A Velvet Holiday bedroom: green velvet, gold and candlelight

Winter is the one season when a bedroom gets to be dramatic. The sun is down by five, the room is lit by lamps for most of the evening, and deep colors that would feel heavy in July suddenly feel right. Velvet Holiday is our look for those weeks: deep green and antique gold, velvet where your hands land, a little fresh pine and a lot of candlelight. Romantic, never a holiday aisle.

It arrives in the Room Designer on November 15, and stays through early January. You don't need to wait for it to start, though. Here's how to build the room yourself.

Velvet Holiday bedroom ideas, in short

• Deep green as the main color, on the walls, the bed or both.
• Antique gold and brass for the metal: candle holders, a mirror, a lamp.
• Velvet on the pieces you touch: the headboard, pillows, a throw, the curtains.
• Ivory sheets, so the bed looks clean against all that color.
• One natural seasonal touch, like a pine garland or a few branches. No tree, no ornaments.
• Candlelight and warm lamps, and the overhead light off.

Start with green

Green is the color that makes this look. Forest, emerald, olive and moss all work, as long as it leans warm rather than minty. It reads rich by lamplight and calm by day, which matters for a room you wake up in.

You can go all in and paint every wall, or you can let the bed carry it. A green velvet headboard, green curtains and a green throw will turn a white room into a Velvet Holiday room on their own. If you rent, that second route is the one to take.

A tufted velvet headboard does more than anything else in this look. It gives the bed a focal point, softens the wall and gives you something comfortable to lean against. Moss green works with both gold and wood, so it won't fight the rest of your furniture.

Gold, but antique

The metal in this room should look like it's been in the family for a while: brushed brass, antique gold, a little warm and a little uneven. Skip anything shiny and yellow, which tips the look toward a party store.

Three places are enough. Candle holders on the dresser, a mirror with a gold frame, and one lamp with a brass base. A wall sconce for taper candles is a lovely extra if you have a bare wall beside the bed.

Velvet where your hands land

Velvet is a texture you notice by touch, so put it where you'll touch it: the headboard, the pillows, a throw at the foot of the bed and the curtains. Two or three velvet pieces are plenty. More than that and the room starts to feel like a jewelry box.

Mix in wool, linen and a little knit so it doesn't all feel the same. A heavy wool throw in a deep green is the most useful single piece in a winter bedroom.

Curtains do double duty in winter. Floor-length velvet panels, closed at dusk, keep the warmth in and the street out, and they make the windows part of the look instead of a cold black square.

Keep the bed light

With green and gold everywhere, the bed needs to be the bright spot. Ivory or white sheets look clean and glow by candlelight. Add one or two pillows in a deeper color, wine or green velvet, and stop there.

One seasonal touch, no more

This is where most winter bedrooms go wrong. The look is about the season, not the holiday, so pick one natural thing and let it do the work:

• A slim pine or cedar garland along the top of the headboard or the dresser.
• A few bare branches in a tall vase.
• A bowl of pinecones or dried oranges on the nightstand.

Leave the tree, the stockings and the red-and-green plaid for the living room. The bedroom is the one room in the house that gets to stay grown-up.

Candlelight, done safely

The look depends on candlelight, and candles need a little care. Keep real flames on the dresser or a tray, away from curtains, bedding and the garland. Anywhere near the bed, use flameless candles. Good ones have a real wax finish and a soft, moving flame, and they're the only kind we'd put on a nightstand.

For scent, choose something that smells like the season without smelling like a candle shop: fir, cedar, a little smoke or spice. Light it an hour before you want the room to be ready.

Then turn the overhead light off for the evening. One warm lamp, a few candles and maybe a string of lights is all the room needs. Our guide to lighting a bedroom for intimacy covers bulbs and placement in detail.

A place to sit

If you have the room, add one spot that isn't the bed: a velvet stool at the foot of the bed, a small chair in the corner. It gives you somewhere to put things down, and somewhere to sit while the other one gets ready.

What it costs

Under $150. Velvet pillow covers in wine or green, a set of flameless candles, a pine garland and a wool throw. Keep the bed and furniture you already have.

$150 to $500. Everything above, plus velvet curtains, gold candle holders, ivory sheets and a fir candle for the dresser.

$500 and up. A green velvet headboard, a velvet stool or chair, a gold mirror, and one painted wall in deep green.

See it on your own room

From November 15, upload a photo of your bedroom to the Room Designer and choose Velvet Holiday. It keeps your walls, windows and the shape of your room, and shows you the same space by candlelight, with every piece linked. The Velvet Holiday style page has the palette and a gallery of rooms.

For more ways to make the long nights feel good, read winter bedroom ideas. And for an evening built around the room, try The Longest Night or Under the Velvet.