Everyone needs a place to unwind and relax. For some that might be soaking in a deep bath, but for most, there is nothing better at the end of a long day than getting between crisp sheets and the feeling of your head hitting a soft pillow. Bedrooms can be a forgotten room in your home though because no one sees it, it’s not like your living room where it’s constantly on show. In reality, though it should have a higher priority because it’s a space that you go to relax and recharge; it’s also where more often than not where you are dressing and creating your personal style. Bedroom decorating ideas are plentiful on Pinterest but bedrooms need to facilitate many functions and it can be hard to design a bedroom that is stylish, functional AND calming. I spoke to design bloggers and interior experts to get their advice on bedroom decorating ideas that will look great and provide you with all the function you need. They share their chic tips for how to create a bedroom sanctuary that you’ll never want to leave below.
Juan Sandiego, Boreal Abode
Storage is one of the bedroom’s functions that’s often overlooked. So why not take it to a whole different level? Literally. Wall-mounted shelving is an ideal solution for those narrow alcoves or awkward corners. In this bedroom, the vintage Royal System by Poul Cadovius acts as a bedside table and provides much-needed extra storage. As Cadovius used to say, “Most of us live on the bottom of a cube. If we put the walls even with the floor, we get a lot of space to live on.
You can hear more from Juan over on Twitter here, where he hosts the weekly #InteriorsChat.
Phoebe Oldrey, Smart Style Interiors
I design lots of bedroom for my clients but have to say mine is my favourite! I live in a house full of boys, so this room is my feminine sanctuary with light pastels against grey. It is filled with lots of my precious stuff, safe away from rugby balls, like the art above the bed that we commissioned my friend Anya Beaumont to make for us and the reupholstered art deco chairs we got from Freecycle! All the colours are inspired by the Jessica Zoob fabric in the curtains. Despite putting beautifully made curtains in my client’s houses all the time, this is the first pair I have ever had made for myself. When I saw the fabric, I knew I had finally found the fabric design I wanted to wake up and look at for years. They make me feel so grown up. This whole room really is a reflection of what I love, and I can just go in, chill and reset myself!
Alison Gibb, The Great Scottish Indoors
This bedroom belongs to fashion stylist and blogger Cynthia Hungwe, Skittlis Fashion. Cynthia is a great ambassador for Scottish style, her shoots often take place in gorgeous corners of Edinburgh. She is a great presence at events, her and her team can bring the opening of an envelope to life – she always ensures guests really ‘get’ whatever product is being presented and have a great laugh at the same time. I love the fact that she has softened and enlivened the monochrome scheme of her contemporary bedroom with a pop of colour, the plum throw and lilac cushion. I also love her hat collection – hats are not easy to store, displaying them means you can enjoy them every day and keep them in good shape! Cynthia’s styling s always personal and original, she never throws money at projects, she just layers and weaves her ideas with her creativity.
Alison can be found on Instagram here.
Donna Ford, Skirtingboardsandchandeliers.com
I wrote about this home on my blog and what I love about this bedroom is the very relaxed masculine feel and the lighting (which makes or breaks a room in my opinion). The pineapple pendants lights fall perfectly above the bedside tables at either side of the bed look really sleek and fulfil function as well as form, framing the space nicely and creating a clear focal point for the room. Grey is also a great neutral background and much more relaxing than pure white and allows for more patterned bedding. I want to snuggle up in here right now and take a nap!
Donna posts almost daily over on Instagram.
Sue Graham and Cathy Marriott, Dormitory
If your bedroom is in need of an update, a simple trick is just think pillows and pillowcases! Bespoke hotels and interior designers have done it for years. When you need to add some freshness but there’s no opportunity to change bed, furniture or fittings, think about changing the pillowcases and adding other cushions.
Look at the style of your bed headboard and the overall scheme. High headboards lend themselves to robust arrangements of piled pillows with perhaps large squares in front. No headboards call for symmetrical stacks to give a more contemporary clean feel. Beds with decorative frames or open metalwork require just a few carefully selected pieces to enhance the style and draw the eye to the detail.
Always think about the look you want to convey then introduce in your pillows style, colour, texture, shape and size. The combination should enhance the decorative feel. A good trick is to pick your must-have pillow and then work backwards adding other pieces to tell the style story, enhancing the colour or reinforcing a theme from the room. But never forget whether your style is streamline and minimal or luxurious and decadent the best reason for a pillow is to aid sleep.
