Bedroom

Last spring, Robert and Allison Ross charted a course for their future, signing a contract on a townhouse to be built in the Ellicott City community of Shipley's Grant. One year later, the couple has sailed smoothly from getting married to moving into their first home. Both originally from Howard County, they purchased their townhouse from Bozzuto Homes in April 2009. Three months later, they married and spent the summer biking to and from the construction site of their new home, watching it materialize a bit each day. They moved into their three-story dream home in November, just in time for Allison Ross to settle in, decorate and serve Christmas dinner to her relatives.

Some want the 2012 election to be about regulating America's bedrooms. But it really ought to be about regulating the nation's boardrooms. The bedroom regulators are on the move. Republicans don't want same-sex marriage. Mitt Romney says he's against it, as are the voters of North Carolina, who just approved a Republican-proposed amendment to the state constitution banning it. Twenty-nine other states have similar bans. President Barack Obama supports same-sex marriage. Meanwhile, Republicans have introduced more than 400 bills in state legislatures banning abortions, requiring women seeking abortions to have invasive ultrasound tests beforehand, and limiting the use of contraceptives.

Certain bedrooms are best described as home hideaways places where one can take a mini vacation from workaday worries and other vexations. At a certain point, the word "bedroom" seems too weak to describe these rooms. "Boudoir" is a more correct term for these sleeping spaces that are also opulent, playful retreats, where the imagination conjures romance and it becomes real.Interior designer Greg Le Vanis successfully created such an atmosphere when he transformed two rooms in an older home into one bedroom suite.

A boy who came home from school and found his mother dead was then bound with belts and duct tape by her alleged killer, whom police arrested last week. Edward Ford, 36, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 44-year-old Cheryl Thomas, who was discovered dead in her home in the McCulloh Homes housing project near downtown Thursday afternoon. According to police, Thomas' son returned from school and found her in her bedroom, handcuffed behind her back and with her feet bound.

When homes are first being furnished, it's usually the bedroom that receives top priority, at least as far as furniture is concerned. Typically, a bed and some basic storage pieces will be among the initial items purchased for a new home, but just as typically, the bedroom will then be overlooked as attention turns to other spaces.Eventually, the realization dawns that the lighting is no good for reading in bed. Those posters from half-forgotten museum shows also begin to look a little silly.

The following is compiled from police reports from the Cockeysville Precinct. Our policy is to include descriptions only when there is enough information to make identification possible. Parkton Cameron Ridge Court, 600 block, between 11:30 a.m. and 6:55 p.m. Nov. 21. Jewelry stolen from bedroom. Ladder stolen from neighbor then used to access second-floor bedroom. Kitzbuhel Road , unit block, between 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Nov. 22. Front door kicked in. Nothing taken.

Q: I want to spruce up my bedroom, which contains reproductions of traditional American furniture, including a cherry wood four-poster bed. The fantasy treatments I see in design magazines are all too exotic for my tastes. How can I add some flair without interfering with the room's conservative styling?A: The photo shows some bedroom furniture which I assume is similar to your own. Much can be done to liven up the look of such a setting, keeping in mind that furniture is only one component in the total design of a room.

Q: My bedroom is furnished with a combination of painted and natural fruitwood pieces, all of them in Louis XVI styling. Since the off-white painted furniture can't be refinished, would it make sense to paint all the pieces the same color? Also, can you suggest a treatment for the walls and floor other than the celadon green paint and carpet that currently covers them?A: A lot depends on the size of your room and which of the pieces are now painted. I'll assume that the bedroom is of average size, and that it contains a queen-size bed in natural fruitwood finish.

Q: I'm looking for a new headboard for my average-size bedroom, which has traditional mahogany furniture, a dark wood floor and off-white walls. Can you suggest an interesting design, not necessarily in wood, that would help make the room look a bit larger and more sophisticated?A: Let me encourage you not to add more wood to a setting that already has quite enough. As an alternative, you might also try creating a headboard out of fabric. The photo depicts just that sort of solution.This treatment may look rather elaborate, but it's really quite simple and not as heavy as an actual canopy.

A fire in a rear second-floor bedroom in the first block of North Catherine Street in Southwest Baltimore took the life of a 70-year-old man yesterday afternoon and forced his wife to flee their home.Sirlister Ford was found dead and badly burned in bed.His wife, Letha Ford, who was downstairs when the fire broke out, heard the smoke detector go off and dialed 911, fire officials said. They blamed the fatal blaze on careless smoking.The fire, which did an estimated $8,500 in damage to the home and its contents, was reported at 2:49 p.m. and brought under control in 14 minutes.

