Calm Bedroom Ideas: How to Transform Your Home into a Safe Haven

Is it just us or has stress become a fact of life nowadays? Jobs are no longer the 9 to 5 Dolly promised us. A whole world of bad news is right there at our fingertips. The pressure to be the perfect parent, partner, housekeeper and employee (and look great while doing it) knows no bounds. And even our kids aren’t free from the crazy-high pressures of modern life. It’s no wonder that most of us just need a break from it all, and fast.

Thanks to smartphones, the internet and 24/7 television it may feel that there’s pretty much nowhere you can be free to just be you. However, with some simple changes, a few rules and some imagination, your bedroom can be a safe haven, away from the stresses, strains and anxieties that are bringing you down. Ready to relax? Keep reading…

Calm Bedroom Ideas: Leave Your Stress at the Doorstep

You didn’t really think it was going to be as easy as just chucking up some nature-inspired wallpaper did you? Before we talk paint colours, cosy cushions and lighting schemes, some ground rules…

Cast your smartphone out

We’re creatures of habit, with biological clocks that follow pretty strict schedules. Schedules that the blue light cast by your phone, laptop or tablet can play merry havoc with (1), making dropping off and getting a restful night’s sleep really tough. But it’s not just the light of your smartphone that can interfere with your inner peace. Those constant alerts, the late night scrolling, out of hours emails and more can make your bedroom feel less like a sanctuary and more like an extension of your desk, complete with the added fun of text messages from your mum (usually about Christmas plans … in April). Leaving devices to charge outside of the bedroom could just help you to bring a sense of calm to your boudoir, taking away the temptation of a last Instagram scroll and kicking those pesky colleagues out of bed too.

Leave work at the door

With WFH now a fact of life for so many of us we’re having to find new ways to slot offices into our homes which, for most people, means giving over a corner of the bedroom to work. When you can see that laptop glowing at you from a corner and feel your office chair just waiting for the warm nestle of your behind it can be a real challenge to forget about a stressful day at work. If you’re counting sales targets instead of sheep and seeing spreadsheets behind your lids when you close your eyes it could be a sign that your desk needs to find a new home. Can’t make the space elsewhere? Invest in a fold-down desk and take the time to pack away the workday as part of your EOD process.

Use the bedroom as it’s intended

Your bedroom should be for one thing: sleeping. That’s what that big bouncy thing taking up all the space in the middle of the room is all about after all. That’s also why we think the big issues have no place in the bedroom. When you’re so busy you barely have time to draw breath it’s only to be expected that those state of the union-type conversations with your other half are going to start happening in bed. But it can be pretty hard to wind down if you need to talk about how long to ground Billy for and who forgot to load the dishwasher this morning; stuff that can turn the bedroom into a battleground. Keeping those tense discussions of family and relationship issues to the dining table leaves the bedroom open for rest and for romance.

Calm Bedroom Paint Colours to Soothe and Relax You

The colours you choose for a bedroom can make or break your chances of relaxation. For the cosiest sanctuary that’ll encourage you to unwind pick one of our favourite anxiety-reducing tones.

Natural greens to induce calm

Bring the soothing tones of nature into the bedroom by painting your walls in shades of serene green. Closely associated with harmony, balance and security, green is the ideal colour for a room that’s made for relaxation. Whether it’s a deep forest green, a stylish celadon or a pale laurel, green is as sophisticated as it is soothing.

Reduce stress with beautiful blue

Just like green, blue takes us right back to nature, evoking clear summer skies and the gentle lapping of waves. Colour psychology links shades of blue with calm, concentration and confidence, while research even suggests that being surrounded by blue tones can actively reduce our blood pressure (2). With a wide range of blues, from duck egg to navy, available, it’s easy to find a shade of blue to suit your room.

Choose neutrals for clean cool

Beige-y neutral tones are easy to live with and aren’t about to get your ire rising any time soon. We love a neutral bedroom that plays up the layering, with tactile touches used throughout a scheme. Opting for a fabric-feel paper or soft-touch paint in a warm oatmeal or taupe really gives that relaxing hotel-luxe feel, while the palest pinks aren’t just on-trend right now, they feel truly tranquil too.

Be enveloped in deep, dark tones

A placid room doesn’t have to be light and airy. Dark and moody colours can really help us to feel cocooned in our home, inducing a feeling of unruffled calm. While the deepest greens and blues are an obvious choice, we also love sweet, smooth plum and moody yet mild mustard yellow. Even black, cleverly used, can impart that sleepy, stress-less feeling.

Keep it white for sleek serenity

White means clean, calm and clutter-free, making this cheap and cheerful standard an easy choice for an anxiety-reducing bedroom scheme. Easy to apply and effortless to touch-up in case of scuffs, painting a room white just makes life a little easier. We love how white can make evergreen houseplants pop too, so why not bring a few pots into the bedroom to help you enjoy the calming benefits of green?

Calm Bedroom Ideas For The Ultimate Sanctuary

Creating a relaxing bedroom space is about much more than simply choosing the right colour scheme.

