Whether you’re breathing life into tired space, completing a full renovation or introducing a children’s bedroom into the mix, this sage advice from House & Garden experts will set you on the right path. Bedroom goals may vary – perhaps you want a space to inspire or perhaps you’d rather it induce a wonderful sense of calm – but there are several ‘dos and don’ts’ that will help to ensure a successful scheme.
Do make it personal
‘Bedrooms are my favourite rooms to decorate. I adore beautiful bed linen, and the fact that the space is decorated only for you.’ – Paolo Moschino
‘Don’t forget that the hanging of your artwork is just as personal as the collecting of it – save some of your most precious (often not valuable) works for where you’re going to enjoy them most. Often people relegate their less meaningful pieces to their bedroom, when in fact the poignancy of what surrounds you at the close or beginning of your day could be argued to be the most vital.’ – Flora Soames
Don’t scrimp on mattresses or bed linen
‘Focus your budget on a few good pieces that will stand the test of time. Most of us can’t afford everything we would like and it’s far better to economise in some areas and invest in others, rather than spread the budget evenly throughout. For a bedroom I like to invest in a really good mattress, often by Naturalmat, which uses organic wool sourced from UK farms.’ – Nicola Harding
‘Beds – and bed linen – really make bedrooms. It is not unusual for people to skimp on the linens, if not financially, then mentally, when coming up with the design for the room. All-white sheets and a duvet create a colossus of white in the centre of the room that can detract from the rest of the space. The bed linen, quilts, blankets and eiderdowns you choose make a huge difference to the room, how it looks and how inviting it is to you and/or your guests.’ – Rita Konig
‘Bedding should be considered as part of the scheme. I love white bedding, but always add a coloured bedspread or blanket to break up the vast expanse of white.’ – Lonika Chande
‘In a bedroom, bedding is key to the whole room and should be treated as a standout moment, not an afterthought. I love to use a handmade or vintage tapestry printed quilt, high-quality linen sheets and a beautiful bolster pillow. This is a great place to play with print and texture. I’m especially fond of some matching moments when it comes to bedding – matching pillows or linens with a print found elsewhere in a room like wallpaper or an accent chair. It pulls the whole room together and feels divinely cozy.’ – Heidi Caillier
Don’t bring screens into the room
‘Don’t put a TV in the bedroom. This is the space intended for calm and rest. Allow your mind to switch off by minimising distractions.’ - Pernille Lind
‘I like to create spaces where the clutter of life is hidden away, and the room is a calm and tranquil space. Think about how to hide your iPads and phones rather than taking them to bed with you at night. We always add a power drawer to our kitchen designs, the charger cables are neatly fixed inside the drawer.’ - Emma Sims-Hilditch
Do mix old and new
‘Even when you’re decorating a modern space, see what an antique painting looks like within it. It is so much more interesting to see unexpected things in a space, rather than an entire house done in the same style. I love clean lines with a wonky bit of furniture that has a story. A house that purely has antiques looks heavy and one that’s purely modern can feel too harsh, clean and sterile.’ - Sarah Vanrenen
‘Keep the fireplace in your bedroom. An open fire is the focal point of a room and creates a feeling of warmth and cosiness even when it’s not lit.’ – Tamsin Saunders
‘If you have built-in cupboards in your bedroom, clad the doors with antique mirrors. These will look smart and reflect the light, while making the room appear twice the size.’ – Penny Morrison
Don’t make it too busy
‘Don’t feel the need to fill every space – sometimes leaving out art on wallpapered rooms can have a cleaner more calm effect, especially in bedrooms.’ – Sarah Vanrenen
‘Choose plain rugs in bedrooms, preferably with a thick pile that is cosy underfoot. It makes the room more snug.’ – Suzanne Sharp
‘As someone who promotes maximalism in so many ways, it’s taken me several decades of decorating my own homes as well as others to realise that the most serene and successful bedroom is one that is relatively uncluttered in terms of stuff. Small or large, space is key, and therefore storage is paramount. The use of a soft, plain fabric alongside the backdrop of a patterned wallpaper, or the introduction of a sheer either surrounding the bed or on the windows adds to a feeling of otherworldliness and the making of a room as a sanctuary.’ - Flora Soames
Do upsize your furniture
‘If I have a small room, I try to over-scale the furniture. Putting itsy-bitsy furniture in just makes it feel smaller.’ – Olga Polizzi
‘In the guest annexe of my house in Suffolk there is only room for a bed, but one way to make a room like this seem bigger is to select a compact four-poster. It creates a feeling of grandeur and makes the proportions of the room seem larger.’ – Veere Grenney
Do make sure your bed is the right height
‘A bed’s height is very much dependent on individual preference and also the style of the room. The lower the bed, the more modern it looks, while a high bed feels more traditional. It’s important to remember to balance the aesthetics of differing bed heights with functionality.’ – Henri Fitzwilliam-Lay
