If you like to start and end the day in regal splendour, a four-poster bed might be the way to go. The one at the Palazzo Tornabuoni - a restored Renaissance palace in the heart of Florence's fashion district - is typical of the development's lavish interiors designed by Michel Bonan, the Florentine interiors man behind the city's Ferragamo hotels.

There are several elements involved in constructing the look, according to Aidan Cavey of Cavey Interior Design (01 6600600). First you have to start with a good four-poster bed - made up of posts, a lower-frame and a canopy frame.

Then there's the shaped fabric headboard which slots in between the back posts. Next are the drapes which hang at each post and across the back, above the headboard. Finally you have the canopy fabric sides and top which are attached to the canopy frame. You could use a fabric like Andrew Martin's Motcomb plain which is around €54 per m.

According to Cavey the mattress and base usually have to be shaped at the ends to slot around the posts. He says that while prices are difficult to estimate, a good four-poster could set you back around €4,000, a headboard around €2,000, drapes around €3,000 depending on the fabric used, a canopy €1,500, the mattress and base €2,000 giving a total of around €12,500.