Never underestimate the power of a well-appointed bedroom. Since bedrooms are the most private room of the house—limited to only a few, select guests—it can be easy to deprioritize their overall design. Still, your personal quarters deserve your utmost attention. This is where you spend time reading and relaxing, recharging and reflecting on the day.
Designing a bedroom to perfectly reflect your personality might seem like a tall order, but it’s not impossible. To help, check out these inspiring ways to transform your bedroom into your very own happy place. Whether you crave a minimalist sanctuary or a bold boudoir, there’s plenty of inspiration for everyone. Plus, we’ve added items you can buy to help you get the look in your home. Beauty sleep has never looked so good.
Choose Subtle Colors For Your Room
Instead of bold primary colors, choose soothing shades and a restful palette of monochromatic tones. Remember color theory: gentle hues of blue, lavender, or green are considered calm and serene. Rich jewel-toned hues help set the mood of coziness and comfort. These might include toasty browns, deep pomegranate, or topaz. Use toned-down versions of your favorite colors in the bedroom." That might mean choosing mauve instead of eggplant, or pumpkin instead of tangerine.
Don't Overlook the Ceiling
The ceiling is the largest clean surface in your bedroom, and most amateur home decorators forget all about it—so it’s a huge untapped resource in any room. If you want to give your bedroom a special touch, consider painting or wallpapering your ceiling with a delicate color or pattern. If you’re tired of DIY tips and want an especially elegant bedroom look, you could even think about having a molded ceiling done.
Pick Out Artwork For Your Bedroom Decor
Artwork, whether that be a band poster you've had since your teens that you can't let go of or a painting you bought at auction, is a great way to bring some personality into your bedroom decor.
The gallery wall trend has stood the test of time, and they always look beautiful displayed above a bed or to spruce up a boring wall. And you can really tailor them to suit your tastes – if you like a minimal look pick a symmetrical layout and pick a clear color theme, and more a more laid-back look don't stick to such a rigid format and mismatch your frames.
Layer Your Lighting
The majority of time you spend in your bedroom it will be dark, so it's important when decorating to plan your lighting. And lighting doesn't just have to be just practical, they can be part of your decor and really add to the scheme of the room.
When choosing what types of lighting to go for, think about how you use different areas of the room. You'll probably want a bedside light to read by, an overhead light for the whole room and a few lamps dotted around to create a lovely glow. You always want your lighting to be warm and soft, so pick warm bulbs and shades that will diffuse the light. Dimmable switches are great in bedrooms too if budget allows.
In terms of design, think about whether you want your lighting to be a key feature in your room, like you see here with the gorgeous rattan pendants, or more in the background, in that case you might want to opt for subtle wall lights.
Choose Your Bed And Pillow in Your Favorite Color
Bedding! Bedding and throw pillows are so important to your bedroom decor as the bed always tends to be the focus of the room. We'd start with a plain color for your sheets as a base – try white, cream, grey, pastels, deep blue or even black – then get layering. Add throw pillows that you can easily switch out with the seasons or as your style changes, and make sure to add a blanket for extra texture too.
Arrange Your Space The Most Reasonable
To add to the serene feeling of a bedroom, store things out of sight. The room will appear more calm and roomy.
Choose a roomy bedside table with drawers or doors behind which you can hide books, lotion, and reading glasses within reach but out of sight. For more storage, choose a skirted table or a small dresser with drawers.
Use a trunk or a storage bench at the foot of the bed to store extra sheets, blankets, and pillows.
For easy-to-reach books and accessories, use a headboard with built-in shelves or sliding panels.
A custom-designed organization system can make maximum use of closet space.
Place shallow boxes underneath the bed hiding them with a beautiful bed skirt.
Add a Gentle Rug Under Your Feet
No bedroom decor is complete without a rug. They bring in color, pattern, texture, and warmth, a rug 'pulls the scheme together and helps to zone a space when working with a larger room.' says Jen founder of Interior Fox.
And don’t be afraid to maximize: the bigger the rug, the better in our opinion. A large rug will create maximum comfort underfoot while adding warmth and texture to wooden floors. Our best design tip: make sure to place the rug underneath your furniture; this will bring your key furniture pieces together. To avoid the room feeling overcrowded, give the rug enough space from the wall, ensuring the sides of the floor are exposed.
Indispensable For Windows
A beautifully dressed window will help to frame the window and the view and provide other ways to add color, pattern, texture, and softness to a bedroom. If you love soft sheer curtains that filter light, combine opaque roller blinds that can be pulled down to maintain privacy at night and to block morning light.
For all draperies, include opaque blinds or drapery lining to keep out the sun when you want to sleep late.
When coming up with bedroom ideas, don’t get so caught up in decorating tips that you end up with a bedroom that doesn’t feel right to you. Your bedroom should feel comfortable and tailored to your needs, so make sure along the way that you’re asking yourself what appeals to you. If you love something specific—be it greenery or upholstered headboards—be sure to make room for it in your design ideas.
Try to discipline yourself to keep your cell phone, computer, television, exercise machine, or blackberry out of the bedroom. Create a cherished place to relax and renew. You'll love having a room dedicated to reading, sleeping, and romance.