You can follow Dormitory on Twitter here.
Anne Marie Stoltman, Very Me Interiors
To me, the bedroom is the most important room in the house. It’s my happy place. It sets me in the right mood in the morning and helps me to relax at night time. My bedroom is full of different patterns and colour (mainly blue), but it is still a very relaxing place to be. That’s the perfect colour for bedrooms – it makes everything perfectly calm. It’s the colour of the sky after all!
Anne Marie can be found on Instagram here.
Jasmin Robertson, brickdustbaby.com
My bedroom was designed to be a calm, relaxing and rejuvenating space. I took inspiration from nature and colonial style décor. With four windows the room is naturally light and bright so I was keen to retain the feeling with white walls and decor. The stripped wooden floor and addition of plants hanging from the canopy bed encourage feelings of being closer to nature and helps to promote wellbeing.
When I designed our fitted alcove storage, I purposefully left a space at the top of the cupboards for houseplants. This draws the eye upwards and helps maintain the feeling of space that would have been restricted if the cupboards were full length. The original Nick Smith ‘Frida’ collage provides the perfect focal point for the room.
Jasmin can be found on Instagram here.
Sarah Mitchenall and Alexa de Castilho, Black Parrots Studio
We designed this garden pod as a multifunction guest suite for this year’s Ideal Home exhibition. Even when your day has been pure chaos your bedroom is the one place you should be able to go to relax, unwind and rest. And just because it’s a relaxing space doesn’t mean it needs to be wall to wall neutral. We used plenty of pattern with a dose of Seventies eclectic and vintage inspiration. There are lot’s of layers to create the character of this room which features our own range of fabrics and wallpaper but has a pared-down tobacco palette.
You can follow Black Parrots Studio on Instagram here
Natalia Alexandrou, British Style UK
If you have a small bedroom, don’t be afraid to paint it dark. Colour theory 101 teaches us to paint small spaces white to reflect the most light and make it appear larger. Although this trick does work, it’s not the most exciting colour scheme. Dark walls can also make a space appear larger be creating shadows and depth. I used Farrow & Ball’s Stiffkey Blue in our small bedroom, it created a really cosy and tranquil atmosphere and I won’t go back to white walls in here!
You can find Natalia on Instagram here.
SarahRose Henkin, Decor and Diapers
A bedroom is a place to rest and renew for the next day. As a mom of two under 2, a calm space is a dream. I selected this tranquil, hazy turquoise from my multi-coloured duvet as the accent colour in my design. I like to repeat an accent colour several times in a scheme for a cohesive look and to draw the eye around the room. To add more visual interest, use slight variations of your accent colour. The bed sheets are much lighter in colour than the bedside lamp and toss pillow, but they flow seamlessly together.
You can find SarahRose on Instagram here.
Mary Middleton, Hello Peagreen
We all know the importance of a good night’s sleep, so I hope these bedroom decorating ideas have inspired you to make your bedroom stylish as well as functional. If you’d like more tips on decorating your own home take a look here, or find more inspiration and bedroom decorating ideas over on my Pinterest board here.
Why not bookmark this bedroom decorating ideas blog post to Pinterest for future reference!
Brilliant round-up, Mary! I always learn something new with your blog posts. Thank you so much for including me.
So many fab ideas and love the chance to snoop around all these gorgeous bedrooms too!
Love seeing REAL bedrooms!! Gorgeous ideas to take away here thanks
Wow there’s some seriously stunning rooms here! Love that attic style one, so many great ideas.
A great read and some brilliant bedroom ideas. I am soon going to be decorating mine so it’s great having a sneak-peak at everyone else’s designs.
What a great round up, I love every single one of these! I have pinned it for future reference, thanks xx
Fantastic post Mary with so many great tips! I had no idea you worked with Steffan Tollgard, that must have been such a great experience. The more I get to know about you the more I want to sit down with you for coffee and a chat!
Some really lovely rooms and its great to read about the inspiration behind the ideas too.
Thank you for including me amongst the “experts” Mary 😊 I love all the tips and that bedroom by Black Parrots is just stunning 😍
Love these ideas, and some absolutely stunning rooms too.