Mattresses, sheets, and pillows may typically take priority in a bedroom’s décor—they’re the foundations of a good night’s sleep, after all—but don’t discount the bed frame itself. Truth is, this structure can transform a simplistic space into a true oasis. And after years of favoring the grandiose nature of a canopy, a sexier, low-slung silhouette, and even those simplistic metal frames, designers are calling it: The half-tester bed is so back.
Think of this frame as a canopy bed’s little sister. While canopies boast a four-post frame and fabric that stretches above the length of the mattress—and sometimes drops down to the sides—a half-tester is more pared-back. Instead, fabric covers the entirety of the headboard, and a small, upholstered valance hangs over the very top of the mattress. The half-tester might be a new concept to some, but this comeback has been decades (or even centuries) in the making.
According to Alessandra Wood, a design historian based in San Francisco, canopy beds date back to medieval times, whereas the half-tester style took form during the early Renaissance. After waning in popularity, half-testers made a comeback during the Victorian era as an elevated-yet-economic alternative to the typical canopy.
“In wealthy homes, servants would sleep in the main bedroom, so the full canopy offered privacy for the sleeper,” Wood explains. “It was an extremely expensive bed as upholstery fabric could account for over 80% of the total cost.” Though half-tester beds didn’t offer the privacy of a full canopy, Wood says they offered a similar look for less. “It likely emerged as a less-expensive option to have lavish designs outside the main bedroom in the house where privacy was less essential,” she says.
Today, affordability remains a big draw for the half-tester: Texas-based designer Cathy Kincaid Hudson says, between labor and materials, this partial setup can cost “less than half” the price of a traditional canopy bed.
While the half-tester beds of yesteryear offered the illusion of luxury, today’s versions can solely be the showstopper of your personal space. “If it lacks character, a beautifully proportioned tester will help a dull bedroom come to life,” says Philip Hooper, joint managing director of Sibyl Colefax John Fowler. “Frivolous and whimsical, introducing a tester is like building a folly within a room.”
Similar to traditional-tinged trends like hand-painted murals and pattern-drenching, half-tester beds harken back to a simpler time. “There’s a growing appreciation of the classic English aesthetic and the feeling of comfort and nostalgia it evokes,” explains Tiffany Duggan, founder of a London-based studio called Studio Duggan. “There is little more welcoming than a traditionally decorated bedroom, with its enveloping and inviting layers.”
Meanwhile, Hudson believes the return of the half-tester bed is yet another symptom of the ever-enduring grandmillennial. “My clients, who are in their 30s and mid-40s, are going back to the designs of the 1980s,” Hudson says, referring to the decade’s fascination with pastel palettes and Laura Ashley-approved frills. “They’re asking me to do things I haven’t done in 30 years. They’re all in when it comes to beautiful dress maker details, wonderful trims, English drapery designs, so [half-testers] are right up their alley.”
These draped displays might be influenced by the past, but it’s possible to modernize them for the 21st century. “Half-tester beds can straddle the line of luxury furnishings,” says Chauncey Boothby, an interior designer based in Norwalk, Connecticut. “They can be beautifully tailored and traditional, or created in a simpler, sleeker version in a way that lends itself to more modern interiors.”
For Hudson, half-testers don’t just look current, but they can also accommodate the modern comforts of the 21st century. She says these partial setups offer a better line of sight than canopies—perfect for those who have a television in their bedroom—plus, they tend to bridge the gender gap. “Many times, men don’t like canopies,” she explains. “I just had a client tell me that her husband didn’t want to do a canopy bed with drapery on all fours corners, so a half-tester is a good compromise.”
Of course, the versatility doesn’t stop there: Hudson says half-testers work on all bed sizes and can be paired with a variety of bed frames. “The tester is really the canopy,” she explains. “You can have an antique headboard, a caned headboard, a wooden headboard—any kind of headboard, really.”
And when done correctly, this feature can draw the eye upward and create the illusion of a larger, taller room. “Bedrooms these days are often being designed larger and with higher ceilings, so utilizing a tester is a great way to maximize the height of the room,” Boothby adds. “Even with lower ceilings, it can still provide the necessary drama.”
The secret, pros say, is taking these partial canopies all the way up to the ceiling. “Taller is always better, as this makes a real architectural statement,” Hooper explains. “They are marvelous for layering in pattern and texture.” Designers insist that a ceiling-height tester is non-negotiable, but the tester’s shape is more subjective. While a rectangular, upholstered valence reads more contemporary, Hudson loves when the tester is in a “half-round” formation. “The fabric is pleated at the top and pulled back in what you call an Italian strung, which creates a more open look,” she explains.
Once you decide the dimensions, give your half-tester a personal feel with fabric, which Duggan calls “the uniting factor” of a bedroom. “We like to choose a pattern on the front face of the canopy and then something complementary but smaller scale inside,” she says. “A stripe always works well. Playful trim or fringes in a zingy color like a berry red or citrine green can also add a playful twist.”
Hudson agrees, and recommends using a less expensive fabric on the inside of your tester. “That’s where you have the most fabric, so you want your cheaper materials inside and your more expensive fabric to be the outside fabric,” she explains. “Then, normally, you do your dust skirt the same as your outside fabric.”
Since half-tester beds are designed to wow, let them be the focal point of the room. Yes, that means forgoing the predictable chandelier or light pendant for subtler fixtures. “Flank it with bedside tables and lamps that have clean lines,” Boothby recommends. “Adding other fussy furniture may cause the room to feel dated, and dare I say, frumpy.”
Though half-tester beds have transcended centuries, their popularity will naturally ebb and flow. “Everything goes in cycles,” explains Hudson. “I think people go back to something that they haven t had.” However, when a partial canopy does make its way into a bedroom, it’ll command attention. And if a half-tester upstages that plush mattress or sumptuous sheets you once prioritized? So be it.