If you spend eight hours a day at work, two or three hours out and about and eight hours asleep every night, you’ll spend more time inside your bedroom than in any other room in your home.
While your bedroom is undoubtedly the most important room in your home from a furniture perspective – it is where you sleep, after all – it’s often skipped over when it’s time to decorate in favour of the kitchen or living room.
From colour and furniture to light and layout, creating the perfect environment in your bedroom is a great way to enjoy deeper sleep and more comfort at home. It’s also amazingly affordable if you aren’t afraid of getting creative and innovative.
We recently spoke to the bedroom furniture experts at AHF Furniture to learn the top bedroom furniture trends, tips and ideas for 2015. Read on to learn the basics of creating a comfortable, stylish bedroom without going over your budget.
Use one item as a stylish statement piece
Just like a stylish pair of shoes or an eye-catching watch can add style to a relatively plain outfit, a single piece of furniture can breathe life into a room that’s otherwise decorated using fairly simple pieces.
If you’ve decorated your bedroom using neutral furniture – plain white tables or a simple metal bed frame, for example – try adding one colourful or interesting piece like a feature light, headboard or mirror to give it a touch of unique style.
Built-in wardrobes and chests are back
Decorating cosy bedrooms can be tough. Freestanding wardrobes and chests might look fantastic, but they can take up valuable floor space that you might need for the bed, a desk or a pair of bedside tables.
Save space and bring your bedroom up to date by installing built-in furniture like a wardrobe, chest of drawers or bedside shelf. Built-in furniture is back, and it’s one of the best ways to save space in today’s often cosy living spaces.
Vintage furniture is cheap and easy to customise
Want to add a statement piece to your bedroom on a budget? Instead of shopping for new furniture and paying retail prices, try visiting your local thrift store to find an eye-catching vintage piece.
From colourful bedside tables to mid-century coffee tables and chests of drawers, vintage furniture is cheap and stylish. Best of all, it’s amazingly easy to customise with some chalk paint, feature handles and a few stencils.
Decorating a small bedroom? Add a mirror
Decorating small bedrooms is tough; making them feel more spacious can be even more difficult. If you’re decorating a small bedroom and want to make it feel a little more roomy, try adding a mirror.
Freestanding mirrors are a great choice for small bedrooms, since they can be put up against a wall and easily relocated for a different look. Likewise, wall mirrors or cabinets with built-in mirrors are also great for visually “upsizing” a bedroom.
Arrangement matters just as much as furniture
Think furniture is all that matters? While high quality furniture is always the best choice, it’s possible to create a stylish bedroom on a small budget by choosing the few best pieces and arranging them carefully.
From minimalist bedrooms with perfect furniture arrangement to retro bedrooms that make great use of second-hand furniture, the right furniture arrangement can make a few pieces of simple furniture look fantastic.
White matt furniture is amazingly versatile
Need furniture that’s amazingly versatile and usable in any setting? While furniture with matt paint fits into almost any bedroom, whether it’s bright and modern, light and minimalistic or an early 20th century classic.
Pair white matt furniture with wooden flooring for the ultimate minimalist bedroom that sets your sleeping environment apart. White matt has two advantages: since it’s a neutral colour, it matches everything and it doesn’t show dust or fingerprints.
Place your bed against away from windows
Are you having trouble deciding where to put your bed? There are two ways to work out the perfect location for your bed in your bedroom, and both are simply and easy to remember.
The first method is to place your bed against the wall opposite the door, so that you notice it immediately upon entering. The second is to place your bed against either of the walls that don’t have doors or windows, ensuring it’s never in the way.
Only use essential furniture – avoid extras
Minimalism is definitely back, and for good reason. Not only does minimalist design look great in any setting, from the bedroom to the living room, but it’s also so cheap that it’s perfect for student bedrooms and decorators on a strict budget.
Instead of buying everything you want for your bedroom, buy everything you need for your bedroom. Sparsely furnished bedrooms can look great, as well as costing a lot less than a bedroom that’s cluttered with furniture.
Let your chest of drawers double as a bedside table
Here’s a great way to save space in your bedroom and avoid buying more furniture than you need: push your chest of drawers, desk or shelving up beside your bed and use it as a bedside table.
This is a great way to save space in small bedrooms, where a bedside table might be an annoying waste of floor space. Since small chests of drawers are about the same height as a bedside table, they function exactly the same way while saving space.
Pick one or two materials and stick with them
From natural wood to plastic, metal and matt paint, there are a huge range of looks and materials available for modern bedrooms furniture. Mix and match looks and it could lead to a masterpiece… or a design that’s visually cluttered and confusing.
Keep your bedroom’s style simple by choosing two materials – natural wood and metal, for example – and sticking with them. This way, there’s a far lower chance that different materials, finishes and colours will clash once they’re together.
Add vintage pieces for a touch of character
One of the most common criticisms of modern interior design is that, for all its sharp corners and heavy contrast, it can look a little sterile and plain. Add some character to your modern bedroom by adding one or two vintage pieces.
From a stylish 1960s lamp to a mid-century coffee table, a single vintage piece is all it takes to breathe life into an otherwise 100% modern bedroom. Spend a morning thrift shopping for great accessories – you’ll be surprised by what you can find.
Is your bedroom in need of a style update?
Updating your bedroom for 2015 doesn’t need to be expensive. From a new bedside table to a vintage lamp or recliner, sometimes a single piece is all it takes to breathe a new sense of life into your bedroom.
If your bedroom is starting to look a little dated or simply needs a few accessories to stand out and look its best, use the tips, trends and ideas listed above to design and create a bedroom that’s undeniably stylish.