How To Create The Perfect Bedroom
Eight things you need to know
Today an edited extract from my latest book The Planner because should you have cause to be buying presents for any reason over the next few weeks (ahem) you can give someone something to unwrap on the day and something to do afterwards or, if necessary you can get two presents for the price of one.
So today I wanted to talk about the bedroom and give you some ideas to ponder if you are planning a refresh of yours or moving to a new one. The temptation for most of us is to take the largest bedroom for ourselves – the so-called and, increasingly offensively named, master – and put the kids in smaller rooms. But, think about it. I’m guessing that you, as an adult, don’t have a huge pile of plastic tat including a play kitchen or a train-set. Do you also have to sleep with 47 cuddly toys that need space on the floor when they are kicked off in the night?
In our last house we put the boys in the largest bedroom in bunk beds with cupboards in the alcoves and lots of floorspace to play. We took the second bedroom which was perfectly big enough for our bed and our clothes storage. And if you don’t share your house, then by all means take the biggest bedroom, but consider how you are using the space. It may be that you can install a false wall behind which you can create a wardrobe that will hide all the clutter a well as providing lots of storage and then you can leave your sleep area with just a bed and it will be tidier and more zen and you will sleep better. All round win. That is what we did - see below.
In period houses the obvious solution is to build wardrobes in the alcoves either side of the fireplace but they are rarely deep enough for this and will stick out beyond the fireplace. This also often means you have a huge amount of space round the bed which isn’t doing anything and not enough room for your clothes. So:
1 Built-in wardrobes will give you 30 per cent more storage than free-standing. Build them up to the ceiling and paint them to match the other walls so they don't dominate the space. If you have existing ones you don't like you can paint them, paper them or even stick a thin layer of foam and cover it in material to give an upholstered feel.
In a large room think about building a false wall with an entrance/gap at either end behind which you can add rails, storage, or even a desk area, and put the bed in front. This will allow you to keep the bedroom tidy and clutter-free which will lead to a better night's sleep. You can either paint it to match the other walls, which will almost make the space behind it disappear or you can make a feature of it. A reminder on feature walls; there's nothing wrong with them as long as they are introduced to the rest of the room. So match the feature wall to the skirting boards or other woodwork. In my bedroom the wall matches the bedhead and gives the bed more presence.