior designer Will Cooper creates drama and coziness at Baltimore's Uylsses Hotel.
A cozy tented bedroom in Alan Dodd's Suffolk home; James McDonald, Cabana N17.
Circus tent or intimate boudoir? All is possible in this magnificent space by David Hicks; © David Hicks in Colour.
Tented dining areas make for a magical atmosphere, as demonstrated by Cabana's pop up at Liberty, London.
Cabana pop-up at Liberty; all images © Kensington Leverne.
Pared back elegance in this artist's bedroom in Patmos, Greece; Miguel Flores-Vianna, Cabana N11.
Dining drama courtesy of David Hicks; © David Hicks in Colour.
Simple but effective touches in this Mexican mansion; Brett Wood, Cabana N17.
Interior designer Will Cooper creates drama and coziness at Baltimore's Uylsses Hotel.
A four-poster with a difference - more mastery from Alan Dodd; James McDonald; Cabana N17.
Explore More
Discover striking photography and thoughtful prose from the world’s most atmospheric interiors #worldofcabana