Snug as a Bug: Tips on Designing Your Bedroom and Getting a Good Nights Sleep with Tempur & Warren Evans
January 2, 2018
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Happy New Year! I hope you’ve all had a lovely Christmas break, I’ve really enjoyed the extra downtime with family, and it must be noted the odd lie-in too! There’s almost no place in my home I love as much as my bedroom so it’s nice to have had some extra time in it. It’s my sanctuary, the place I finally switch off, to be comfy, unwind and if I’m lucky also to read in. Its a real treasured space, and as life endlessly seems to speed up this sanctuary from the whir is one I’ve thought really hard about when designing to ensure I marry both a sense of style that uplifts me with the practical functionality of the space.
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It’s a space that can often feel bottom of the priority list, after all its only a cave to hit the pillow in, right? Actually there’s a lot to be said for spending a little time on setting this space up to best serve you practically for unwinding, you will spend on average 32 years of your life sleeping in it after all! So, today Im delighted to be teaming up with both Warren Evans and Tempur mattress to discuss some of the things that help me to unwind in my bedroom and nurture a feeling of calm relaxation, I have compiled my top 5 tips for a calm bedroom design ensuring the best sleep below and I have drawn upon some of the plethora of tips you can find on the Warren Evans blog from their resident sleep expert Dave Gibson.
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Warren Evans, for those that don’t know, are a London based firm with 38 years of award-winning experience handcrafting beds, mattresses and furniture and they are the only company I have ever bought a bed from. I chose them over a decade ago for their eco credentials and a desire to support small local businesses, I stayed with them for their incredible style, price, the 10 year Guarantee and excellent customer services.
When we bought this house one of the main selling points was the size of the bedroom, it’s full sized master bedroom in contrast to our previous flat which had three bedrooms all of which fitted a double bed but not much else, it really did feel like a bit of a ballroom.As the room was so large we decided to upgrade our bed as soon as we moved and chose the Venice bed with Elm stain which was the perfect match for our vintage-style understated space. A lot of people ask me about this bed, like its namesake, the Venice is classic and stylish and has a solid presence rooted in the past. I love my bed, and am positively evangelical about my mattress. We bought the Tempur Deluxe originaland I can honestly say it feels like the greatest present to ourselves ever. I love sinking into its layers of comfort and support which mould perfectly to the contours of your body, lessen the impact of sleeping side by side with someone else and provides just the right level of good firmness softened by the luxuriously soft top layer of the design. I was told in the showroom that this mattress is used in many orthopedic hospitals and this was quite the selling point to me as a post-pregnancy operation combined with a heavy baby had taken quite their toll, and I wasn’t getting the sleep I needed due to back pain.
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Ensuring a good nights sleep can be seemingly elusive in the age of blue light technology with the constant whir of something to do and a smart phone never far from your finger tips, but switching off from these distractions is easier to do when you have an uncluttered and well designed space, and one which emphasises the things that make you happy. Our bedroom is understated, accented by monochrome’s and natural accents, it makes a play of the home’s features (fireplace, striped floors etc) and there is an order to each part that means it is the least likely space to accuumate clutter. These tips, below, are my tried and tested rules for the bedroom, I’d love to hear any tips you have in the comments below, and stay tuned to the end of piece for a special reader discount available throughout the month of January at Warren Evans.
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Making your space a sanctuary – switching off and relaxing
With so many of us struggling to get a good nights sleep these days, it’s really important that we nurture a feeling of calm and retreat in our bedrooms cutting out both white noise and blue light technology. We don’t have a television in our room for this reason, I know that I would sit up watching it far too late into the night, I try my best to avoid my phone in the half an hour before sleep (longer is recommended) and I make sure I always have a book to look forward to on the bedside table (though I’m not always awake enough to read one). The white blackout blinds are simple and unfussy but functional to the space and there are very few items out on surfaces which don’t serve a function. As with other areas of the home, ambient lighting is really important for creating mood, alongside the central light and task lights for reading, I was given this beautiful Shelby lamp with marble base from Habitat in the autumn (pictured above) and I love using this on the floor to create soft lighting to unwind by.
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Declutter your space, declutter your mind
Now those of you that know our home well may be surprised to glance at our bedroom. I am definitely nearer to the maximalist school of Interiors than the minimalist one and I like our home to be an juxtaposition of many different styles and eras. But in our bedroom I am resolutely low key and streamlined. I try to keep my bedroom as sparse as possible (within limits) as I find this look most relaxing. My bedroom may not look entirely minimal to you, but in comparison to other spaces in our home it’s a paragon of minimalism (no really!). But what makes a bedroom design minimal if you’re not a fully signed up member of the sparse set? Well, these are the things that I adhere to; Bedside tables display the essentials and nothing more, bedside lamps are tidied away onto the wall, colours and patterns are muted focussing on luxurious materials and pared back style. These are all important elements because I find that to calm my mind and help me switch off I need a quiet space. I spend much of my time being enlivened by Interiors, passionate about one pattern or line over another, but in my bedroom I want no question marks, just good old fashioned minimal chic.
