By Sofia Medina
We spend a third of our lives asleep, so your bedroom is one of the most important rooms in the house. Creating a positive, calming environment encourages good sleep, which helps your physical and mental health. Your interior design choices can actually help you on the path to self-improvement.
This upcoming spring season, consider a few interior design strategies to make your master bedroom a calming, positive space in your house. For example, bringing in natural light during the day stabilizes your circadian rhythm, which leads to better sleep and focus.
Vision boards and color theory are tools that promote positive thinking. Houseplants improve air quality and cognitive function while helping you stay connected to nature.
Read on for more tips on how to improve the flow and function of your bedroom:
Audit your life
Is there something missing in your life, or do you have things you want to improve? Spring cleaning is almost here and the perfect time to revamp your goals and routines. Take stock of what is and isn’t working for you right now.
First, envision what you want your life to look like. Do you wish you had more time to exercise? Do you see yourself waking up earlier, cooking more, or spending time in the garden? Setting goals helps you figure out what you want and figure out the steps you need to take to get there. A good tool to make this audit is writing things down on paper, or using a journal. This way, you don’t miss anything important and can deeply analyze exactly what you want to change.
Sometimes, you have to let go of old patterns and belongings to move forward. Identify the gaps that are holding you back from the life you want to lead. Filling these gaps or removing bad habits makes room for those new habits you want to practice.
Implement some small interior design tricks to stay motivated while establishing new habits. Decluttering, removing distractions, and organizing your room all help you stay focused on your goals.
Create the life of your dreams with the help of home decor
Your home should be a haven. It’s the base for your routines and goals and the place where you entertain, relax, and unwind. Setting up your home for success may seem overwhelming, but a few simple interior design theories and practices can help.
The importance of starting in your bedroom
You start and end each day in your bedroom. It needs to be a space to relax and unwind at night and feel refreshed and energized in the morning.
Are you getting inspired yet?
Getting a good night’s sleep is key if you want to wake up earlier. Try not to bring your laptop or tablet into the bedroom. Artificial blue light disrupts your body’s natural rhythm and keeps you up longer. Instead, use lamps and low lighting to help signal your brain that it’s time to wind down.
Some people are extremely sensitive to light. If that’s the case, invest in some blackout curtains to help you sleep soundly. When you wake up, make sure to open the curtains to let in the natural light.
Your bedroom shouldn’t have a lot of clutter, but keep the things you’ll need first readily available. If you meditate or stretch as part of your morning routine, have your yoga mat or meditation pillow ready. Setting up for the next day the night before won’t disrupt your bedroom decor. Having a few select items set out and ready to go can motivate you to follow through on your goals.
Adding fun decorative touches never hurts. Invest in some good-quality bedding. Throw pillows are an easy way to add a personal touch to your room. Macrame wall hangings, upholstered storage benches, and lovely lamps all help make your room feel cozy and inviting.
Vision boards
Routines help you achieve goals, but it’s easy to feel like you’re stuck in a rut when you can’t see immediate results. Creating a vision board helps you stay inspired.
Before you start cutting images out of magazines, write down your goals and priorities. This is an intentional project. Get a stack of magazines ready or use the internet to search for a specific goal. Cut out inspiring words or quotes to add to the vision board.
Make a basic structure for the vision board before you start pasting images. Consider following a nine-section Bagua, which is the map of life areas used in Feng Shui. This map can help you determine where to place different goals on the board.
Vision boards help you manifest and attract your goals. Feng Shui is all about life balance, energy, and organization. By using the law of attraction and harnessing the flow of energy outlined by Feng Shui, vision boards are surprisingly effective tools for achieving your dreams.
Color
Color has a huge impact on your mood. Choosing a paint color for your bedroom affects the energy of the room and how you feel when you’re in it. For instance, red can be a powerful, inspiring color in small doses – Feng Shui teaches that red promotes wealth. However, if you painted your entire room red, for example, you might be more likely to feel agitated.
