Bedrooms have for long been considered as a place to sleep and rest. Their basic function has been providing succour and warmth, dressed up in the most utilitarian of furniture and furnishings. All of this has changed in recent years. Modern homes consider bedrooms as more than just another room in the house. They have come to mean an oasis of calm, a relaxing space to escape life’s stress and pressures. Given this shift in perspective and the way we perceive bedrooms, there is a long of change that has taken place in the way these rooms are designed. Their design has become indulgent and functional, rather than just plain utilitarian. This need has forcedbedroom designsto become eclectic and quirky, without undermining their inviting warmth. Modern bedroom design is all about injecting a healthy dose of the owner’s personality, creating different looks and building different personas. A child’s use of the bedroom may be very different from a bachelor’s, couples may enjoy different things and may want to tailor the bedroom design to fit in with their needs. The master bedroom can do with a whole bunch of ideas. The trick is then how to go about it? Below are a few essential bedroom ideas to make the most important space in a home one you’d look forward to entering at the end of a busy day.
Pick the Right Bed and Mattress
Beds have always been bought more for their function, than looks or comfort. At the end of the day it is a where we lie down and rest. A soft, comfortable mattress and frame of wood or metal is what we buy which we assume will suffice. Buying beds actually entails so much more. It is about the kind of mattress that must be bought, whether cotton, coir or spring. The frames can be metal, compressed wood or heavy wood. 4-poster beds have come back in fashion as are popular beds with storage. Bedsheets and furnishings are available in a range of fabrics, materials and patterns. Before buying a bed or anything to do with it, it is important to understand what suits your needs as well as the comfort and maintenance that will entail.
Add Textures with Textiles
In interior design, textures lend character and depth to a space. This is especially true in bedrooms that play with textures across different materials. For the master bedroom, an ambience of warmth and coziness is what you want to create. Textiles lend a homely feel to a space and can be used as much or as little as one likes. The first textiles that matter are the beddings – bed covers, bedsheets, pillow covers. As much as we are used to using bed sets, layering with multiple materials must also be tried out. Using materials such as silk, cotton and wool in different ways creates a space that is not easy to leave. An added throw rug or wooden blanket during cold climes warms up the rest of the space. Warm floor rugs, carpets and foot mats are all furnishings that come together to build character into the bedroom space.
Build Storage into Design
Bedrooms most often have limited storage and people struggle to make the most of what’s available. One clever way of ensuring more storage is to make it a part of bedroom design in the first place. There are many handy storage solutions that can be incorporated into your master bedroom decor, that can look stylish, savvy as well as functional. For beginners, to ensure a storage design that will last even with all the changes in the decor, consider investing in a built-in closet/wardrobe system. Customise this to suit your needs and store all your personal belongings – be it clothes, shoes or accessories. Open shelves are a less permanent solution. Wooden foot trunks, window seating and side tables are other storage spaces that come in handy irrespective of fluctuating needs of the bedroom.
Liven Up Your Walls
As simple and cluttered as simple white walls seem, they can become monotonous and stark after a point of time. The trick in designing bedroom walls is not to make them overwhelming yet add a personal quirk to them. An understated wall-paper across one wall plays up texture and removes the need of frames and other such embellishments. On the other hand stark, pastel walls can do with some wall accessory or decor to add interest to the space. These details define the look of the home. While an old watch can bring in period detailing, sleek metal decor pieces can add a hint of contemporary to an otherwise simple space.
Opt for Minimalism
Gone are the days when bedrooms were hoarded with furniture and pieces couldn’t find a place anywhere else in the home. Today’s master bedrooms have clean lines, simple language and minimal decor. The design defines minimalism by reducing clutter, bringing in sophistication and an easy elegance without sacrificing utility. Minimalism also helps in playing with the decor, contrasting colors and changing a light, airy room to sophisticated dark toned one without much effort.
Think Art and Character
Art is a must for master bedroom design. Its a personal dialogue and reflection, it showcases an individual’s likes and dislikes. Art compliments and questions and is the single piece that can add character and depth to your master bedroom. When choosing art, select something that resonates with you as an individual. Pick many small pieces or one single statement art piece that can be displayed over your bed or on one wall. Play with color and contrasts, and use this as a reference point to build up the character of your space.
Pick an Anchor Item
Anchors are statements – either in furniture, furnishings, color or design – around which everything in the bedroom decor can be played with. A statement footboard, a wooden storage box, a large piece of art, cute curios, anything can be an anchor item. If designing a bedroom is proving to be complex, pick this first and build everything else around the look and feel of this item. Lighting can also be an anchor and the entire bedroom can be designed on the placement of lighting fixtures, lamps and their silhouettes. What matters is the kind of mood you want to create and how it can appear both in the day and night.
Light, textures, materials and more go into designing a bedroom of your dreams. Because this space is multi-sensorial, a great amount of thought goes into designing them. Bedrooms need an equal amount of seating, storage, light and character. The trick to personalising them is never to be afraid to play with their design and create a space that you can escape to every now and then.