8 Steps to Creating a Cosy and Tranquil Bedroom
We all love to spend time in our bedrooms, but sometimes, this room can be neglected in favour of decorating other rooms in your home like your living room or kitchen. Your bedroom, however, should be treated with the same respect, especially as this is the one room that’s most personal and intimate to us all. So, it’s extremely important to make this room reflect you and to make it a space in which you can relax and feel at ease.
As this is the room you start and end your day in, it’s important to make it both look and feel cosy. Decorating your bedroom with cosy materials, calming wall art and a splash of colour can really make you feel at ease. The following 8 Steps will help you get on your way to having a cosy bedroom you love spending time in.
1) Choose a wall colour to match your personality
The first step to creating a cosy (and even romantic) atmosphere in your bedroom is to have the right colours on your walls. You want to make your bedroom really reflect you! Our key tip for wall colour is to choose softer colours or variations of beige and white as this makes it easier to match furniture and materials. If you’re a little afraid this may be too dull, you can easily bring in more colour through your decor choice, or even paint one wall in a bright colour to create a feature wall.
For those of you that love colourful spaces, you could try wallpaper in bright colours and patterns such as floral designs and keep your furniture and decor choices more subtle. Top tip: depending on the size and style you’re going for, just like the colour feature wall, it may make sense to only wallpaper one wall in your bedroom to not make your room feel cluttered. Just make sure that all the colours work together in perfect harmony and you’re on your way to creating the perfect bedroom.
2) Make your bed the key feature
This may seem a little obvious but the bed should be the main focal feature in your bedroom. So make sure you give it the love and attention it deserves. Choose nice materials for your bed sheets and duvet cover in colours like white, beige, or grey. You could even try adding colour here by using pastels such as blues, greens, purples and pinks. If you’re feeling super adventurous, pale yellow bed sheets are currently all the rage. One tip: try combining white bed linen with a quilted bedspread in a soft pastel colour.
After you’ve got your bed linen sorted, it’s time to decorate with pillows! And, there’s really no limit to your imagination when it comes to pillow choice. Try matching your pillows to your chosen bed linen colours by choosing similar hues a few shades lighter or darker. Or try combining a completely different colour scheme in your pillows. Take a look at the colour wheel to choose opposing but complementary colours to make your bed really pop. And finally, when it comes to pillows, the more the merrier!
3) Lighting is key
Creating a cosy and intimate bedroom is nothing without lighting! Fairy lights and candles can be great sources of low-light, especially if you’re trying to create a romantic atmosphere. Candles can be purchased from most homewares stores and come in a variety of shapes, colours and even scents. Scented candles are perfect if you want to make your room smell lovely: there are a ton of scents out there so if you love roses, citrus, or wood scents, you are sure to find something! Top tip: burn lavender scented candles before bed to calm yourself before you hit dreamland.
In terms of lamp lighting, try using dimming light bulbs in your bedroom. As you have the power to change the brightness, use the lighter functions when you want to keep yourself awake, and the closer you get to bed, dim your lights to get your body into a sense of sleep. And, as much as we all love to watch Netflix at night, make sure you turn off electronic screens about an hour before you sleep as the blue light stimulates your mind and can make it harder for you to fall asleep.
4) Decorate with calming decor for your walls and shelves
Alongside candles, lamps and pillows, there are a plethora of other home decor options to add to your bedroom to make you feel cosy and relaxed. Flowers are the perfect accessory to any bedroom. Adding fresh flowers into your room will be sure to bring a smile to your face and a gorgeous scent to your nose. If you don’t want to go out and get flowers every other week, or you’re entering the colder months, try dried flowers as these look great but don’t have the upkeep and short lifespan of freshly cut flowers.
Posters and photos are another great addition, especially if your walls and surfaces seem a little bare. Photos of loved ones are great to frame and have sitting in your bedroom, especially to remind you of what is most important in your life. At Project Nord, we also have a ton of posters that are perfect for your bedroom. We have abstract prints to put your mind at ease, line-art for the minimalist lovers out there, and typography for those looking for inspiration in their wall art. Take a look at our collections pages to find the perfect pairings. You could even try creating a gallery wall: check out our guide here.
5) Create a peaceful atmosphere with muted colours
Choosing pastel colours in your bedroom is a great way to make this space feel calming and relaxing, especially after a long day at work or after socialising. Utilising blues, whites, greys and greens are perfect for achieving this. Try adding these colours into your room through small decor items such as pillows or throws. These also allow for you to experiment more with different shades and patterns: let your imagination run wild!
Another idea is to use these colours on your wall space through wall posters while keeping your bedroom furniture in more subtle colours. Try prints in abstract patterns or in blue and green to add some colour to your walls but also help your mind relax whilst you reflect on your day, or plan for your day tomorrow.
6) Bring your room together with frames
Whilst posters can look great without frames, this is not so much the case in your bedroom. Your wall art should be looking as fresh as possible in this space, and adding a frame to your poster will really bring the room together. A framed poster will make a great focal point on your wall. If you’re unsure how to use a frame, or which one works best with your poster, check out our guide on how to pick a frame.
If you are unable to hang a framed poster on your wall, especially if you live in a rented home, no worries! You can also style framed posters in unique and stylish ways without making any holes in your wall or impacting your house deposit. For example, you could feature our poster prominently on your dresser. Check out our guide on 4 creative ways to display your poster in your bedroom.
7) Incorporate Cosy Materials
The materials in your bedroom should make you feel like the king or queen you are. Soft linen bedsheets are of course a perfect place to start. Coming home after a long day and slipping into soft linen sheets is really something special and will make you feel at ease.
Another material option for your bedroom is to introduce wood. Be it furniture, wooden beams or smaller decorations, wood is the perfect material to create a sense of balance and to be at one with the elements by bringing the outdoors in. Wood exudes a cosy atmosphere that evokes both nostalgia and romance.
If you aren’t wanting to completely change your bedroom furniture with wood-based options, small pieces of wood can really make a difference. We are thinking of wooden candle holders, natural picture frames, rustic-looking wooden boxes or even your own DIY projects. This is the perfect area to let your creativity run free.
8) Finish with the perfect set of Curtains
Whilst letting in natural light into a room is so important, having curtains should be a must, especially for your bedroom. For larger windows, try hanging neutral-toned floor-length curtains. This can really be the final touch needed to create a cosy atmosphere in your bedroom, and feel free to experiment with textures and shades.
For smaller windows, it’s important to allow light into your bedroom. If the light is of no issue and you only want curtains from privacy, try hanging some sheer curtains that allow light through whilst being closed. This way you get the best of both worlds: light and privacy!
For those living in countries like the Nordics, where the sun can rise at 2 am in the summertime, blackout curtains are a must! Unless you really want to be woken up by the bright light at 3 in the morning. Trust me on this one, you will want to use blackout curtains so as not to disrupt your sleep cycles.
Follow our guide to gain inspiration and ideas so that you can be on your way to creating your dream bedroom!
We hope you have fun setting up your new and improved bedroom!
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