Your bedroom has the potential to be your happy place. It’s the one cozy confine where you can truly escape from the chaos and noise of the world. You’re fully immersed in the creature comforts of home here — the little things that bring you the biggest joy. Here you can express yourself fully, implementing the colors that you love, the décor that reflects your preferred style, and the accents that make your room whole.
When you glance around, does your bedroom make you feel complete? Do you look around and wish it were a little warmer, a little more inviting…a little more you? A few tweaks could be all that is needed to transform your room into one that truly connects with you on a deeper level and helps you feel most at ease.
Creating a serene space begins with cultivating the right elements. “Cozy” is as much a state of mind as it is a physical attribute, so it’s worth delving deep into what truly makes you feel calmer and more peaceful. Soft colors, gentle lighting, plush fabrics, and quietly elegant accessories all contribute to that homey feel that makes your bedroom a true place of respite. Here are some suggestions to make your bedroom the most tranquil space imaginable.
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Choosing a Calming Color Palette
Vibrant colors have their time and place, but in a truly cozy bedroom, you want to err on the opposite end of the spectrum. Light, soothing shades are best, as these convey the type of mood that you want to invite into your space. Don’t be fooled, though — you aren’t limited to just a few select colors here. You’ll find an entire rainbow of hues from which to choose. Some are airy and ethereal, others are crisp and fuss-free. You might even prefer to incorporate some combination of the two.
Your color palette also extends beyond your walls. It’s everywhere you turn — the shaggy rug on the floor, the throw pillows artfully positioned on the bed, the bedsheets peeking out from beneath your quilt, the bunch of flowers perched on your windowsill. Color defines the room and captures a certain spirit, so it’s important to choose wisely. Consider these options for wall paint as you begin the process of refreshing your room.
- Soft White: Fresh and timeless, soft white can transform a small bedroom by lending it a more open appearance. The type of white you choose here is important; avoid anything too “crisp” or sharp, as these can appear jarring in a space that lends itself to a cozier feel. Soft whites are more buttery or golden in their undertones, making them more fitting for the type of vibe you want.
- Sky Blue: Cool, relaxed sky blue evokes the serenity of a relaxing beach getaway. This tranquil color is inherently peaceful, something that calls to mind a sense of peace. It’s soft, never jarring, and it’s versatile enough to combine with darker shades of blue for sophisticated contrast.
- Blush Pink: If you lean more in the direction of lighter hues but don’t want to use white, blush pink makes a wonderful alternative. It’s gentle and composed — the type of color that sets the tone for the room, yet also pairs well with other colors like gray or sage green, for intriguing visual impact.
- Muted Gray: If you can’t quite pick a color or you’re certain you want to incorporate a multitude of tones into your bedroom, you might be best off with a muted shade of gray. It’s fresh and effortless, but most importantly it’s inherently simple. It essentially creates a blank canvas onto which you can incorporate other colors to bring your perfect palette to life.
- Pale Yellow: A restrained yellow is a beautiful choice for a cozy bedroom because it inspires a sense of vibrance, minus the harsh intensity of the sun’s bold rays. It’s a balancing color, inviting the beauty of Mother Nature inside your home, yet never venturing into the extremely bright territory. It’s also a great excuse to incorporate golden accents into your room.
- Sage Green: Green reflects the wonder and beauty of the great outdoors. While there are many shades, it’s sage that offers the most calming effect for a bedroom. It’s light and tranquil, capturing a sense of earthiness that grounds your living space. It also complements natural elements in the room, like potted plants, beautifully.
Set Up Ambient Lighting
In a cozy bedroom, the last thing that you want is to overwhelm the room with jarring lighting. Harsh overhead illumination will take away from the mellow quality of the room, so it’s important to create a lighting plan that doesn’t rob the room of its delicacy. Creating the right ambiance with lighting begins with the right types of fixtures.
