Bed Threads.jpg — Designing your bedroom from scratch

After working alongside Bed Threads over the last couple of months on their Journal (talking all things paint, bedroom planning, colour psychology and Grand Millenial Style) I am in a bedroom frame of mind.
From lush linen sheets to what chest of drawers to choose I can get you started on designing your bedroom.

1. Concept first, then design -

Get out the butchers paper, the crayons and get scribbling! Write down everything you want from your room. Here are some cues:

What do you need to be able to store (clothes, makeup, books, shoes, big winter coats, linen etc)?
How would you prefer them to be stored (drawers, hanging space, open shelving etc)?
How do you want the room to feel (light and open or dark and cosy)?
What sort of window treatments do you want (complete blackout, decorative, sheer or none at all)?

Write down any and everything you can think of for your bedroom as this will act as your guiding concept for the design.

2. Bed-

The main function of your bedroom is to sleep so it makes sense to start with your bed selection. The other items will fall in place around it. Here is what you should consider when sourcing a bed:

What size bed would you like?
What size can you fit? Ideally I leave minimum 500mm either side of your bed to allow for bedsides and getting in and out.
How much do you want to be able to see the bed? ie. do you want a really decorative four poster bed or would you be happy to go for an ensemble? (which can always be covered with a valance).

Standard bed sizes are as follows:

Single - 920 x 1880 mm

King single - 1070 x 2030 mm

Double - 1380 x 1880 mm

Queen - 1530 x 2030 mm

King - 1830 x 2030 mm

I’ve always wanted someone to use this four poster bed from Ikea and I have seen these very clever DIY-ers in New Zealand use it but have cut the end posts off, genius!

3. Other furniture -

From the list that you wrote at the beginning what sort of items of furniture would satisfy this and can you satisfy two things at once? For example, if you are needing drawers to store your underwear and also need bedside tables, can they double up?

Alternatively if you are looking for a really simple bedside table, I like to use s stool that is big enough to take a bedside lamp, space to charge a phone and some books. like this one from Globewest.

Do you have enough room for separate zones in your room like a comfy chair to read in and let’s be honest, throw all your half worn clothes on? I have been eying off this occasional chair by Molmic.

Make sure to consider how much circulation you need around each of your furniture pieces so you don’t feel overcrowded. As a general rule of thumb I like to say 800mm is a comfortable distance for a person to walk through so get out your tape measure and consider how it would feel before going smaller.

4. linen + accessories

The bed is the hero of the room but the linen will give you the comfort.

Linen - I am a huge fan of linen sheets and have been now for years. Being a natural fibre they actually breath to keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter. They age over time and become softer as you use them which I love. Another bonus is that linen looks great messy, ie. a rough make of the bed will look effortlessly chic!

Flannelette - controversial I know but I am also partial to a set of flannelette sheets when it gets super cold. They are relatively inexpensive and are a very snug option (although I can’t quite come at using the pillow slips… I need a cold side of the pillow!).

A good set of sheets will last you years so I encourage you to spend accordingly. Buying a cheap set of sheets will not only give you an uncomfortable and sweaty night sheet because they often have polyester blended into them but they can pill and wear quite quickly.

Pillows - look for natural fibre inserts for your pillows so they breath as well as your sheets. I like to opt for two regular sized pillows, two European (big square) pillows and an optional feature cushion. You can go as crazy as you like with pillows but don’t forget you will have to take all the excess off before you go to bed!

Throw rug - I like to keep a throw rug on the end of my bed (a cooler cotton Kantha throw in summer and a mohair rug for winter). It means I have something to put over myself during my arvo nap and also a warmer layer to pull up in the middle of the night if I need it.

So, designing your bedroom… simple right! If you are still stuck of where to start or want some help sourcing furniture, book in a free chat to run through some advice on products or suppliers.