Your bedroom is where you start and end your day, which is why it’s important you create a space that evokes the best moods. All too often, bedrooms are the area that’s forgotten about and usually collects a lot of unnecessary items over time. It’s the room you started displaying that unwanted living room decor. It’s the place you let clothing/accessories pile up. It’s the room that often has the door shut when guests come over. These are all very common things, so don’t be ashamed. Guests aren’t usually going into your private space, which leads you to believe it doesn’t have to look nice. But here’s the question I have…who are you decorating your house for? Is it actually for the guests who come in or is it (aka should it be) for you who lives there EVERY DAY?

IT’S FOR YOU SILLY! That’s who should be at the forefront of your mind when you’re making your home. Decorating with what makes you happy and sparks joy is the key to creating an inviting and comforting home. If you’re not doing this, it will be apparent when guests come over. With that being said, let’s get back to that room that’s for you (and your spouse if you have one). The bedroom should feel relaxing and welcoming. I have yet to meet someone in life who hates a spa experience, which is probably why relaxing, serene, spa-like designs are so popular for bedrooms and master bathrooms. This space in your home should feel like an escape or retreat.

When you wake up in the morning the last thing you want to happen is to automatically feel stressed because there’s an unorganized space that doesn’t feel unified. Just as when you go to bed in the evening you want to minimize those daily thoughts and stressors from the day. You should be able to walk into your bedroom and feel calm and ready to relax. You could equate this to a luxury hotel room or a beach vacation hotel room. They may look different, but they usually give off the same vibes. Organized, minimal, serene, clean, and often plush!

Side note: I am not sitting here preaching that you should at all times have a spotless bedroom (I myself don’t always have one). That isn’t realistic, life happens and rooms get messy. I’m just saying, if you try your best at keeping an organized room it will feel less overwhelming to be in.

1) Color

This part is a personal preference. I don’t believe in set rules on what color your personal bedroom should be. I think if you tastefully decorate with bold colors you can still achieve a peaceful room for yourself. Let’s get this clear though, I am not recommending you paint your room all red, orange, or yellow though. Those three colors evoke intense emotions. Red is a passionate color, but not in a sensual way necessarily, the color evokes angry feelings. This probably isn’t the energy you’d want to bring into a space that should let you rest. Orange gives off energetic and enthusiastic emotions, and Yellow evokes happiness and stimulation. Yellow may sound nice, but it wouldn’t be the best color in a space that you want to wind down in. Yellow instead would be a nice color for an uplifting energized office space.

Now, if you feel like you really want these colors in your bedroom go for it. I’m not stopping you. I would just suggest subtly incorporating them. My main suggestion for picking colors would be to look towards nature and choose colors you would find in a forest, beach, prairie, or anywhere else that is naturally calming. Think blue, green, tan, black, white, beige, burgundy, rust, brown, or gray.

2) Furniture

3) Linens

4) Pillows

The next thing to think about after you have your main linens would be pillows. I know many people get frustrated with throw pillows and think they are annoying, but I promise you, this is what gets you that relaxing high-end look. You don’t need to have 10 pillows on the bed either. Three throw pillows can get the job done, if they are properly picked out and work with your bed size. Another thing to consider would be overstuffing your pillows. A lot of pillows come with the cover and then you buy the insert seprately. Buying your insert one size larger than your cover will make the pillow look more full and perkier. A mistake a lot of people do is putting too many small 18”x18” pillows on their bed. Sticking to the 24”x24” or larger range is much better. I plan to make a blog post in the near future with a complete guide to styling them out, so stay tuned.

5) Lighting

Lighting is HUGE! Most bedrooms have one overhead light, usually being a boob light (please remove those from your house haha) or a fan with lights.

Not everyone has the means to change out these light fixtures and put in a nice trendy focal one. Something you can do (and should) is adding additional lights. These could be sconces along your bedside, small lights by your bedside, a floor lamp by a chair, or a lamp on your dresser. Lighting is key if you want to create a serene and calm space. Instead of turning on those bright overhead lights, you can have the option to have softer subtle lighting at times.

6) A Rug

Adding an area rug to a room is probably the first thing I say to any client I’m working with. Not using rugs is one of the biggest rookie mistakes when designing your home. Without a rug your furniture will feel like it’s floating and your eye won’t have a place to land and bring it together. Even if you have carpet in your bedroom you should consider putting a rug down (we have carpet and a rug and it works great). The rug should be large enough that it can fit almost all the way or 75% under your bed and still stick out around the edges by a couple feet.

7) Window Treatments

Shades are important in a bedroom area because no one wants to deal with that morning sun shining in their face. Figuring out what the best options for your bedroom would be is a little more complicated. Something a lot of hotels will do is doubling up their curtains. They will have a shear curtain first and then in front of it there will be a heavier black out curtain. This not only elevates the look of your room, but it gives you options for whatever you’re feeling. Regardless of if you want the double curtain or not, I suggest that you hang your curtain rods higher than the window frame to give the illusion that your ceilings are taller. Make sure that when you do this your curtains aren’t too short. They should be lightly sweeping the floor, not floating or puddling too much. When hanging the curtain rod I would also hang it out further than the window frame as well. This ensures that when you pull the shades open they don’t cover any of your natural window light.

8) Have a Focal Point

9) Plants

10) Have a Sitting Area

If you found these 10 secrets to achieving a high-end relaxing bedroom helpful, I’d love to hear from you in the comments. Let me know what one shocked you the most, which you’ve never heard about, which you totally remember experiencing in a hotel/luxury space or even which ones you’ve already applied to your rooms!