With the average adult needing between 7-9 hours sleep every night, our bedrooms are an important room in the house! We spend on average 26 years of our lives asleep - so you need to make sure you like the decor in your bedroom! 

Set up by the National Sleep Council, March is National Bed Month. It’s about drawing attention to the importance of sleep - and originally, how the right bed can help. So this week, we’ve been following up on this year’s wellness trend and looking into the science of getting a better night’s sleep. We’ve loved reading your suggestions on social media. Some of our favourites being: a lavender diffuser in the bedroom, a cup of camomile tea before bed, and don’t have kids! 

Jokes aside, from the layout to the colours on the wall, there are plenty of things we can do to optimise our space for a good night’s rest. Whether you’re a night owl or a morning bird, here are some of the tips we’ve found useful…

Tip 1 - Avoid Clutter

It might seem obvious, but how many of us have too much stuff in our bedrooms? Visual clutter keeps you up! Clear surfaces mean less things for our brains to latch on to when we’re trying to turn them off at the end of a long day! A great way to keep clutter to a minimum is to section out your bedroom, so you have your sleeping area and your everything else area (clothes, books etc!). We like to have a few key decorative pieces, like a nice candle or jewellery box that keeps everything tidy and tucked away. 

 

@thetrelissick Designer Colourmatch NTB226

 

Tip 2 - Have a ‘can be worn again’ basket

Does your room feature a chair with 10 shirts hanging off the back? Guilty as charged. When something has been worn once, and it isn't quite dirty, but you don’t want to hang it back up again - let’s face it, 9/10 it turns into a floordrobe. This makes your room instantly feel untidy, which ruins the peaceful vibe we want in our bedroom. A great solution? Next to your dirty clothes basket, why not have a ‘can be worn once more’ basket for clothes that aren’t quite ready for the wash. This keeps them tidy, and makes them easy to find.

 

@_insidelaurasludlow Designer Colourmatch NTB201

 

Tip 3 - Break the colour scheme!

Different rules can apply when it comes to decorating your bedroom. It’s the one place we highly recommend styling in a way that’s boldly different to the rest of your house - it helps signal to our brains that we’re in a space with a different purpose. There’s a lot of beautiful colours that work in bedrooms, we’re big fans of blues and green greys - if you’re looking for inspo, check out the Wellness Collection in our 2022 Colours of the Year.

 

@my_grey_place Colour LG Lamp Black

 

Tip 4 - No screens!

For a good night’s sleep, we need our brains to switch off. Screens make us feel awake and alert, which is far from ideal before you try to shut your eyes. That’s why experts recommend no screen time before bed. So if you do have a TV in your bedroom, why not store it in a unit that can be hidden too. Another way to help the brain calm down before bed is to dim the lights gradually - this will get your body to release the melatonin you need for a good night’s kip.

@Renovatingchester42 Colour PPG 1068-5 

 

Tip 5 - Make your bedroom a place you love!

Your bedroom should be your sanctuary. A special place you can retreat to after a long day. Often it gets left till last, with living rooms and kitchens taking priority as they’re the rooms guests tend to see. But we think it’s so important to have a bedroom that really makes you feel calm and comfortable. It’s not just about the aesthetics, it’s for wellness too. So invest in bedding that you look forward to jumping into. Go for those cushions you’ve had your eye on - they’ll make the room feel all that more cosy.

 

@hayley_homeandfamily Designer Colourmatch ntb281

We love seeing your bedroom transformations, so don’t forget to tag us in them @Decoratingcentreonline. Sweet dreams!