We spend a decent portion of our lives in our bedrooms; usually sleeping but often winding down after a tiring day or taking a lazy weekend morning (sometimes afternoon) in bed. Often overlooked for the spaces our guests see more of, we should consider putting a little more effort into decorating our bedroom to make it feel cozy and welcoming.
Photo, Elizabeth French.
Research has shown that people spend at least one-third of their life in bed, sleeping. Add to this the hours of relaxing, reading or even working from bed, and you’ll see that a significant part of your life is centred around the bedroom.
It is vital, therefore, to make sure you spend a bit of time sprucing up your room; decorating it to suit your personal taste. Your home has a significant effect on your overall mental and physical wellbeing. Experts have proven that the organisation, decoration and the layout of your home can have significant impacts upon your mood and mental health. Things like clutter, obnoxious colours, and drab interiors can be a huge factor in depression and anxiety. So, let’s take a look at a few ways of how you can reorganise your bedroom and decorate it optimally for your overall wellbeing and comfort.
Look At Your Walls: Your walls are the key features in your bedroom. In fact, it’s likely that the first thing you’ll notice when you walk into any home are its walls. What colour are they? Are they decorated? Are there pictures or mirrors hanging on them? A plain white wall will make your space seem unfinished and bare, whereas overly bright colours can be overbearing to live with.
The best colours to have in your room on the walls are muted, natural colours that inspire a sense of calm and tranquility. However, a statement wall with a vibrant colour can add dimension to your room.
Photo, Christopher Jolly.
If you’re renting and cannot paint, or a statement wall does not appeal to you, a wall hanging could be the answer to break up the monotony of the single colours. You can look into an interesting tapestry to drape on your wall. Make sure you choose one that suits your personality and interests. If a natural landscape appeals to you, a simple mountain tapestry could offer a design that will add that splash of personality you need for your walls.
You can also look into hanging rugs, scarves, fairy lights or even hanging plants on the walls to add a bit of interest. Pictures, mirrors, and paintings are also vital in expressing your personal style and breaking up bare walls. You can mix and match frames, pictures, colours, and images; hanging them together to create a large, interesting statement feature if you want to add that artistic flair.
Add Plants to Your Space: Adding plants to your bedroom not only adds an interesting and beautiful element to your space, but they have various health benefits for body and soul. House plants significantly improve the air quality in your home, as well as emit vapour to keep the air humid and moist. It has also been said that plants emit negative ions that attach themselves to remove toxic particles from the air.
Photo, Yasmine Boheas.
Photo, Chris Lee.
Plants can be one of the most interesting and unique ways of decorating your bedroom. There are literally hundreds of ways that you can arrange your plants to create a visually stimulating environment in your favourite room.
Placing large plants like ferns and snake plants in corners can help round off the room. Try adding a standing lamp to the corner for added dimension, and place the plant in an interesting container. Large woven baskets are very popular, and add a natural element to the room. Shelving can be multi-dimensional with the addition of small to medium plants in mono-toned holders.
Think about your book or movie shelf for example. You can split the books up across various shelves and add plants and framed pictures to break it up. Lastly, look at hanging plants. You can choose to hang them from your ceiling, railings, or even brackets on the walls. These hanging plants will create a multi-level dimension to your home and add splashes of colour in unique spaces.
Photo, Logan Nolin.
Spruce Up Your Bed: As mentioned above, a third of your life is spent sleeping. Investing in your bed and mattress can be one of the biggest favours that you can do for yourself. The mattress, for example, is a key element in your sleep patterns and body support as you sleep.
Photo, Orlova Maria.
The bed can be made to be the key feature of the room, with the colours of the walls and miscellaneous decorations combining to create an overall integrated look. Choose the colours of your linens according to your wall and bedroom colours. You can choose to add patterned linens to add a pop to plain walls, or plain linens to balance a busy room.
The minimal look of plain linen and walls is also currently popular as you can add patterned pillows, throws, and cushions to complete the look. Investing in luxury linens like Egyptian cotton can add a glamorous, wholesome feel to your room, and make your bed comfortable and heavenly to sleep in.
Keep in mind too, that you can add a tapestry, rug or even arrangements of fabrics and lights above the bed to round off a calming and visually appealing look. A headboard can also add an element of interest and can offset plain walls and linens. Neutral headboards are easy to decorate around, but if your personal taste allows it, a statement headboard can add that splash of colour for a plain wall.
When you decide to decorate, or even redecorate your bedroom, it’s advisable to spend some time researching what you want to do before hitting the shops and making snap purchases. Look what is trending at the moment, what colours are currently a hit, and what patterns are in this season. Remember, elements like cushions rugs are easily interchangeable and you can keep changing them annually or seasonally. Match your colours before simply choosing something. Make sure that they work together and create a dimensional and blended look in your home.
