At Heliconia, we think of a bedroom as a personal and private retreat, a space you can feel connected to, where you can unwind, relax, and rejuvenate. You want your bedroom to be a space that makes you feel calm, content, relieved, safe - all the good feels. This will not only promote great sleep, but create a space that you think of as your own private sanctuary. So, it’s important to design and style this space in a way that promotes both tranquility and comfort in equal measure.
Here are some of our tips we employ when styling bedrooms for our clients.
1. SET THE SCENE
Choose a Calming Colour Palette:
The colours you choose for your bedroom can significantly impact its ambience. There is so much research behind the psychology of colour - consider the feeling you get when you enter a vivid yellow space (enegised, alert) compared to a room painted in a soft olive hue (refreshed, relaxed). Opt for soft, soothing colors like light blues, greens, or neutrals to create a calming atmosphere. These hues can help reduce stress and promote relaxation, making them perfect for a bedroom setting. (If you’re feeling a bit colour-shy, have a read of our Styling With Colour eBook and watch your confidence grow!)
Maximise Natural Light:
Natural light can make a space feel brighter, more spacious, and inviting. Maximise the amount of natural light in your bedroom by choosing light, airy curtains or blinds that allow sunlight to filter through. If privacy is a concern, consider adding sheer curtains that provide privacy while still allowing light to enter.
Improve Air Quality:
Good air quality is essential for a peaceful bedroom environment. Improve the air quality in your bedroom by regularly opening windows to allow for fresh air circulation and aim for a cross ventilation with another opening on the opposite side of the room. Consider adding a few indoor plants known for their air-purifying qualities, such as Aloe Vera, spider plants, or peace lilies, to help filter out pollutants. Plants also have a calming effect on a space!
Declutter and Simplify:
A clutter-free bedroom can have a significant impact on your mental state. Keep your bedroom tidy and organised by minimising clutter, optimising your storage options and being selective about what you keep on display. If wardrobe space is limited, use your bedside tables as an opportunity to supplement the storage options by going for multiple drawers, or substitute a chest of drawers for a bedside table.
Temperature Control:
We always try to use passive means to regulate the temperature in a bedroom for optimal comfort. In Australia, that often means keeping the western sun under control - once the afternoon sun heats up a bedroom it can be difficult and expensive to cool it back down. By planting outside bedroom windows, employing block-out blinds or even external shutters to stop heat before it gets in to the room you can keep the internal climate feeling comfy and cool.
2. FURNISH WITH PURPOSE
Head the bed!
Your bed is going to be the focal point of the room, so using a headboard or bedhead to give the bed it’s dedicated place in the room is important. . Psychologically, a bedhead can make the bed feel more substantial and secure, promoting a sense of safety and comfort when you lie in it. Additionally, a bedhead can be used very effectively to convey the mood you want to create in your styling - whether that’s luxurious and decadent with an upholstered and stately head board, or light and breezy, with an open weave rattan bedhead.
Somewhere to sit
Where space permits, we like to have occasional seating in a bedroom, as an alternative to sitting on the bed. Whether that’s to put on shoes, read a book, meditate… whatever. It could take the shape of a deep and cosy armchair in the corner, or a small bench seat at the end of the bed - somewhere separate helps to make the room more functional and inviting.
Storage Counts
Bedside Tables : Unless you have an abundance of storage options already in your bedroom, such as a luxurious walk in robe, you probably want at least some storage in your bedside table - for books, chargers, night creams and so on. We try and ensure there is at least 700mm on either side of a double bed as a walkway with no hinging robe doors eating into that space. Think about the material of the bedside too (timber, marble, or even upholstered) and what type of impact that will have on the atmosphere of the room.
Create a Mood
Strategic lighting: A statement lighting fixture can instantly elevate the look of your bedroom. Consider a chandelier, pendant light for the centre of the room, or a set of unique bedside lamps to add a touch of sophistication and glamour to your space. Layering the lighting with a couple of different options allows you to dial the illumination up or down, depending on the feeling you want to create. We love wall sconces if space is limited, as it can take the place of bedside lamps and keep your table tops free which gives a clean and spacious feeling.
3. FINISH WITH LOVELY LAYERS
Focus on Comfortable Bedding:
We spend a lot - around a third - of our lives asleep, so it makes sense to choose high-quality bedding to create a luxurious and inviting bed that promotes quality rest. Consider different materials such as silk, bamboo, linen and both their sustainability properties, durability and hygiene benefits. We are loving the benefits of bamboo at the moment - find out more about bamboo bedding here.
Luxurious Textiles:
Upgrade your bedroom textiles to create a more luxurious and inviting atmosphere. These are the layers that make all the difference in the room’s atmosphere. It might be a rug, linen drapery, silk or velvet throw cushions, tufted coverlets… These layers of textiles add warmth, interest and texture to the room - adding to the cosy factor tenfold. Change them seasonally to embrace natures cycles, and reflect these in your bedding accessories.
Artwork or Wall Decor:
Adding artwork or wall decor can enhance the visual appeal of your bedroom and make it feel more personalised and help the scheme you’ve chosen feel more resolved. We will usually place one artwork above the bed, or a pair of smaller ones on either side. We also use large mirrors to help bounce light around a dark room, which can be a beautifully decorative use of a functional item.
Your bedroom needs to be a space that you look forward to retreating to at the end of each day, so we always advise focusing on the feeling that you want to create in the space, and let the styling decisions emerge from there as you combine function with fabulousness!