master bedroom appeal

Every bedroom can feel like a master’s suite if you keep it simple, functional, intimate and purposeful. It shouldn’t feel staged or too show off-y like an exhibition, let your space feel collected not curated- like a museum of personal memories and sweet dreams. Your bedroom should appeal to you in the most personal, comfortable and relaxing way possible. I’ve been stacking bedroom inspiration photos for months and I love different elements about each one of them. The aim should be to create a space that is not only reflective of your own tastes and personality, but a space that soothes the senses for a more relaxed master bedroom appeal! So, whether you are browsing for ideas for a new bedroom, a complete makeover or a quick update, we've summed up ten simple tips to help you kickstart your bedroom project.

1) Switch up your layout.

Sometimes all you need is to rethink your layout to make your space feel brand-new. Try changing the position of your bed, or maybe reorganize the orientation of your whole room. While you move everything around, take the opportunity to declutter the space—it will make your space feel fresh and spacious even if every piece of furniture stays the same.

2) Your ceiling is a horizontal wall.

We always think of what to do with our walls, but how about leaving them bare and focusing on the ceiling instead? Painting your ceiling a darker shade than your walls draws the eye up, making the ceiling appear higher than it actually is. It also highlights the architectural detail in the ceiling. You can also continue wall treatment all the way to the ceiling or drop a pendant lamp from the ceiling instead of using a table lamp or wall sconce to play with the proportions of the space and fill up the back wall.

3) Play With Scale and Proportions.

Have high ceilings? There are tons of ways to highlight or enhance the scale and proportions of your space. You can play with the scale and proportions of your bedroom by bringing in a canopy bed. Hang curtains all the way up to the ceiling and let them fall to the ground. For a long and narrow room, paint the ceiling and the top foot of your wall in a darker tone-on-tone colour.

4) Go Monochrome.

Give yourself a challenge and try to decorate your bedroom with only two colours. Choose a rug that’s the same colour as your wall paint colour, and keep the hue going on your curtains too. Then add a darker accent colour in a rich fabric like tweed or a border on plain white sheets to give the space a little contrast. Try to stay coherent with your metal finishes too, opting for only one or two finishes like brass or blackened steel.

5) Use the Decorative Powers of Paint.

While we typically think of feature walls as painting a single wall bright orange and leaving the others in a neutral colour, the new way to do accent walls is to go two or three shades darker or lighter in the same colour. Not convinced? You can paint shapes or even borders on all walls by staying within the same colour palette. Just add a bit of black or white in the pot to intensify the shade. Not Accent-y enough? Paint a stripe in the middle of your walls or line the bottom half of your walls with a dark paint colour—now that's how you harness the power of contrast using paint will make your space feel elegant and refined.

6) Storage comes in all forms.

Storage comes in handy when you need to tuck away all those bits and pieces that tend to pile up. Bedside storage are great for symmetry and of course, functionality. Note that it doesn't necessarily have to be two identical tables on either side of your bed. Look around the house for something else that could replace a table: a chair, a pile of books — you can up cycle anything these days. The idea is for your space to feel more collected and thoughtful.

7) Think out of the ‘board’.

Large headboards are great, but not when you have limited space. They are undoubtedly grand and stately, but if you don’t have the luxury of a high ceiling, please don’t bother. If you're struggling with a large empty bed wall, try wallpaper, cladding, or anything that would at least serve a function— How about a recessed shelf for books and accessories. You can also paint on your back wall with a nice sateen or stucco paint finish to make it easier to clean if you are worried about stains on the wall. Just think out of the ‘board’, and the effort will be well worth it.

8) Texturize your walls.

While a bold, graphic wallpaper can be a great feature or statement piece in a bedroom, why not go natural and skip the patterns and colours for a more natural and timeless look. Certain graphic patterns can be a little too loud, and can actually go out of style pretty quickly. By contrast, grass cloth wallpaper adds colour, great texture, and visual interest to your walls, yet tends to be a bit more classic and timeless than a graphic wallpaper. Besides, texture awakens the senses, it is rich and intriguing, and you don’t need a lot of colour to make much of a statement. You can go for other textures and effects if you prefer a super-sleek look or combine with fresh white wainscoting for a panelled look.

9) Have fun, and Play with shapes.

Repetition is less formal when you play with shapes, texture and colour- If everything in your space feels too square, or is arrange in absolute perfect symmetry, then it starts to feel too boring. Add a few shapes like triangles and circles to make your bedroom more dynamic. The same goes for colours textures and patterns, don’t be afraid to break the mould and add a surprise element.

10) Accessorize in stages.

Select pieces that are fashionably functional and irresistibly niche: while most people are used to coordinating accessories around a space especially in the bedroom, avoid including pieces just for the sake of ‘having something there’, learn to collect pieces over time. Ideally, every piece in your bedroom should serve a purpose to avoid clutter. Whether it’s a trinket box for your jewellery, a vintage style alarm clock on your bedside table, or quirky bookends to keep your ‘To-Read’ pile in check, just remember to ‘Keep it Simple’.

Remember, what makes a good bedroom design isn’t the budget or the type of designer you hire, it is the appeal. Try a couple of these ideas soon, and let us know how it goes.

Good Luck!

Photo Credits: Cover // 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 //10