Making your bedroom as comfortable and soothing as possible is important because you spend a third of your life in your bedroom. A cosy and calming bedroom will help you get a good night's sleep, which will have a positive effect on everything else you do during the day.
In principle, the most important factors in bedroom design are the size of the bedroom and the size of the bed. The bedroom is often relatively small, while the size of the bed does not decrease with the size of the room. The principles of bedroom design are therefore very different from those of, for example, a living room or kitchen. When floor space is limited, the atmosphere is created by colours, lighting and surface materials.
In this article you will learn how to decorate your bedroom to make it beautiful and sleep-friendly, especially with wood.
Tip: If you haven't already read our comprehensive interior trends report, you can find it here.
Wood is proven to support your well-being
Wood breathing has been proven to support human well-being. Just looking at a tree has a positive effect on your body. For example, wooden materials calm your mind, increase your sense of well-being and reduce negative feelings such as exhaustion and stress.
Several international studies have found similar results. Wood surfaces used indoors have restorative effects on the body and mind. In a way, wood surfaces recharge your batteries. The positive effects of wood surfaces include lowering blood pressure and heart rate, and reducing stress hormones.
The benefits of wood cladding in a nutshell:
- reduce stress
- lowers blood pressure and pulse
- naturally reflects light, making the space more spacious
- reduces room echo, soothing the soundscape in the bedroom
- stores and releases moisture, which has a positive effect on indoor air quality, especially during the dry winter frosts. Please note that the storage of moisture in wood does not imply anything negative or harmful to the building, but is a natural and necessary phenomenon.
Decorating your bedroom - the 7 most important things
Bedroom decoration is very much done with colours, lighting and surface materials, as we went through earlier. This is purely because the bed takes up most of the floor space in the room.
1) Use subtle colours in your bedroom decor
The bedroom is the most peaceful place in the home. It is the only room where we do not recommend using strong and bright colours. Of course, small details such as accent pillows are one thing, but a bright red accent wall is not the most calming element.
Instead, build your bedroom colour scheme around subtle shades. In addition to wood, the trendiest colour choices for the bedroom at the moment are beige and various shades of brown. Darker colours such as reddish brown and yellow are popular. Green and blue are particularly popular as accent colours.
A wood panelled effect wall is a safe choice if you want a bedroom with a warm tone and beauty. Depending on the colour scheme of the rest of the room, you can choose either a light or dark wood tone.
2) Remember to consider the bulkhead
The room consists of four walls. In a bedroom, however, the ceiling can be considered the fifth wall, because it is the first wall you see from the bedroom. So don't overlook the bulkhead, which, if done correctly, is the most important atmospheric element of the room. However, you should be careful with the bulkhead, because if it's done incorrectly, it can make the bedroom feel gloomy and cramped.
If your bedroom gets a lot of natural light, the bulkhead can be dark in colour. If there is little natural light, we recommend a light-coloured bulkhead, as it reflects the low light better around the room.
A light bulkhead also does not create strong contrasts in the bedroom. A dark bulkhead, on the other hand, makes the room's small colour details stand out more. In principle, a light-coloured bulkhead is a safe choice that will always work regardless of the rest of the bedroom decor.
If you want to try something completely new for your bulkhead, we recommend you check out our VALO panel. You can find more information about the VALO panel a little further down this article.
3) Decorate your bedroom with clear elements
The human mind loves order because our brains find it easier to process order than chaos. In a well-ordered bedroom, you relax better and faster than in a room with no clear order.
This is why it is recommended to decorate the bedroom with clear elements such as a large effect wall, light and colours. Too many shelves, tables and chairs will clutter up your bedroom if you have limited space around the bed. Keep bedroom decor simple and use only thoughtful elements.
We highlighted some of the most popular details of the moment in section 6.
4) Use the light to your advantage
Natural light is the most beautiful light in a bedroom. Wooden surfaces tend to reflect natural light beautifully around the room, making the bedroom feel more spacious and roomy. Wooden interior panels such as PALA, VIRE, AAVA and STRUCTUREare a good solution to flood natural light around the room.
The direction of the paneling should be chosen according to the way the light appears in the room at different times of the day and the lighting conditions in the room. You can also use light to accentuate wooden surfaces, as in this elegant bed headboard designed by Heli Hämeenniemi.
In addition to natural light, slightly more unusual lamps and lighting solutions are details worth trying in the bedroom. A popular solution for this is our VALO panel. It is possible to hide an LED strip in the open space between the VALO panels. You can completely control the intensity of the lighting with the number of light strips, and you don't need any other ceiling lighting in your room. The VALO panels create a beautiful reflection on the wall, giving the room a soothing atmosphere.
5) Add texture to your bedroom walls
Wooden effect walls are one of the most popular interior design trends of the moment. They are suitable for any room, from the toilet to the bedroom. A popular trend in bedroom decorating is the bed headboard.
The power wall is easy to build with a PALA panel that can be fixed with adhesive. It allows you to create a variety of textures on the wall, such as a beautifully simple brickwork or a warm herringbone pattern. The paneling also adds dimension to the walls, as the panel seams create nice shadows on the wall.
The advantage of wooden surfaces is that they are easy to reprocess. If you change your mind after a couple of years, you can get a completely new look by sanding and treating the surface in the way and colour you want.
6) Small details to finish off your bedroom
Small details add a touch of flair and easy adaptability to bedroom decor. Lush green air plants and eucalyptus branches add a Scandinavian freshness to the bedroom. Straws are also on trend at the moment. With small and thoughtful details, you can change the whole mood of your bedroom according to the season.
A wooden panel bed headboard is an easy way to give your bedroom a new and modern look. A wooden bed headboard is a beautiful single element in your interior design, but it also soothes the atmosphere in your bedroom. Today's interior design trends make a strong case for the herringbone bed headboard in particular. Find out here how to build your own wooden headboard.
7) Don't turn your bedroom into a study
Although this is not really a decorating issue, it has more to do with the calming effect of the bedroom. If you work remotely in the bedroom, your mind will not relax in bed in the same way because you are in the "office". A messy desk raises stress levels and reminds you of work in the evenings, when you go to the toilet at night and when you wake up in the morning. If you've decorated your bedroom with care otherwise, don't ruin it with a desk.
However, if you have to make your study into a bedroom, you should hide everything related to work in drawers at the end of the day!
Bedroom decoration - summary
Bedroom decor is built around large and simple elements. These are enhanced by small details such as plants or wall shelves.
The 7 most important things you should consider are:
- Use subtle colours
- Be sure to note the bulkhead, it is the fifth wall of the bedroom
- Use simple and large elements
- Make the most of natural light and interesting lighting solutions
- Add texture to your walls with an effect wall
- Pay attention to small details according to the season
- Don't turn your bedroom into a study
Be sure to read our full interior trends report, which you can find here.
All our different interior panels can be found here.
If you have any questions about bedroom decoration, please contact us. We are woodworking professionals and work with dozens of interior designers and architects!
