Never mind the focus put on the kitchen and the bathroom, if you really want to love where you live then getting the bedroom right is essential. It doesn’t matter how clean and well-lit your bathroom is if you get up in a horrible mood because you had no sleep. To that end, we’re going to look at the common mistakes that often make the bedroom not fit for purpose.

Taking Tech To Bed

This might be flat-out inconceivable to many readers, but hear me out for a second. Don’t put a TV in your bedroom and don’t sleep with a computer monitor on. If you’re having issues getting your full night’s sleep, exposure to electronic light shortly before bed could be playing a big role in it. Blue light electronics like mobile phones, LED TVs and more suppress the brain chemistry that helps our bodies get into sleep mode. Meanwhile, keeping our mind stimulated later at night means it’s a lot harder for our minds to slow down when we need it to. If you’re one of the many people who finds their mind racing at night to the detriment of their sleep, that could be a big reason why. Of course, 9 out of every 10 adults have electronics in their room so it might have to be a case of simply getting more disciplined on keeping it off at night if you simply can’t get rid of them.

Letting Chaos Take Over

Watching TV isn’t the only way to mess up your mind’s approach to relaxation and getting some sleep. It’s becoming more commonly known that messy spaces can cause just as much stress. Cluttered surroundings lead to cluttered minds, to put it simply. Take a more minimalistic approach to your living room. Make sure you have the storage from places like A Place For Everything before you buy more belongings. If you don’t have the time or willpower to tidy up the bedroom before you try tucking yourself in, then a bedside hamper can be a godsend in quickly stowing all those errant pieces of clothing away.

Sterilising It Completely

Naturally, going too far in the other end can be just as detrimental to enjoying your personal space. If you completely erase any traces of identity of lived-in-ness from the room, then you’re creating a bedroom that might be perfect as a showroom. Which means it will also feel like a showroom. It won’t feel like your own space, but closer to a guest room or a hotel room. For a lot of people, that kind of safe, sterile feeling just isn’t conducive to truly feeling like you’re at home. Don’t be afraid to personalise your room a little more. This doesn’t mean you have to start throwing dirty clothes all over the place. A little bookcase in the corner, some photos on the wall, decorative, heart-warming pillows. The sky’s the limit.

Choosing Form Over Function

You probably have a limited budget when you first set up your bedroom. When you’re decorating a room, it’s easy to get wrapped up in making it look gorgeous without truly considering the functions of it. In the bedroom, that function is all about the choice of bed. Before blowing your budget on a fancy frame, make sure you spend a little more time looking at a variety of different mattresses from places like John Ryan by Design, as well. Don’t rush the most important part of the bed, seeing how different kinds of mattress feel. Pocket spring, latex, hybrid foams. There are a lot of varieties that work well for a variety of sleepers.

Designing For A Single Season

The bedroom has to be a pretty versatile space, as well. When you design a bedroom, your first thought might be making it as comfortable and soft as possible. But how well will that work when you’re competing with the heat of a summer night? Make sure that you have some alternatives set aside for when the heat is just too much to bear. Lightweight sheets are a must-have, for one. But if your bedroom catches a lot of sunlight, that can become an all-day problem. The heat can gather and become an oppressive presence through the evening. For sun-facing rooms, it’s a good idea to have light but effective window treatments, such as quality blinds, instead of big heavy curtains.

Keeping An Ear To The Wall

Heat isn’t the only thing that can totally mess up your perfect sleeping environment, either. More people need to be aware of just how organising the bedroom changes how you experience sound at night. If you sleep with your bed up against the wall neighbouring someone else’s bedroom or the living room, you’re going to be hearing a lot more noise through those walls. You can also work to soundproof the room, including changing to specialised doors from providers like Sound Service. Soft materials also tend to dampen sounds and you might even want to consider acoustic ceiling materials for any rooms beneath the bedroom.

Making Room For More Room

Another reason people aren’t entirely satisfied with their rooms is that they’ve given themselves little space to do anything but sleep in it. If you don’t have room to work around a king-size bed, maybe you shouldn’t have one in the first place. Giving yourself a place to sit with a choice of a comfy armchair or a place to work with a desk can make a room feel a lot more fulfilling. Otherwise, you might be lacking that sense of private, personal space that can really function as a home-within-a-home. If you’re sharing with roommates or any family members, lacking that space can make home life a much more stressful experience.

Sleep is obviously the most essential function of the bedroom, but it should serve as a place of mental and emotional respite as well. A personal multi-function sanctuary. Hopefully, the tips above help you create one of those and not just a room that you struggle to sleep, relax, work, and just be in.