Why Your Bedroom Deserves a Summer Revamp and 9 Great Tips
Is your bedroom an oasis of calm? Or is your bedroom a cluttered, dusty hideaway brimming with an excess of ill-fitting clothes, and doubling as a storeroom for a collection of household oddities?
More often than not, it’s the latter. Why is it we spend so much time styling our homes to create a relaxing environment to live in, yet the bedroom (incidentally, where we spend the most time), gets the least attention?
A good night’s sleep plays an important role in physical health. It is essential for the body’s healing, it can benefit the heart, mind and much more. Research has shown that those who sleep in messy bedrooms, particularly hoarders, take longer to fall asleep and experience lower quality sleep, contributing to stress, depression and poor cognition.
On health benefits alone, your bedroom deserves a revamp this summer, so here are 9 brilliant tips for turning your bedroom into a stylish and peaceful oasis.
- Replace old bedroom furniture
It’s not uncommon to find bedrooms with tired looking furnishings. Bed frames, wardrobes, drawers and vanity units are expensive to replace. As they’re not on show to visitors, they often make it to the bottom of the list when it comes to updating furniture in the home.
If you are serious about giving your bedroom a new look, investing in a new bed, new furniture or a bespoke wardrobe is sure to transform the room. What’s more, it might just give you the impetus to declutter and get organised.’
- Change your pattern of behaviour
Don’t use the bedroom as a dumping ground. It’s easy to shove things in the bedroom out of the way, especially when you’re tidying up ready for the arrival of guests. Ensure everything has a proper place. If something doesn’t have a home, make a dedicated space for it, or seriously consider whether you actually need it at all. Be ruthless.
- Throw out clothes you don’t wear
Most people hoard clothes, and there’s also the issue of the ‘summer’ and ‘winter’ wardrobe. Firstly, don’t keep clothes you haven’t worn in the past six months, unless it’s a ball gown or something you would only expect to wear on the odd occasion.
You can easily recycle clothes at a charity shop, do a boot fair, sell your best vintage pieces to a local vintage clothes store, or use eBay and local Facebook selling groups to slim down your wardrobe.
Treat yourself to something new once you’ve had a good clear out, but moving forward try to stick to the ‘one-in, one-out’ policy, which is a great system for keeping your wardrobe on-point and lean.
- Add a trunk
Using a trunk in the bedroom for extra storage space is a nice touch. A vintage trunk at the end of the bed creates an interesting focal point, as well as giving you the extra storage space you need. Use it to store extra bed sheets, or as a place for out-of-season clothes.
- Get rid of electronic devices in the bedroom
Much has been written about the effects of electronic gadgets and disruptive sleep. Mobile phones, laptops and tablets all too often make their way into the bedroom. They’re the last thing we look at before we go to sleep and the first thing we check when we wake up. If you are genuinely committed to creating a peaceful oasis in your bedroom, banish electronic devices. Read a good old-fashioned book instead.
- Improve storage space
Utilise your bedroom storage space efficiently. Maximise drawer space with drawer organisers and use multi-hangers to layer clothes. Multi-functional furniture, such as a bed with storage space also helps to keep the bedroom pared-back and clutter-free. Make use of the rest of the house, for example, a coat storage cupboard in the hallway will keep bulky garments out of your wardrobe.
- Add mood lighting
Ambient lighting helps to create a relaxing atmosphere in the bedroom and can help you wind down ready for sleep. Bright lights impact on the biological clock and too much light before sleep will prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep.
- Replace your mattress, and invest in a new duvet and covers
If you can’t remember how old your mattress is, chances are you need a new one. Well looked after mattresses require regular cleaning and airing, and are then generally said to last up to 10 years. Invest in a new mattress, a new duvet and some quality bed linen and you are sure to get a better night’s sleep. With new covers, your bedroom will look great too.
- The deep clean
You may not need to completely redecorate to give your bedroom the makeover it needs. A deep clean can make an impressive difference, saving you the bother of getting the paint out.
Clear out drawers and replace drawer liners, replace mothballs in wardrobes, and hoover and dust in all of those hard-to-reach places, including behind any wardrobes and under the bed. Dry clean curtains and wipe blinds. If you have a bulky eiderdown take it to the launderette for a wash. Wipe woodwork and clean light fittings. Shampoo the carpet and any rugs.
Be sure to regularly clean your bedroom. It’s easy to give the bedroom a swerve during the day-to-day cleaning, but dust and grime soon builds up. Always include the bedroom in your spring clean and if you missed it, do a summer clean instead.
