Our bedroom should be the one place that we consider our safe haven. This is especially the case when we all live such busy and stressful lives, which makes coming home to a place where we can relax and unwind all the more important. But how can you create this serene space? Here are our top tips for designing a relaxing bedroom.
Soothing colors
A color scheme in neutral tones in your bedroom can help to create a soothing, comforting ambiance. Apply this color palette to not only the walls but also the materials and furniture you use, not sure how to go about this yourself? Houzz explains that colors like blue and green are typically very calming, including a dark gray-blue, icy blue and neutral green. Colors like orange and yellow can be overpowering.
Minimal decor
As we have previously mentioned, your bedroom is a place where you should feel able to unwind, but you may find this difficult if you have a cluttered space with lots of decoration. The minimal décor is very popular as a way to empty the room, but also your mind. This means having simple furniture, not antiques, and basic bed decorations and not overkilling it with blankets and cushions.
Adjustable lighting
Unsurprisingly, having harsh, bright lights in your room may not lead to a peaceful, relaxing atmosphere in your bedroom. When designing your room you should be aiming for soft lighting, such as opting for light fixtures with a dimmer switch, or at the very least bedside lighting so that you don’t have to have the main light on, and can quickly turn off the lights without needing to physically get out of bed and potentially drifting out of sleepiness.
If you have the luxury of designing a house from scratch, a good architect can help you use natural light in the right way. It will also help your sleep as you wake up with the sun.
Opaque window coverings
Whilst having good lighting is a key feature in order to create a relaxing atmosphere (especially soft dimmed lights) you want to make sure that when you want to fall asleep you have opaque window coverings (such as blackout shades) so that you have complete darkness in the room, as the body needs to repair and recuperate whilst you sleep, and to do this, effectively, you need total blackout. This is also achieved with Velux windows.
No technology
If you want to make your bedroom as tranquil as it possibly could be, it should be your top priority to remove any technology from the space. This means things like televisions, exercise equipment, computers and so forth, anything that could lead to distractions and potentially make it harder for you to switch off. Numerous studies have revealed that technology affects our sleep, this is partly due to the artificial light we are exposed to, making it harder to fall and stay asleep.
Artwork
Having pieces of art (that are in keeping with the calm ambiance of the room you are creating) can help to create a soothing space for you to feel relaxed and therefore make it easier to sleep when the time comes. However, try to pick your pieces wisely, and don’t pick too many as they can become distractions. Portraits are therefore less effective in creating the relaxing moods but landscapes with a few key colors may be better.
Think about dimensions
If you are designing your bedroom from scratch and are buying new furniture, you should carefully consider the actual dimensions of the bed frame, wardrobe and so forth as you want to make sure that you have enough space in your room to be able to move freely as well as getting in and out of bed, as you will feel far from peaceful and relaxed if you are constantly stubbing your toe on the bed or other furniture in the space.