Clear out your clutter

Clutter really can cause your stress levels to skyrocket, so the last thing you want to be faced with after a hard day at work or a difficult kids’ bedtime is a bedroom that looks like a bomb’s hit it. It’s easy to minimise mess with clever storage solutions like upholstered storage boxes or ottoman beds while sturdy, spacious wardrobes will induce you to clear away those piles of washing sooner.

Ready your room for sleep

Creating a bedtime routine that is as relaxing as it is functional is a must for a serene night’s sleep. We like to have everything we need for our pre-sleep routine – medications, lip balm, hand cream, eye mask, pillow spray –tucked away but to-hand inside a smart bedside table complete with storage drawers. In addition, to help create the perfect bedtime routine it’s a good idea to adapt your lighting, giving yourself a pleasantly dim glow. Make sure that your bedroom is adequately dark too, with curtains or blinds that block out the ambient light that reminds you of the big, bad world outside.

Engage all your senses

A nice bedroom with good décor is one thing, but a multi-sensory sanctuary takes relaxation to the next level. And with today’s technology at your fingertips it’s never been easier to put together a soothing space safely and practically. Some of our favourite tips include setting up your home voice assistant to dim the lights and play soothing forest or seaside sounds in response to a specific prompt (‘Alexa, help me relax’). We also love electric essential oil diffusers for all the benefits of aromatherapy without the risk of night time candles (they can connect to your smart home system too!). Tactile fabrics, such as plush cushions and faux fur throws can make you feel hugged into your bedroom as well.

Make space for meditation

Is there an activity that really soothes you? Maybe meditation or yoga brings you inner peace? Perhaps curling up with a good book is all it takes to make those cares float away. Maybe you only feel at one with yourself doing a sudoku? Whatever it is that centres you, make space for it in your bedroom. This might be as simple as throwing a meditation cushion into an empty corner, investing in a plush reading chair or plugging in a Bluetooth speaker so you can listen to your favourite tunes. Whatever it is that makes you feel ahhhhh, giving over space for me-time is a must.

Calm Bedroom Ideas for Kids

It isn’t just us adults who need somewhere to relax and unwind. With all the pressures that modern children and teens face, from exam stress to cyber bullying, giving them a place that feels safe and welcoming is a must.

A space that’s just for kids

When decorating a child’s room we adults can be only too tempted to impose our personal tastes. However, to give your child a space where they can feel able to unwind it’s important to help them feel that their bedroom is truly theirs. Whether they’re a wee pre-schooler or an opinionated teen, letting your little (or not-so-little) one have a say in their bedroom décor can make them feel at home and give you a few good parent points too. So while you might not cave to all-black walls or a full Bluey character scheme, letting them choose artworks, pick bedding or create a personalised mural won’t cost you a thing and will mean the world to them.

Consider knocking before entering as well, remembering that your child’s bedroom is their private space in which they can do as they please. Provided your whole-house rules are followed, of course.

Be clever with study space

There’s not much more stressful than studying for GCSEs or A-levels, so a great study space is a must for older children. That said, having a reminder of mind-melting essays right there in full view of your bed can’t be conducive to a decent night of rest either. Foldaway desks or study spaces that can be curtained off can help give your kid some respite from the stresses and strains of studying when they need it, putting those big, scary exams out of sight and out of mind and turning a teen’s room from serious study to restful retreat when the day’s done.

Put sleep first

Children need sleep, it’s a well-known fact. Not only does a lack of sleep make them fractious and uncooperative, it also impacts their achievement in school (3) and can even predict risk-taking behaviour (4). With infants requiring up to 16 hours of sleep a night and teens functioning best on upwards of ten hours(5), creating a bedroom that’s conducive to sleep is clearly very important, no matter your son or daughter’s age. That might mean choosing a soothing colour scheme and soft, cosy bedding. Or it might mean investing in black out blinds to ensure they’re not disturbed by early morning sun. It also requires you to reinforce the idea that beds and bedrooms are for sleep and that when bedtime rolls around it’s time to put away laptops and phones and switch off the TV.

Furnishing Your Safe Haven at Bensons for Beds

Turning your bedroom into a harmonious, sleep-conducive space where you can forget the struggles and strains of the day is easy with a little help from our friendly in-store teams. From choosing the mattress that’s going to give you the sleep that dreams are made of to picking out furniture that’ll turn your room from bombsite to boudoir, we’re here to help take the stress out of a bedroom overhaul. Get in touch today to find out more about our wide range of beds, mattresses and bedroom furniture and to get more details about our effort-free home delivery, guilt-assuaging recycling schemes and our anxiety-alleviating buy now, pay later scheme.

Sources:

1. https://archive.cdc.gov/#/details?url=https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/emres/longhourstraining/color.html
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6396577/
3. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Sleep-and-Student-Achievement-Eide-Showalter/0d6de4ec9984cc3244664a7b06ebb9b4a47fe287
4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25319339/
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5078711/