Making your bedroom a private sanctuary - Kansas City Apartment and Rental decorating Advice

The average person spends at least one third of their life sleeping and resting. So, why do it in a room that’s Spartan in design? Your bedroom should speak to your inner senses, offering a refuge from the world outside.Whether the space you have is a small 10 by 10 or you have a spacious room just right for some serious decorator accents, there are ways you can ensure the four walls that house your bed also provide you comfort at the end of a long day.

Before you start decorating, there are a few things you’ll want to consider first:

• Do you share the space with someone else? If so, it’s very important to gain their input on decorating, especially in the bedroom. If blues bring out a sense of peace in you and they drive your partner crazy, the color simply won’t do. Should a design only provide relaxation for one person, the purpose of a haven is defeated. Collaboration, cooperation and compromise are key here.
• Take stock in the space you have. What’s the best way to arrange furniture for not only appearance, but ease of use? Visualize the space and your belongings within it. Aim for comfort and an easy-to-navigate layout.
• Set a theme: Whether it’s romantic, sporty, masculine or modern chic, setting a theme for a room can not only help you bring a room together, it can help you achieve the creation of a personal sanctuary. If you’re looking to create a beautiful room that’s also romantic, lighting, colors and accents are of prime importance. Choose soft lighting and even dimmers to help set a romantic tone and consider a few candles to round out the appearance. Accents such as false drapes to create a canopy effect over the bed are inexpensive to make and look fantastic. Also consider scented candles or potpourri and be sure to have a CD player or radio nearby to help set a musical tone. For romance, go with sounds that set your heart aflutter. To relax, think about nature sounds – lyrics get in the way of allowing the mind to clear. Keep lighting, colors and bedding in mind for other themes as well. And remember, any theme can be romantic when combined with other elements such as lighting, music and scents.
• Decide upon colors: This is an important step in creating the perfect bedroom atmosphere. Whether you want to pick a color scheme that matches your favorite bedspread or pick up an accent color from a piece of artwork you’re planning on using as a centerpiece, once the walls are “just right” everything else falls into place.
• Choose bedding: This is perhaps the most important step in creating a sanctuary. If the bed’s not just right, the room won’t be and your ability to rest will be impaired. If romantic is the tone you want to set, bedding is absolutely vital. The same goes for sporty, masculine and even peaceful. The spread must accent the theme or the room won’t come together. Plus, the sheets no matter the mood you’re trying to set should be comfortable and relaxing and so should the mattress. If your mattress isn’t comfortable, consider adding a featherbed mattress atop the one you already own. These are relatively inexpensive and can turn a bed that feels like a rock into one that still supports the body, but feels like heaven on earth.
• If your decorating scheme calls for painting, check with your landlord first. If you’re just moving in, great. You can do this first, paint and then move furniture into the space. It’s just smarter and easier that way! Even if you’ve been living in your home for a long time, it’s still a good idea to make sure it’s okay to paint before you proceed. It’s also a good idea to speak with your landlord about any other changes you want to make to adapt to your scheme. It is not unheard of for a landlord to have a tenant request special tile or carpeting installed, at their own cost of course, but some places may have rules against such alterations, so be smart and be sure!
• Now that your colors are set and you’ve made any alterations that you feel necessary, and are allowed, it’s time to move in, arrange and accent. This is the fun part! When arranging your furniture, do so in a way that pleases you. If the sun trickling through the windows early in the morning wakes you up with a smile, put the bed where you’ll gain the maximum effect from a beautiful sunrise. If light drives you crazy, cover your windows with dark drapes and move your bed away so you can gain the maximum comfort any time of day.

The key to creating a personal haven is making sure you do what feels right to you. For most people, clutter in the bedroom just reminds them of work undone, so be sure to arrange in a way that’s easy to maintain and keep clean. Keep flat surfaces as free from clutter as possible by taking advantage of closet and drawer organization and even consider a decorative armoire to hide electronics from view when not in use.

Above all, remember, it’s your room. Decide what makes you happy, what makes you relax and run with it. With the right colors, good arranging and some simple accents, your bedroom can transform quickly and easily from a place to sleep to a personal sanctuary that offers peace and comfort.

by Tiffany Lewis, Kansas City Premier Apartments, Inc.