Abell Avenue 3200 block, between 6 p.m. April 17 and 4:10 p./m. April 19. Side window screen removed in unsuccessful attempt to enter residence. Bellona Avenue 6000 block, between 2 and 9 a.m. April 15. iPod, iPlayer stolen from vehicle. Greenway 3800 block, between 10 a.m. April 17 and 10:45 a.m. April 18. 26-inch Fuji 24-speed bicycle stolen from unlocked garage. Kernwood Avenue 4600 block, between 6:50 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. April 16. Green, 2004 Buick Park Avenue with Maryland tags 88AN1230 stolen.

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Baltimore firefighters responded to a small bedroom fire Sunday afternoon in a second-floor apartment on the 2600 block of Loyola Southway in the Greenspring neighborhood. The fire was under control by 2 p.m. and did not spread beyond the apartment, said a Baltimore Fire Department spokesman, Kevin Cartwright, who added that the occupant of the apartment, who was not identified, refused to leave the premises. "There were no injuries, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation," Cartwright said.

One person died in a fire in an Abingdon home Saturday evening. Volunteer companies from Abingdon, Bel Air, Joppa-Magnolia and Level volunteer fire companies and Aberdeen Proving Ground Fire Department responded to the 700 block of Lombard Court after 5 p.m. off Long Bar Harbor Road after a passerby reported a fire, according to Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Association Spokesman Dave Williams. Once on scene, firefighters found heavy smoke and fire coming from a single-family, two-story dwelling, according to Williams.

The following is compiled from police reports from the Cockeysville Precinct. Our policy is to include descriptions only when there is enough information to make identification possible. Parkton Cameron Ridge Court, 600 block, between 11:30 a.m. and 6:55 p.m. Nov. 21. Jewelry stolen from bedroom. Ladder stolen from neighbor then used to access second-floor bedroom. Kitzbuhel Road , unit block, between 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Nov. 22. Front door kicked in. Nothing taken.

One Baltimore woman has found her urban oasis — in Chicago. Deborah Robertson, 57, is the winner of the 2011 HGTV Urban Oasis, a luxurious, furnished one-bedroom residence on the 35th floor of Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago. The home, designed by Vern Yip — a judge on HGTV Design Star, offers views of the city skyline and a contemporary look with eclectic furnishings. It has one and a half baths, a gourmet kitchen and floor-to-ceiling windows. Amenities for Trump residents include a spa, fitness center, indoor pool, restaurants and 24-hour concierge.

Q: The ceiling in our second-floor bedroom is nearly 13 feet high. It's the attic, and the rafters have been left bare. We love the open feeling, but in a bedroom, that may be too open. Is there any way to bring the space down to size so things feel cozier?A: Intimacy is especially important in bedrooms and baths, both the most personal and private rooms in our lives. Here, we often have opposing needs: for lots of living space . . . for a feeling of coziness and safety.You can have your human scale and spaciousness, too, as you see in the lofty bedroom in the photo we show here.

Q: I want to do over a large bedroom that now contains an Early American maple furniture set. My aim is to transform the current boy's-room look into something softer and more romantic. Unfortunately, I can afford to replace only some of the smaller pieces. What do you advise?A: One sure way to soften any room, especially a bedroom, is to use pale colors and lots of fabric. This can be achieved even when the setting contains heavy and not-so-graceful furniture.May I suggest, though, that instead of replacing some smaller pieces, you take roughly the same amount of money and go out and buy a new bed?

The following is compiled from police reports from the Cockeysville Precinct. Our policy is to include descriptions only when there is enough information to make identification possible. Monkton York Road, 16800 block, between 3:30 p.m. Sept. 30 and 11 a.m. Oct. 1. ATV stolen from detached garage after padlock cut on garage. J.M. Pearce Road , 16600 block, between 7:55 a.m. and 7 p.m. Oct. 7. Generator, chainsaw, weed-eater, pressure washer, hand tools, computer and boots stolen from garage.

The following is compiled from police reports from the Towson and Cockeysville precincts. Our policy is to include descriptions when there is enough information to make identification possible Cockeysville Quiet Stream Court, unit block, at 12:30 a.m. Sept. 6. A man in a dark hooded sweat shirt approached another man, placed an unknown metal object to his body and demanded money. After searching man's pockets, he ran away. Beaver Run Lane, unit block, between 3 p.m. Sept.