Your own private space: the room where you probably spend at least one third of your time. The bedroom. Whatever your taste and style, make it yours.
Does your dream bedroom exude a wildly decadent luxury in the form of cream and gold silks, cut glass chandeliers, crushed velvet or faux fur throws? Use white, embroidered cotton bed-linen and bring lots of interesting texture into play for that extra luxury twist. Add the final touch to the luxury look with a gorgeous cream carpet.
Or how about “boutique chic”? Choose one of the new textured wallpapers, perhaps with a glossy foil background. Keep the bed-linen white, with the odd dash of colour, and use a bold, striped throw across the end of the bed. Use dark woods and plenty of chrome and glass. Keep the lines sharp and clean; the colours bold and vibrant and use lots of contrast.
Want to be different? Go Vintage and use lots of rich floral fabrics with painted furniture and mix it all together in an eclectic style. Use carpets or wide-board oak flooring with scatter rugs. Overstuffed cushions with tassel trim and dressy bedside lamps complete the look.
Bedroom Essentials:
Whatever the look, get the best bed you can afford: it is the most important piece of furniture in the house. And treat yourself to good bed-linen – it’s hard to beat white cotton, though it’s murder to iron! I love a fabric headboard and it’s a must if you like to read in bed, propped up cosily with half a dozen pillows or so. If you decide to go this route, make sure that the headboard fabric is upholstery weight – try the suede-look fabrics – Designers Guild does an excellent one called Mezzola, which comes in more than a hundred colours.
Lighting is very important in a bedroom. Make sure you can see into your wardrobes by positioning your lights correctly. Bedside lamps are always a good option, but if you are short of space you can use recessed downlighters over the side lockers with independent switching on either side of the bed. Your dressing table, or wherever you apply makeup, is another essential area for good bedroom lighting.
Try to keep the wall colours restful. Bright red walls do not necessarily make for a calm start to the day, as research has shown that the colour red can raise your blood-pressure. Wallpapers are a good option at the moment, with beautiful and glamorous collections available from most good designer outlets.