A good night's sleep is crucial for us to live well. The average person spends a third of their lifetime sleeping, so when you add the numbers, you quickly realise the bedroom must be the most important room of the home. There are many things that influence our sleep, including the design of the room. Think about the importance of mattress quality and comfort, bedsheets, noise levels of the room, colour scheme and light levels. All these have to be considered when designing a bedroom.
Go for natural fabrics!
Linen, cotton and wool are the best choices when it comes to bed dressing. Linen is resilient and generally sustainably produced, and when it's blended with cotton it becomes more hardwearing and crease resistant. Natural fibres are more breathable and some have great insulation and acoustic properties such as wool.
Light control
Don't underestimate the importance of light on our sleep pattern. It's best to use dimmable lightbulbs for the bedroom to create a soft soothing atmosphere before sleep. Warm light works best as well, since blue light can disturb the circadian rhythm.
Bedroom layout is essential for a balanced feel
We all know that the bed is the most important piece in the bedroom, so it’s best to have this as your focal point. To create balance and symmetry in the space, have paired nightstands and table lamps. A sturdy but comfortable headboard will make all the difference in the space. A very effective way of highlighting the area is by creating a feature wall with intricate panelling or wallpaper. From a feng-shui aspect, it’s best not to store anything else other than sleep related things such as pillows and blankets under the bed. If you don’t have carpet in your bedroom, ensure that you have a generous sized rug, placed under the bed with enough space on both sides (it’s best to have a similar proportion to that of the nightstands).
Choosing the right colour palette for you
If there is one thing that most people feel unprepared for when designing their home, is choosing a suitable colour palette. I always recommend my clients to look in their wardrobe and identify the colours they wear most. Chances are, most likely these would be their favourite colours and should be incorporated in their interiors as well. There's a general rule I like to follow when creating a colour palette: the 60-30-10 rule. I normally chose a neutral colour for 60% of the room like walls, floors and some of the furniture. 30% is for the secondary colour, which could be a muted colour like sage green, powder blues and pinks and the 10% is reserved for the accent colour which could be quite bold depending on your preference.
Here you need to take into consideration the natural light exposure of the room as well - do you get afternoon light ? Then perhaps you should incorporate cold tones to balance out the warm light. Morning light is bringing a cold light so perhaps you should be looking at using warm colours like burnt orange and terracotta.
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