Phew, life can be stressful. After a day of nagging bosses, screaming kids and thankless tasks, you need a calm and soothing place to recharge. You can turn your bedroom into a peaceful retreat with a few simple tricks - the only problem is that you may never want to leave!
Soothing to the Eye
Begin creating your peaceful bedroom oasis by making it look calming and inviting. The easiest place to start is with color. If you have read our article on the basics of color design, then you know a thing or two about the moods and temperatures different colors are considered to create. A lick of paint can be your best friend when setting the mood to unwind. Soft blues and greens are considered cool and calming colors and are often used by hotels and spas to get you to kick off your shoes and stay awhile. If blue and green aren't your bag, earth and/or neutral tones, like taupe and brown, do the trick as well. Avoid dark colors that overstimulate you - they can make your bedroom feel oppressive.
Another color trick to create a peaceful bedroom is to paint your walls, trim, and ceiling all the same color, or paint them in colors close in shade. This technique keeps the color simple and understated, so you can concentrate on you - not your walls.
Once you have your walls sorted, you still do a few more things to make your bedroom look instantly peaceful. Open your shades and blinds and let in some natural light. Keep your artificial lighting soft and unobtrusive. Themes from the natural world are soothing - add some wood furniture, straw baskets, and paintings of your favorite nature scenes, to remind you of that last free day on the sand or in the mountains.
Soothing to the Ear
Everything looks peaceful in your bedroom, but what can you hear? If it's a blaring TV or incessantly ringing phone, time to do something about that. Consider what makes a trip to the beach so relaxing - the sound of the rolling waves that lull you into sleep. You can incorporate that feeling into your bedroom retreat by investing in an indoor water feature for your bedroom. This doesn't have to be the Trevi fountain here - you can buy relatively small and inexpensive indoor fountains from any number of places, like Bombay Company to more elaborate, custom made models from BluWorld.
Throw some soft, peaceful music, or even nature sounds cds, on the player for an added auditory relaxation sensation.
Soothing to the Soul
The biggest mistake people make when decorating their bedrooms is making them a multi-tasking room. Your bedroom should be for down time, period. Don't put your computer in there if you can help it - it will make you want to check your email. Televisions in the bedroom are popular, and certainly come in handy when you're getting dressed in the morning, but try and refrain from watching TV in your bedroom when you're supposed to be unwinding/preparing to sleep. Better yet, forego the TV in the bedroom altogether - it only distracts you and keeps you awake.
Purge all the multi-tasking from your bedroom by making a concerted effort to not talk on the phone, work on the computer, or watching TV in that room. Once it becomes a habit, walking into your bedroom will become like hanging a mental "do not disturb" sign.
The Finishing Touches
Surround yourself with the things that make you most happy in your peaceful bedroom retreat - photos of loved ones and good times shared, your favorite books, your most broken-in slippers - all the things that make you most comfortable. Scented candles and potpourri are inexpensive touches that are great for helping you unwind.
Take a few minutes out to tidy your bedroom every morning - the tidying may not be the most relaxing thing you do in the room, but coming home to a clean room will let you maximize your peaceful time.
And remember - no intrusions! A nightly visit to your peaceful bedroom retreat may be just the ticket to get your through your busy day.
