There are a lot of things, small things, you can do to make your bedroom interesting and slowly create your dream bedroom. You’ll find your bedroom beckoning you to linger longer in the morning and retire earlier at night when you make the space about more than just sleeping.
Create a restful paradise in your bedroom with a bit of effort and imagination. The Week gives you a few tips to get you started.[break]
Focus on accent pieces
Bigger pieces like that desk and the lamps trick your eyes into thinking that a small room is actually bigger. Prints don’t have to be reserved for the bedcovers; they are just as arresting when set on a modern-shaped lampshade. Make the most of the space between a headboard and ceiling with clever room accents. Deck the walls above a curved headboard with square picture frames, or above a square headboard with round frames for dramatic visual contrast. Or follow the curve of a headboard with a staggered arrangement of decorative objects, such as plates or framed artwork. When grouping art objects for display, harness the visual power of odd numbers for the most eye-pleasing results. Suspend artwork a foot or less above the highest point on a headboard to ensure that the two read as a single unit without an awkward sliver of space.
Pay attention to your bed
A soft pillow and comfy mattress will help make the transition to sleep easy, but bedding that glows with an invitation to snuggle in can be a great décor highlight in the bedroom. Bring a bed into full bloom by using a colorful combination of floral patterns. Just make sure you stick to a single palette for a unified look that’s easy on the eye.
The same principle applies to combining striped, floral, and geometric patterns. Make sure each pattern features the same primary hue to make mixing and matching a success. Select cool or neutral hues to create a room that exudes serenity and calm. Look for bright and warm colors to foster a sense of good cheer, energy, and coziness. Also, pile on the pillows and cushions and don’t shy away from mixing patterns even here. Combine large prints with small ones and florals with geometrics.
The right furniture pieces
You can also use a side table to provide must-have storage. Where symmetry matters, use matching side tables to bookend the bed. However, there’s no rule that says tables must be copies of each other. If space allows, tuck a dresser bedside to provide a large space for nighttime essentials and loads of storage underneath. Or, cozy a writing desk and chair up to the bed. If you’re an avid reader, make sure your bedside table has shelves or drawers to help keep paper piles from stacking up. You can also use a coat stand next to the door or hang a quirky set of hooks behind the door to hang your bags and scarves. Pair a chair or two with a side table to create a cozy reading spot. Or make use of the often-wasted corner between two windows with a desk or dresser.
Inject interesting accessories
Hanging a graphic quilt is an easy solution to the “big blank wall” issue. You can also opt to print out some of your favorite pictures and create a personal collage that you can hang above your bed or at a neglected corner wall. Make your bedroom interesting with some fabulous yet functional updates. Some favorite accessories, fresh flowers, necklaces, candles and your prettiest cosmetics are all you need to get the look. Just jazz up your dresser with an interesting arrangement of these pieces and watch your bedroom come to life. If you want color without an all-out commitment, inject hits of it with art and accessories that you can change when the mood strikes. A cheery vibrant colored rug will add a burst of pop in a low-key room. For most bedrooms, a four-by-six-foot rug by the bed is ideal.
Light it up
The most successful lighting scheme is to blanket a room in layers of illumination. Use lamps on both sides of a bed to provide soft task lighting for nighttime reading. The bottom of the shade should fall at eye level when you’re seated. To create space on a bedside table, consider the style of lamp. Swing-arm lamps mounted to the wall behind a bed provide necessary lighting without taking up space on a nightstand. Shed ambient light around the entire room with a floor lamp. Nestled next to seating pieces, floor lamps add both vertical interest and a touch of mystique.
You can also consider connecting all fixtures in a bedroom to a dimmer to control light intensity and mood. One of the simplest ways to add a little bit of drama is to drape some string lights over the dresser or mirror. Strings lights will glam up your space with minimal effort
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