A plush and lovely room to relax, read a book or have a good night’s sleep is what one needs after a tiring day. But most often even the most expensive of interiors fail to give you the right ambience to unwind and be at peace with yourself. It’s not very uncommon to find people complaining about bad sleep or claustrophobia as soon as they enter their sweet home. Most of the times what we overlook is the fact that it is not just the right furniture and the right paint and tiles that give the room that perfect and calming look that we need in our house.

It is here that harmony and congruence play an important role. More and more architects and interior designers have begun to recognise that spaces and furniture in the home needs to be created and placed such that it forms a balanced whole.

Lata Jha, an interior designer provides us with some simple tips that can transform our bedroom into a haven without making drastic changes to the interiors.

Bedroom is a place where the décor should be very subtle and peaceful. Heavy and ornate furniture may give you the feeling that you are a queen but remember, the royalty have never had peaceful sleep. Cramped spaces are not at all advisable and the bedroom should always be clutter-free. Ideally, the master bedroom should only contain minimal things and furniture. Avoid turning your bedroom into an office or a study.  The presence of pending work around your bed will definitely give you nightmares!

Bright colours can be a bit shocking for a bedroom environment. Pastel colours are recommended for the walls to create a relaxed and soothing effect. In case of a large bedroom, you can highlight one corner with slightly bright colours. This corner can also accommodate a bookshelf or a music rack. A dim floor lamp in this corner will definitely create a cosy corner.

A messy, untidy and unclean room will keep you anxious and tense, so clear up! Like it is said that you can know a man by the company he keeps, interiors of the bedroom too reflect the personality of its occupant.
 
Lighting and flooring

The lighting of the room should be soothing to the eyes. The tone should be warm and romantic. And yet the lights in a room need to be bright enough to find the right coloured pair of socks. Dimmers work well for both requirements. They are ideal to create a mellow ambience. Task lighting can be provided in areas meant for reading or study.

Lights can also be placed to focus on the paintings on the wall. However care should be taken to avoid paintings that depict conflict or pain. For example, a painting of Arjuna and Krishna during the Mahabharata war, or a print of Pablo Picasso’s Guernica  or Edvard Munch’s The Scream should not be kept in a bedroom. Such paintings can often dampen your spirits. Instead, you can have paintings that reflect the nature or abstract art.

Interior designers recommend natural flooring. This is because the natural stones have a cooling effect and a natural absorbing tendency that absorbs excess heat or cold. Ceilings should neither be too high nor too low. A high ceiling gives a frightening or intimidating feel to the bedroom while low ceilings can cause claustrophobia. False ceilings with beams can be used to lower high ceilings especially in older constructions without making the room look too modern or different from the rest of the house. Resist the urge to carpet the bedroom, you can use the expensive and ornate Kashmiri carpets in the living room. If you are fond of carpets, stick to light colours and simple designs.

Keep the floors uncluttered. Do not keep small chairs or stools strewn across the room, chances are that you will stub your toe on them. If you require seating areas in the bedroom, use beanbags or floor cushions. They serve as an extension of the bed and create a relaxed atmosphere. Indoor plants in the bedroom are a complete no-no. They will exhale carbon dioxide at night giving you fitful sleep.

Placing it right!

The bedroom should have the minimum possible furniture for personal belongings. Store all unnecessary things in the storeroom or in the lofts or the cabinets in the guest bedrooms. Try not to use heavy furniture, but if you do have old study furniture, which you do not want to replace, place it in the more unobtrusive corner of the room. Do not block any windows with furniture. Even though you need all the extra cupboards, they are less important than fresh air.

Amongst furniture, the positioning of the bed is most important. The bed should be placed such that your head does not face the wall. Placing the bed in the middle of the room is also a strict no-no. It obstructs the free circulation of air and makes the room look smaller and generally uncomfortable. Mirrors facing the bed feel like a guest who never leaves and hence should be avoided. Similarly mirrors on the ceiling, especially under the bed are not recommended. Mirrors are best placed in the bath or dressing area but if you do not have a large bathroom or a dressing area, try to place a full length mirror on the wall perpendicular to a window.  Or else place a dressing light above the mirror.

Always keep a side table next to the bed. Avoid placing an expensive lamp on this bedside table—you don’t want to knock it down when you are trying to silence the alarm clock in the morning. Instead get a simple wall lamp placed just a little above the bed. The lamp should not be directly over your head but beside the bed.

Lata Jha is an interior designer.
You can contact her at virratarts@gmail.com