Take the necessary steps to upgrade your bedroom space and create an oasis of revitalising calm at home.
Cool, Calm & Disconnected
No space has seen a greater paradigm shift over the last 18 months than the bedroom. Thanks to the rise of working from home, the room that once had only to fulfil simple needs – a place to rest and store clothing – has become an office, home gym, kids’ classroom and more. This has invariably turned the energy of the room on its head – and if you’re not an energy kind of person, we mean it’s turned calm into chaos. It’s time to reclaim your sanctuary and disconnect the private from the communal – even if just for sanity’s sake.
The rise of a neutral, almost monastic bedroom aesthetic is an antidote to the frenetic pace of the everyday, offering a moment to recharge and relax. Land the look by opting for high quality natural materials – cotton and timber – and introduce greenery.
A Good Headspace
Headboard design can be a very polarising factor in the bedroom – are you the big-and-bold type or do you gravitate towards a minimal piece? Either way, one thing remains: the headboard is essential and worth every cent that you invest. For starters, they bring an architectural focal point into the bedroom space, grounding the bed within its context and even going so far as to introduce sculptural form to an otherwise soft design aesthetic.
Headboards are also a moment to get creative, even in a pared back space, so use yours to introduce texture, shape and pattern. Upholstery is an opportunity to add warmth, while timber and woven rattan add natural patterning into the mix.
For an interior designer approved move: create a dialogue between your headboard and the bedroom walls by either matching fabric and wallpaper or creating a shared colour palette.
Side Hustle
The workhorse of any bedroom is undoubtedly the humble side table, easy-to-reach repository for tv remotes, books, water glasses, coffee mugs and, invariably, a host of miscellaneous stuff that has nowhere else to go. Carefully consider this high-function furniture piece before you buy. Are you in need of see-no-evil drawers to neatly hide things away or does the space call for minimalist, open shelving? Do you have space to fill with a larger, rectangular shape or can you only squeeze in a small, round plinth? The perfect side table design happens at the intersection of spatial freedom and human need, so don’t rush the process.
It’s impossible to speak about bedside tables without addressing its sidekick, the bedside lamp. Another piece that works best when selected from the Venn-diagram overlap of ‘function’ and ‘form’, your bedside lamp needs to occupy minimal space on the side table (ideally less than half) and, if that’s not possible, a wall-mounted or pendant option is your best bet. Finally, approach illumination with purpose: the lamp itself needs to offer enough light to read and move around the room without flooding the space (those exposed Edison bulbs are a no-no).
Outside Interests
Perhaps it’s because so many of us were unable to experience the outdoors, freely, over the past year and half or, maybe, it’s the feeling of regeneration that we seem to osmose from even the appearance of greenery (or a mix of both), but botanicals in the bedroom are a sure bet to bring an uplifting, calming mood.
This large-scale, classically decorative treatment in monochrome enlivens the space without upsetting the purposefully serene palette of neutrals.