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Soft Furnishings
Surely the most fun part of organising a good nights sleep, from duvet covers and throws to cushions and rugs (especially rugs if you have hard wood floors). Whilst a bedroom should be uncluttered it should also hold layers of versatility.You don’t need to be a queen of frou-frou with a four poster bed and quilted silks to take this area of the room seriously. Bedding is your statement space that ties the aesthetic feel of the room together, our Venice bedis natural wood, pared with natural linen bedsheets which, though more expensive, feel luxurious and soft. Soft furnishings are also important for regulating differing body temperatures, like men all around the world, my husbands body temperature is naturally higher than mine (he thinks my feet are like ice blocks, I think he is a radiator next to me, we repel each other!). Being too warm reduces length and quality of sleep, so in our house we usually use the cooler end of seasonal duvets but as I am liable to be much cooler a good selection of throws and blankets are a must for me, soft and inviting, getting warm under a throw whilst unwinding is a part of my nighttime ritual (and the cat loves getting cosy here too which is again a ritual that helps me unwind). Equally as important is investing in good quality bed linen (natural linen is my personal fave for style and feel) and cushions that you can arrange just so for those moments when you want to cosy in with a book before lying down proper.
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Smell
This may seem a bit Princess and The Pea but smell has a really big impact on how we unwind in a space. This may sound very basic but regularly cleaning the space is worth its weight in gold, think of those nights when you have fresh linen, you want to luxuriate in the space more, don’t you? People are statistically proven to sleep better when the bed sheets are changed (stat courtesy of Warren Evans) so this same logic should be applied to all surfaces in the room (no one wants to inhale the stale odour of dust even if you’re not conciously aware of it!). In my room I like to light candles with lavender and citrus, I swear by my This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray (mentioned before on the blog), and I like to have rosemary or eucalyptus in vases to create a fresh clean smell which makes me feel relaxed.
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Check your mattress
It’s not the sexiest area of home design but your mattress (and indeed the bed that supports it) is your very best friend for sleep. Like many people I see my bedroom as my haven and I treasure its functionality as much as my sleep. But did you know that people are more likely to change their cars, even their homes, more frequently than their mattress?! Its quite an amazing thought when you think about it, the comfort of a mattress is often our first thought when assessing our rating of a hotel rooms we may spend a night or two in, but our own mattresses do not merit the same interest. Before moving I had been plagued with an awful bad back which once my baby was sleeping through the night continued to disrupt my sleep. I had a bit of a bumpy pregnancy which included gall stones so six weeks after baby was born I had my gall bladder removed. It’s advised that you don’t lift anything heavy for 6 weeks after but this isn’t the most practical advice with a growing baby and my back really took the strain. When we moved we decided that our mattress was completely done for and that we had to invest in a good nights sleep, our choice was the Tempur Deluxe Original and its absolutely divine to sleep in, I never get tired of the cocooning feeling when I first sink into its perfectly constructed layers of support.
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Lifestyle
OK, I know that this isn’t strictly on the Interiors brief so forgive me for going a little off track here, but how you treat yourself is equally as important as how you keep the space. So, regular hours are a must so that your body can learn the rhythms of when it’s time to wind down, excersize also sets your body up for deep rest (though not just before bed) and a healthy diet with wind down time away from technology. Ok, lecture over, now off you go and sleep like a princess!
All Images: Design Soda
Do let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and if you are in need of a new mattress Tempur and Warren Evans are offering readers a special discount. Throughout the next few months you can claim £50 off any Termpur Deluxe mattress purchased at Warren Evans in store and online, simply quote the code WETEMPUR. Offer closes 5th March, minimum spend £1,000.
This post is a collaboration with Warren Evans and Tempur, you know that I genuinely love the products as I bought them for myself over two years ago. As ever, all opinions are honest and my own, thank you for supporting the brands that support me.
Great read, Ruthie! I treated myself to a good mattress last year after years of renting and old thin mattresses. You’ve inspired me to get new bedding too, makes such a difference.
Oh yes a good mattress really does make all the difference doesn’t it? I think as Interiors obsessives they are the kind of details that can be overlooked but are so important. Soft furnishings are always the thing to make me happy, happy shopping! X
Great read, Ruthie! I treated myself to a good mattress last year after years of renting and old thin mattresses. You’ve inspired me to get new bedding too, makes such a difference.
Oh yes a good mattress really does make all the difference doesn’t it? I think as Interiors obsessives they are the kind of details that can be overlooked but are so important. Soft furnishings are always the thing to make me happy, happy shopping! X
This is such an amazing post to read out. These tips are really great.
Thank you so much 🙂
Where is the square bedside table from? It’s lovely!
It’s lovely isn’t it, I bought it through Maisons du Monde x
Thank you so much. Love love love your blog 🙂
Ah thank you Pip, that’s a lovely compliment and means a lot xx
Hi Ruthie,
Bedroom looking beautiful…please could you let me know where you got the black and white spotted fitted sheet and the grey linen duvet set from?
Also your foliage in frames and framed print?
Oh and the black lamp attached to the wall…Sorry just too many lovely things I need to try and track down!!
Many thanks,
Claire
Hi Claire
Thanks for dropping by, I’m glad you like so many bits 🙂 the spotted fitted sheet was miss print for John Lewis. The grey linen duvet is MADE.
Of the foliage in frames one is an actual leaf, the other a print from Desenio.
The black wall lamp is the Frosini from MADE.com
Hope that helps 🙂