One of the things new homeowners are often excited for is finally getting to paint their walls after years of beige landlord-special rooms punctuating their lives.
However, once the time comes around, there are simply too many questions. Which colour works for each room? Which colour should I avoid entirely? Should the rooms be hip or timeless?
Well, you start with a good sleep, and, according to the experts at BoConcept, that can be done with a lick of a ‘calming’ paint colour and designing your bedroom for better sleep.
How to design your bedroom for a better sleep
Paint your bedroom a calming colour
First of all, while you may feel tempted to opt for your favourite colour, the experts recommend instead opting for a sage green shade. This is because this lighter shade of green symbolises nature and evokes feelings of calm.
Incorporate lighting in layers
The experts explained: “Lighting in layers means mixing and matching different types of lighting – bedside lamps, ceiling, wall, standing. Your biological clock helps regulate sleep, and light is the most powerful cue for your circadian rhythm.
“So you need to make sure that you have different layers and levels of lighting with dimmable switches. This will allow you to adjust the light in your bedroom, slowly darkening the room as you approach bedtime.”
They added that lighting in a bedroom shouldn’t be too bright, so people should opt for bulbs with a low wattage and along with layering light, they recommend using blackout curtains to help you to easily doze off.
Reduce clutter
It can be easy to make your bedroom the ‘dumping ground’ of the home, especially after a recent house move. However, this clutter could be impacting your sleep.
The experts said: “Clutter can make many people feel stressed and anxious, so removing clutter or relocating it to storage will make your bedroom a more peaceful place ready for better quality sleep.
“Beds with storage are useful for hiding away items you want to keep. Use baskets to relocate clutter and to organise things like dirty laundry, clean washing or books. Keep electronics out of your bedroom if possible. This is because they emit blue light which can disrupt your sleep.”
Incorporate relaxing scents
Scents can make a real difference to how a room feels. The experts said: “l. It’s very much an individual response, but many find lavender and eucalyptus restful, ylang-ylang, or amber and cedarwood. Certain scents can relieve anxiety and calm nerves.”
Place your bed in the prime position for feng shui
Whether or not you practise feng shui, the experts advised that the ideas behind bed placement make so much sense.
To do this, you position your bed with a full view of the room (calming, able to see everything) but out of line with the door (distraction). The bed should be the focal point in the room, with the headboard backing the centre of the main wall, leaving space for bedside tables on each side of the bed.
Use heavy curtains to minimise external noises
Any light sleeper will tell you how detrimental noise can be to getting a restful sleep.
The experts advise that hanging heavy, floor-length curtains can help block any noise.
“Or you can buy a blackout blind that has inbuilt soundproofing. And if you are still bothered by noise, try a white noise machine to soothe you off to sleep.”
Brb, need to re-do my Pinterest boards.