‘The height also impacts other elements in the room, particularly the bedside tables. Ideally, these should align with the top of the mattress for practicality and visual harmony, though there’s always room for creative interpretation. Personally, I find myself gravitating towards beds with a slightly elevated height — there’s something wonderfully indulgent and inviting about a high bed. It creates a sense of luxurious comfort, which is especially fitting for master bedrooms or more traditional spaces.’ – Holly Beazley, Elicyon
‘A low bed can scream student digs so we always encourage our clients to opt for a higher bed base and mattress. A higher bed looks more impressive and luxurious and makes more of a statement in any bedroom.’ – Sarah Vanrenen
Don’t be afraid to experiment with guest rooms
‘Go a bit crazy in your guest bedroom, if you are lucky enough to have one! This is the room to put that fabric you always loved or wallpaper you longed for, but aren’t sure you could live with all the time. You won’t be in there that often, and neither will your guests. Think of it like a treat that you can dip in and out of!’ – Lucinda Griffith
Don’t fall short on curtains
‘Ankle swinging or window sill-high curtains come across diffident and ineffectual. Curtains should rest on the floor.’ – Sarah Peake, Studio Peake
‘Curtains that pool on the floor are stylish, but consider what kind of room they’re in, how often you are going to be opening and closing them, and what kind of fabric you’re using. Light puddling is advised for bedrooms as it closes the light gap as the blackout lining sits slightly higher behind the finished hem. Ceiling fixes are especially good for bedrooms as they limit light-creep compared to a pole. They can also lift the height of a room with low ceilings, giving a nice ceiling-to-floor finished look.
‘People often install roman blinds in bedrooms and nurseries because they’re pretty, and think they can put a blackout roller blind behind it and that will solve the problem of light getting in. It won’t: for reasonably effective blackout blinds you need a zip frame design which ensures that the sides of the blind stay within set channels. At the end of the day curtains will always work best for blocking light.’ – Chris Tebay
Do consider colour carefully
‘Remember that colour changes depending on where you are in the world and the direction the room faces. Colours will be stronger in the US, for example, and cooler in the north of the UK, warmer in an east-facing bedroom, cooler if you’re facing north.’ – Lucy Hammond Giles, Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler
‘Choose paint colours that make you happy. I love “Adobe Pink 4” by Dulux, which I used in my daughter’s bedroom. I never get tired of it, which is definitely a sign of success.’ – Suzy Hoodless
‘A calm palette doesn’t have to be a boring one. One of the most calming colours in the colour wheel is blue. We often use shades of blue in bedrooms, but tend to prefer shades like Farrow & Ball's “Blue Gray” or “Light Blue”, which still have warmth to them.’ – Emma Sims-Hilditch
Don’t go too matchy-matchy
‘The key to successful pattern-mixing is to bring prints and textures together in a way that feels eclectic but also cohesive. Contrasting scale really does matter so mix medium, large and small scale designs in a room. When mixing fabrics and wallpaper in a scheme, avoid duplicates and choose patterns that complement rather than perfectly match. Pair a static print with one that has more movement such as a geometric with a meandering design or a stripe with a large-scale floral; for example, don’t put too many florals of a similar scale next to each other, as this ends up looking messy.’ – Sarah Vanrenen
‘It’s always good to have another pattern of different scale and texture to break up the matchy-matchy look, even if it’s just cushions, lampshades, or a chair seat.’ – Daniel Slowik
Do embrace bed nooks and canopies
‘I do love a built-in bed nook. In addition to adding a playful and cocooning feel, they are an excellent tool when it comes to the layout of a small bedroom. We often design storage into built-in beds – drawers below the mattress, little built-in bookcases or secret cupboards and wardrobes to the side panels.’ – Tiffany Duggan, Studio Duggan
‘By tucking the bed neatly along the back wall and across the width of the room this design works perfectly for small spaces, utilising every inch in terms of storage and practicality, whilst making the room feel more spacious as well as adding interest to the overall style.’ – Georgina Cave
‘Bed canopies soften a room, and their height can help provide balance.’ – Octavia Dickinson
‘It needn’t feel like a coffin – think airy and architectural instead. A canopy transforms any bedroom from mundane to magnificent in one swooping gesture.’ – Miles Redd
Don’t forget to leave space for flexibility
‘When re-decorating, we often want to get a room completely perfect, and spend money on built-in joinery, the perfect-sized bed for the perfect wall etc. But life is unpredictable – maybe that second baby ends up being twins and your plans for the third bedroom don’t look quite so clever now. Or maybe you want to move house and the bed you had made doesn’t fit in any other space. I’m not saying don’t go for it in your designs, but if you can build in flexibility by having a free-standing cupboard instead of built in, or be mindful not to fill every corner of a room, then you may thank yourself down the line.’ – Pandora Taylor