Instead of positioning lights overhead, set the tone with lamps that create a fainter and warmer glow. A tall floor lamp set in one corner of the room will brighten that area, for example, while another set on your side table keeps your bedside aglow. You can also implement task lighting throughout the room, which brightens up the spaces where you might perform activities that call for some extra focus, like putting on makeup or working at your desk.
To contribute to the coziness of the space, try a single pendant light above your desk for a quietly elegant touch. Wall sconces can also convey a similar vibe. Look for thicker shades for all of your fixtures, as these will help diffuse the lighting a bit better and create softer and less intense lighting overall.
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Invest in Your Bedding
Don’t underestimate the impact that bedding has on a cozy bedroom. You can have the most soothing color on the walls and the softest lighting throughout the room, but without plush bedding that envelops you in warmth, you won’t really achieve the effect that you want. Focus on materials first: options like cashmere, sateen, and linen all fit beautifully into wonderfully inviting spaces that help you unwind at the end of a long day.
The Brooklinen Heathered Cashmere collection offers the type of consistent softness and comfort you crave in a cozy bedroom. Sheets, pillowcases, and duvet cases all keep you toasty, yet you don’t have to limit them to fall and winter use only. The material is wonderfully lightweight, making it a practical choice for any time of the year that calls for some additional comfort. It’s luxury with a twist, boasting a highly affordable price that belies its incredible texture.
The same concept applies to a soft topper, like this Brooklinen Down Alternative Comforter, which can make all the difference to the room’s comfort. It takes snuggle levels to the next level, so you can curl up on your bed and immerse yourself in a good book, a steaming mug of chai or coffee by your side, a candle creating a gentle glow, and not a care in the world to disturb you. That is cozy living at its finest — the type that helps lull you to sleep so you can emerge from your cozy cocoon well-rested and ready to face the day.
Related: 12 Best Gifts for the Plant Lovers in Your Life
Decorate with Flowers and Plants
There are countless studies that tout the benefits of surrounding yourself with flowers and plants. Beautiful arrangements can bring a smile to your face at a single glance. Lush bouquets that incorporate your favorite stems, from roses and daisies to sunflowers and peonies, will not only brighten your mood but also your living space.
The therapeutic influence of flowers can’t be understated. Incorporating colors like yellow and orange infuse your bedroom with sunshine, while shades of red and pink invite soft elegance and beauty into your space. Flowers also allow you to create subtle contrast in a calming space, making it easy to infuse the room with a bolder color or two that won’t overwhelm the space. The Wildest Dream, our collaboration with Brooklinen, is the perfect floral arrangement for bedside tables. Lively blues and purples mixed with calming greenery help add to the cozy bedroom feeling while adding a pop of color.
Lively plants, meanwhile, are known for everything from their natural beauty to their air-purifying benefits. Delicate succulents make the perfect addition to a cozy bedroom for their inherent simplicity and low-maintenance needs. That’s precisely what you want in a space that cultivates comfort and ease. Succulents are also wonderfully decorative, adding just the right touch to a desktop or a bedside table.
Breezy air plants are also ideal because they serve as natural grounding elements. They photosynthesize overnight, too — an added bonus because they’ll release oxygen into the air while you slumber. Just a glance at an air plant could be enough to help you feel more at ease, and they also fall on the low-maintenance end of the scale.
Creating a cozy bedroom begins with the right colors and elements. Beginning with a calming canvas provides the perfect starting point for everything else that follows — the lighting, the bedding, the flowers, and the accessories that help you feel most serene. With these in place, you’ll feel your worries slip away, just as they should in the ultimate cozy space.
This article originally appeared on UrbanStems.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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6 design trends that belong in your bedroom right now
Every year, new interior design trends pop up, and it’s always fun to bring an element of what’s happening right now into your bedroom. Some trends are purely aesthetic while others can help you live—and sleep—better.
Here are six of the latest interior design trends for 2022 you can weave into your bedroom, according to two experts in the know.
