How to Make Your Bedroom Personal

Much is made of neutrality when it comes to creating bedrooms – think of those television programmes designed to help you sell your home where they stress the need for unassuming colours, such as beiges, mushrooms and off-whites.

While this might be fine when you’re trying to get the property market working for you, but it can leave parts of your home looking depersonalised and, well, a bit bland.

The bedroom is where you spend roughly a third of your time, and while you’re asleep for a big proportion of this, you should still want a room that feels comfortable and welcoming, and that reflects your personality.

What makes a bespoke bedroom with definite character? The good news is, you don’t have to redecorate the entire room to inject personality into it, you just need to get the bedroom accessories right.

Why Accessories Work

Coco Chanel advised looking in the mirror at what you were wearing and removing one accessory before leaving the house. The point she was making was not to overdo it, but also that accessories are important, and need to be well-judged for maximum effect.

In fashion terms, even the plainest of outfits can be given a new lease of life with the right accessories – a statement necklace, great shoes, or designer handbag.

At the same time, it’s still the same dress. You don’t have to go out and get a new one to make it feel fresh and different.

You can apply this to your bedroom. If it is neutral throughout, including the furniture, this needn’t stop you from personalising it and making it into something very individual for you.

Plus, when it’s time for a change, you’re not having to go the whole hog and redecorate it from top to bottom. Just switch your accessories and bingo, new bedroom.

You can even be seasonal in your bedroom accessorising, giving the room a warmer flavour for the winter months, then freshening it up for the spring and summer.

Accessories equal versatility, where you turn the neutrality of a room into a blank canvas onto which you can work your magic.

You’ve Made Your Bed…

It’s your bed, after all, so you want it to suit you. Bed linen comes in all colours and shades, so treat it as a cue to be inventive.

Think of how you can make the bed the focal point of the room by using linen, bedspreads and scatter cushions that will contrast with a neutral background.

Some patterns offer fine detailing, others are bold and brash, while some go for subtle motifs. In a pale bedroom, you might, for example, choose bold stripes for your bed sheets, or blocks of primary colour.

There is also the fabric to consider. A higher thread count doesn’t automatically equate with greater comfort – a better quality fabric, even with a lower thread count, is more likely to up the comfort factor.

Throws and bedspreads are great mood-enhancers, from deep, rich colours and heavier fabrics for the winter, to light and airy patterns for when the nights are warmer, and shorter.

Mixing the textures of throws can also add a lot of personality and turn your bedroom from bland to brill. Woollen, fleecy, and fluffy fabrics can all be put together and will make a lovely focal point for your bedroom.

Cushions are a great way of adding quirkiness and personality to a fitted bedroom, whether plain, patterned or illustrated. Like other bedding accessories, you can easily change them and swap them around to achieve variations in your bedding’s overall look.

More than Just a Rug                                              

Even if your bedroom’s carpeted, a rug brings some added depth and it works to bind the whole room together.

Like cushions, rugs come in a huge variety of dimensions, textures and styles, so it’s important to think of how a rug will work in your overall bedroom scheme.

For rooms with wooden floors, a rug helps fill in some detail while making the floor feel less bare. Some floors work well with antique-looking or worn, vintage floral patterns; while others benefit from Persian sumptuousness.

However, there are also plenty of bold, contemporary patterns which will brighten up a room and add some proper individual character to it.

If you’re feeling daring, make the rug a real statement piece, and stage the bedroom around it.

It’s Curtains for You

Curtains make a huge difference to a bedroom. They can create a sense of an enclosed, comforting space, or make it feel like the room is welcoming the outside in.

In an age where blinds and shutters are making clear inroads, the humble curtain still has its place due to the sheer range of colours and patterns you can apply.

If your bedroom has a theme, nautical stripes say, then your curtains are a key way of highlighting it, working with bedding and floor covering to create a sense of unity.

If you’ve got neutral walls, then curtains will add a sense of contrast and colour, and help make the room more vibrant and give it a lived-in, homely feel.

Added Touches

The nightstand is an important area where you can add real personal touches to your bedroom. You might choose to have an antique set of miniature drawers and a reading lamp to match, or alternatively, something modern and geometrical. Cover surfaces with a patterned fabric, or add some ornaments or objects that have some personal connection for you.

Many people never switch on the main light in a bedroom, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be an opportunity for some adventurous interior design. Statement lampshades add a whole extra dimension to a bedroom, from patterned motifs featuring birds to textured paper and even copper-lined shades.

Mirrors provide a great opportunity for individual bedroom styling. You could be brave and go for something bold and full-length that dominates one wall. Alternatively, look at smaller antique mirrors, whether shabby chic, Victoriana or art deco. These are ideal for dressing tables.

Bedroom wall-hangings and decorations range from tapestries and decorative rugs to prints and paintings, providing the ideal opportunity to enhance the look of your space with a real sense of individuality.

Get In Touch

For fitted bedrooms in Burnley, or bedrooms for lounging in in Lancashire, we’re the specialists serving your local area.

Email us at sales@pd-designs.com, or phone 01282 602222. You can also complete the contact form on our website and we’ll respond as soon as possible.