Four Ways To Instantly Spruce Up Your Bedroom

We’re at the point where we’ve sorted of ‘finished’ the flat. I throw up the air quotes there because nothing is ever finished; there’s always a lamp that could fill an empty corner or a bare patch on the wall where you just can’t seem to work out if it needs a mirror there or not. However, I think we’re both at the point where we’re just happy to accept that it’s pretty much there and it’s time to step away and enjoy it little. I mean, it has been three years in the making. It’s probably time to stop scouting Oliver Bonas for a footstool or Etsy for an antique door knob set every evening. BOY ARE WE FUN!?

As I’ve mentioned 476 times (and bigged up to the point where I’m slightly concerned that people are expecting Cribs-esque quality), I’m finally getting round to posting the part two of our hallway and bathroom renovations at the weekend, but we’ve also had a mini re-jig of our bedroom too recently. It was nothing massive, just the finishing touches that mean that we’ve fallen back in love with it all over again and we’ve polished off the space to function in exactly the way that works best for us. Some flares required a bit of spending and some didn’t, so here’s how to spruce up your sleeping quarters if it’s in need of a mini makeover…

Make your nightstand work for you. Given that Mark’s side of the bed is close to our wardrobe which has a set of drawers underneath it, we don’t have too much space to pack a nightstand into and finding one that was the right size literally did take three years, as dramatic as that sounds. We not only wanted ones that were big enough to house a lamp, a charging phone, a drink of water and book and magazines on top, but also one that had a drawer and a shelf underneath for further storage and a place to hide our slippers underneath too. Enter the West Elm Metalwork Bedside Table, which I fully appreciate are a splurge, but ticked every single box and being pretty simple and plain, are something that I’m sure we’ll keep for yonks. Finally finding something that was the correct size and had decent storage in, has meant that I’m able to style out my nightstand as I’ve always wanted to and Mark now has even space to store paperwork/receipts/work stuff/bus tickets/old watches that he’s found/a library of books *raises eyebrow*. It’s also meant that I can now keep all my beauty bits bedside me which I’ve been able to create a little self care pre-bedtime routine out of. Pass me the sleep spray…

New bedding is the dream. It really is. We hadn’t invested in any new bedding since we moved from London and we really haven’t needed to over the past three years. We originally went all out when we first moved in together and spent some gift vouchers we had in John Lewis and it’s one of the best purchases we made. INVEST IN YOUR BEDDING PEOPLE! YOU SPEND SO LONG IN THERE! We only had two sets and although our grey duvet was still going strong, our white one was looking a little less so thanks to my faux tanning habit of 2016. So this time we picked up the West Elm Belgian Flax Linen Duvet Cover & Pillowcases – thanks to a recommendation from Lily – and holy cow, are these sheets SOFT. You know when you see slightly crinkled bedding on Instagram that looks so darn inviting? It’s this. 10/10 would recommend and there’s something about buying a new bedroom linen set that just freshens things up. Buy a different colour or texture to what you’ve had before and all of a sudden it feels like a brand new space.

Add some greenery. I love having plants in every single room of our home and although it means that I’m not the best plant mum because there’s just so many to care for, it quickly fills an empty corner with something that it good for you. If you’re tight on budget just do some moving around and pop a plant from your kitchen into your bedroom or head to your local garden centre to get a good price on your greens, instead of sourcing them from trendy shops (although the trendy shops do tend to stock some hard-to-find varieties and often sell them in fancy little pots too!). In fact I am current looking for just one more for our bedroom. See, I told you we’re never fully finished!

Declutter. Declutter. Declutter. My favourite tip to throw in to practically any list, eh? I’m always looking for tweaks that I can make to my possessions in order to streamline and trim things down further and after performing my quarterly wardrobe swap-in swap-out session at the weekend, even though the contents of my wardrobe is hidden behind closed doors, there’s just something that presses my relax button knowing that everything is in order. Clear out your makeup drawers, sort through your bed linen, search under your bed and finally go through your paperwork folder, clear out your wardrobe, nightstand, any other storage sections you have in your bedroom. It’s not necessarily an outward spruce that will catch your eye, but it’s a subtle shift in organisation that will make you feel fab inside. Try and keep your bedroom as clear as possible as it’s a place of rest. No bills, no paperwork on show and no work stuff if possible. You know the drill; it’s a place to count sheep, not your bank balance.

Photos by Lauren Shipley

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