Colors can have a positive and negative influence. For instance, black is associated with evil and death in many cultures. It’s also tied to wisdom, elegance, and mystery, which is why black is often used as an accent color. Blue, purple, and green are cool colors that promote serenity and calmness. Purple also symbolizes abundance and nobility. Introverts are often drawn to cool colors, but remember that darker blues can provoke melancholy.
When choosing a wall color, your best choice might be beige. Although beige sounds boring, it’s a warm neutral that lets you play around with various textures and colors in your furniture and decor.
It all boils down to what you like. If you like the color red, painting the front door red is said to invite wealth into your home. If you your prefer something more soothing like beige or green, that might feel more like you. The great news is, you get to choose.
Style
Much like creating a vision board helps you see your goals, a mood board or Pinterest board can help you envision your bedroom. You’ll discover which colors, patterns, and decor themes you’re drawn to and be able to narrow down what you want your bedroom to look like. You can even use the Bagua to plan your furniture layout. Wallpaper, decorative throw pillows, and upholstered headboards are all great ways to bring different textures into your space.
Feng Shui tips for positive energy flow
Feng Shui is all about the flow of your life force energy, or qi. When it comes to the bedroom, pay attention to the layout and decor to encourage positive energy. Avoid bringing negative energy into your room.
The placement of the bed is incredibly important. When you’re in your bed, you should face the door without being directly in line with it. Doors shouldn’t open directly in line with the bed to avoid the “coffin position,” which happens when your feet point toward the door.
Be careful what kind of decor you bring into the space. Books contain active energy and stimulate the mind, so consider storing them in another room. Placing nightstands and investing in a headboard may bring good communication and stability to your romantic relationships.
Organization and storage
Studies show that clutter raises cortisol levels – the stress hormone. Too much clutter has also been tied to anxiety and depression. Here are five tips to help you keep your bedroom clean and organized:
- Declutter by sections – It can be overwhelming to get started. Pick a corner to get started in, and then sort items into piles to keep, donate, or throw out.
- Control the closet – Clothes often migrate out of the closet and clutter the bedroom. Consider the “one item in, three items out” rule. Whenever you want to buy something new, pick three things from your closet that you don’t wear and donate them.
- Add functional, decorative storage –Blanket ladders are a stylish storage solution for throws, and baskets keep things contained without making the room look messy. Jewelry boxes and artifact boxes keep your most precious items protected and out of sight.
- Keep surfaces clean – Clear your dresser and nightstand of clothes, makeup, or phone cords. Clean surfaces put your mind at ease and help you fall asleep.
- Make a space to get rid of things –Bring in a hamper for dirty laundry instead of throwing things on a chair. Have a trash can in the bedroom for things like ripped-off price tags instead of piling them on the dresser you just tried to clean.
Quick tips to elevate your space and mood
If you don’t have the time or budget to redo your bedroom, try a few simple steps to make the space more inviting.
Add an essential oil diffuser and some calming aromatherapy. Lavender helps you fall asleep, while orange keeps you energized. Daily habits like making your bed first thing in the morning and practicing positive affirmations can help you feel motivated. Making your bed lets you feel like you’ve already accomplished something at the start of your day.
When possible, declutter. Clutter is the enemy of Feng Shui. Clutter creates overwhelm and chaos. If you regularly get rid of items, you’ll find yourself buying less, saving more, and paying attention to the things you have that you really love.
AV technology can help improve wellness and positivity by creating a more comfortable and relaxing environment. Use a sound system or bluetooth speaker to play calming music or nature sounds. Using a smart lighting system to mimic natural light patterns and using a white noise machine to block out disruptive sounds can help to improve sleep.
Your bedroom should be a retreat from the stresses of everyday life. By using these interior design tips, following Feng Shui guidelines, and decluttering your bedroom, you can achieve the biggest dreams on your vision board and wake up feeling happy in your space.
Happy Spring Cleaning!
Sofia
