After recently sharing all our bedroom regrets/things I wish I did before I rushed the reveal in 2021, it got me thinking – why not just do what I want because, idk, YOLO? For as long as we live here, I’ll be forever tweaking things, and our bedroom happens to be my current ADHD hyper-fixation.
I recently found a single pair of Bowood curtains from the UK, so I’ll be swapping out the existing curtains with those. But since we have two windows, I’m getting a second pair of Bowood curtains made from Martha and Ash to match the secondhand pair! Bowood is a pattern that looks best in abundance, so I’m thrilled to finally incorporate more of it in our room.
Since sharing that I regretted not doing a half-tester canopy behind our bed, I’ve received so many messages and questions about them. What exactly is a half tester? How much does it cost to make (spoiler alert – they’re not cheap).
When I shared I wanted to do one in 2021, I received a handful of messages from people saying that I shouldn’t do it because it would get dusty, spiders, etc. But my desire to create a cozy, elevated bed far outweighs my fear of spiders. And I think I’ll risk the dust – we do own a vacuum.
What’s a half tester canopy?
A half tester canopy only covers the headboard. It is known as a “half” tester bed because the canopy extends only to half the length of the bed (vs a full canopy bed).
Full canopy:
Via Lisa M Henderson
Half tester:
Via Kit Kemp
The wall space behind a headboard can be tricky. I’ve never been satisfied with a dinky little mirror above our bed, it just never felt right. But a half tester canopy feels luxurious, layered, cozy and engulfing. It helps to soften a room and provides a sense of visual balance.
Half tester canopy inspiration:
Via William Huff
Via Katie Davis
Via Hillary W Taylor
Via Alison Hammatt
Via Paloma Contreras
Via Ashley Whittaker
Via Shea Lubecke
Via Mark Anthony Fox
Via Henry & Co
Source uknown (please let me know if you know the original designer)
Via LeeAnn Thornton
Via Katie Davis
How much does it cost to make?
I’ve received three quotes so far. I should first mention that there’s quite a bit of labor and fabric involved, so I knew it would be pricey, but I wasn’t anticipating for it to be as pricey as the quotes I received.
The first two quotes were between $6,500-$7,500, and another was $3,900. Those prices include the fabric (about 10 yards of Bowood, and about 20 yards of a striped linen fabric).
While Angelo and I are no longer in our DIY era…I think we may try building this ourselves. I’ve seen some DIYer’s make half testers by using curtains for behind the bead (like, ready to hang curtains from Pottery Barn). The tricky part would be the valence, so maybe I could hire a professional for that.
What are your thoughts on half tester canopies? Would you ever consider one?
Have a great week!
xo
Alisa
I have been doing research myself on half testers, so your blog post comes at the right time! I’m also thinking of making my own due to cost. An older book that has great information talks about building pelmets for windows that could easily be adapted for something over the bed on page 111 here https://archive.org/details/carolinewreyscom0000wrey/page/110/mode/2up. It would be great to see how you tackle the project, I hope you DIY it!
Thank you for the great wealth of inspiration for half tester. If you are considering doing the entire half tester DIY, you might check out https://thesoutherngail.com on her blog )and perhaps on Instagram. She DIY’d a canopy/curtain for her bedroom on Fall 2022 OCR, and it looks like she gave fairly good instructions on how she did it.
Can’t wait to see what you do. It will look beautiful, I know. Love everything that you do!
Sorry, didn’t realize I was “replying” to Alice’s comment.
Never have I EVER needed anything as much as I need a half-tester canopy:) Beautiful!
Stumbled upon this the other day! She has far more crafting skills than I but hopefully this helps!
https://missmustardseed.com/half-canopy-tutorial/
We made one ourselves and used it for 20 years. It was beautiful and I loved it. It was not expensive at all at the time and I did not use expensive fabric. It was pale but silk which we also used on the custom headboard we made.
I did not have issues with dust or spiders. I vacuumed and it went to the ceiling.
I made one that turned out beautifully. It is important to remember that they look best in rooms with high ceilings. It really isn’t that difficult to do, with basic carpentry, upholstery, and sewing skills.
Renee Cusano has an excellent and doable tutorial on Instagram. She has made several and instructions include the exacts steps to make a half tester that is very professional looking.
I highly recommend!