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“Bringing the outdoors inside is a big theme of the year with people realizing how great the outdoors and nature can be for their health and mind,” says Lauren Lerner, principal designer at Living with Lolo.
In the bedroom, Lerner says you can achieve this nature-inspired feel by bringing live or faux plants into the space. She also recommends utilizing other natural elements that are both practical and touch upon the outdoors, such as bamboo sheets that can make sleeping cooler and more comfortable.
In this spirit of nodding to nature, Kristin Bartone, principal designer at Bartone Interiors, says interior design is increasingly focused on sustainability.
“You can certainly achieve this with a Saatva mattress and other furnishings in your bedroom,” she says. To make your sleeping space more environmentally friendly, Bartone recommends switching to LED lighting and setting the scene with decor made from recycled materials.
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When it comes to furniture and decor, this year, it’s all about curves and soft silhouettes. Bartone says nearly every manufacturer is incorporating soft lines, arcs, and curves in all their furniture.
“Trends are often based on what society needs at the moment,” Bartone notes. “Right now, recovering from the global health crisis and economic strain, people want to be embraced by the furniture, lighting, and fabrics that we interact with in our everyday environment.”
In your bedroom, you can incorporate the curved trend by picking an arched headboard or a rounded mirror to display as wall art.
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Since many of our lives have been so stressful in recent times, it’s no wonder increasing “peace and a positive state of mind at home is a big deal in 2022,” as Lerner puts it. In your home, you should think of your bedroom as your stress-busting headquarters, the place where you can power down and get into a sleep-ready state of mind.
Lerner advises “clearing out the clutter” from your bedroom—she believes televisions should be removed from bedrooms as well, something that can help with “the way it looks” and “the blue light won’t affect your sleeping quality or cycle.”
Additionally, Lerner says it can be helpful to add an Amazon Echo or another audio device so you can listen to calming sounds, like waves. “Layering lighting and using dimmers help increase the peaceful ambiance in the space as well,” she adds.
Bartone is also a proponent of adding aromatherapeutic elements to a bedroom. “Sense of smell is strongly linked to your emotional well-being and supports memory formation,” she says. “Lavender is an obvious choice, but you can use other neutral scents like frankincense, bergamot, and patchouli. There are many ways to incorporate aromatherapy, from candles to air diffusers to oil diffusers.”
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Bartone says she’s been seeing a lot of focus on one-of-a-kind pieces created by local or regional artists, which can make your bedroom aesthetic look more unique. One example is a custom-designed rug made by an artist.
“Think of adding some one-of-a-kind pieces to your bedroom through rugs like these or even artwork and decorative objects, like bowls or vases from a favorite potter friend,” Bartone says.
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While neutral hues have prevailed in recent years, people are increasingly returning to bolder colors within their palettes. Lerner says she’s been seeing clients wanting to incorporate more color and pattern into their spaces. “A great way to do this in the bedroom is by adding in a colorful wallpaper,” she notes.
Bartone believes color can be used thoughtfully to create a calm atmosphere, something that’s especially true in a bedroom.
“Many people have a favorite color, but do you know why that is your favorite color? It could be the color you look best in or a color that just makes you feel good,” she says. “Think about incorporating these favorite colors into your bedroom in soft tones that will create a calm environment.”
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The pandemic has inspired many people to use their spaces in entirely new ways, particularly if they’re without a home office. They’ve needed to get creative with where they’ve set up workspaces, a trend that’s continuing into 2022. Surprisingly, a bedroom can act as one of these multifunctional spaces when it comes to work.
“As people continue working from home, even those that are just part-time, having multifunctional spaces are key if there isn’t a dedicated space for an office,” Lerner observes. “If you have to add an office desk to your bedroom, focus on organization so the space remains clean and uncluttered.” (You can even use an adjustable bed base to work from bed.
This article originally appeared on Saatva.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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