Category: bedroom

When the clocks fall back an hour at the end of October, it officially signals darker evenings. Whilst this can be a joy in many ways, it also presents some of us with a problem and that is, adapting our sleep pattern to fit with the change in time.

This isn’t an uncommon problem. Jet lag is similar. The body’s natural rhythm becomes disrupted by changes in time zones. It can take a period of adjustment to get back to our natural sleep pattern but there are things you can do to encourage your body to wind down at the end of the day and enjoy a restful night’s sleep.

1 Accept that your sleep may be disrupted for a few nights

Some people are sensitive to the change in the clocks and so when you know this will be the case, taking steps to be prepared can help.

Start by decluttering the bedroom, clearing the tops of your rustic furniture and making it a relaxing space helps get you in the mood to nod off. A change will have an impact on how you feel about the room. For example, fresh linen on your reclaimed wood bed is a sheer delight, as to is having a wafting gentle scent of a diffuser or scented candles. Lavender is a restful scent that can lull your whirring sense to a state of calm.

Clear the top of your small dressing table and wooden bedside table too so that there is no unnecessary clutter to detract from it being a restful space.

2 Have a bedtime routine and stick to it

A bedtime routine is just as important for adults as it is for children! A warm bath can help you to relax before bed, as too can set a time when you will have your bath and go to bed. The temptation is to leave it until we feel tired, but this can make us overtired and more fretful about not getting to sleep!

3 Digital, screen-free zone

With your reclaimed wood furniture decluttered and a few choice accessories around, you now need to set a rule and one that can and will revolutionise your life: the bedroom is a digital and screen-free zone. Ditch the mobile (leave that somewhere else) and if you read via an electronic reader, leave that for daytime reading opting for the printed word instead. Reading helps the mind to slow right down and when you feel the eyelids start to droop, put your book down, turn off the light and allow yourself to sink into sleep.

4 Don’t eat too late

Some people believe that the less your body has to do at night time, the more likely you are to fall to sleep. Eating before bed means the body is busy digesting food in the gut and for some people, that means being awake. Allow yourself two hours after dinner before bed and steer clear of spicy foods that could lead to indigestion.

5 Don’t worry about not sleeping!

It may take a few nights but eventually, your body will fall back into its natural rhythm. In the meantime, enjoy your bedroom and a good book!

Figures estimate that around a third of us will struggle with getting to and staying asleep. Occasional sleep troubles usually pass, but when sleep problems persist, it’s time to take a look at your bedtime routine as well as the bedroom environment itself.

Update your bedroom

The sleep environment is important. It needs to be calm and quiet and not just physically either, but in its décor too. And sometimes, making a complete change to the bedroom environment can be one way of improving the quality of your sleep.

• Choose a style that you find calming, comfortable and warm

Our personal choices vary and so what one person finds calming, another may find stark. The rustic style is a fantastic choice for the bedroom. Reclaimed wood furniture oozes mystic, especially as it mingles with carefully chosen accessories.

• Keep storage at the forefront of your mind

A common issue that people find clouds the bedroom space is clutter. It may be hidden but those piles of boxes under the bed or items stored on top of the wardrobe all contribute to a less than perfect bedroom. Consider a rustic large chest of drawers with a complementing wooden bedside table to keep your bedroom essentials close at hand, but out of sight.

• Pay close attention to the bed

A soft yet supportive mattress is key to waking refreshed and ready for the day ahead, but the bed frame also plays an important part. A reclaimed wood bed fits right into the rustic bedroom style, creating a warm and inviting space. You’ll find all the stylish piece you need in our ever-popular Beam Rustic Furniture Collection.

• Paint the walls

Against a neutral backdrop, the pieces of from the Beam Collection will stand out beautifully. Neutral tones will also be the perfect choice for creating a warm and relaxing bedroom too. Opt for warm creams or even a pale pink or very light yellow for the rustic bedroom, staying away from colours that have cool undertones such as blue.

• Keep textures calm too

We often assume that plenty of fluffy textures is the way forward to creating a cosy rustic bedroom, but you might find that ‘busy’ textures aren’t quite what you need. Smoother textures are ideal against reclaimed wood furniture in the bedroom, as too as ‘quieter’ patterns.

Settling the mind before sleep

With the bedroom updated to bring a calmness and serenity to it, you now need to add the touches that help to settle a racing mind at the end of the day. There are a few ways of doing this;

Calm the senses – SMELL – a pleasant, calming aroma in the bedroom can help to settle the mind before sleep. Gentle scent is top of the list and so look for diffusers that release their scent gently. The same is true of scented large candles too.

Calm the senses – VISION – ditch the electronics as the blue light stimulates the retina and that means the brain is reawakened at a time when you need it to calm.

Calm the senses – TOUCH – warmth is important but you don’t want to be too hot or cold in your bedroom. As well as setting the temperature in the room, opt for layers of throws on the bed which can you removed when needed

Airbnb it has transformed the way we travel. With more people opening their homes to fellow travellers, we’ve written an extensive guide on how to make your home Airbnb ready with rustic furniture, including getting your guest bedroom Airbnb ready.

Bedroom storage is a definite must-have in a guest room and so with this in mind, we take a look at some of the best bedroom storage options.

How to store clothes in a limited space?

Guests will expect the bedroom to have somewhere to unpack their clothes and belongings, but that doesn’t mean you have to have masses of storage space. As well as a wardrobe and chest of drawers, think outside the box, literally, with a stylish and versatile blanket box.

As the name suggests, these large trunks were once used to store spare towels, bed linen and throws, something they can still be used for today. But for your guests, a blanket offers a great alternative to store clothes and belongings whilst bringing certain rustic charm to the room.

There is a design of box to suit every style, be it a rustic blanket box with a smooth domed lid or a colonial style rattan blanket box with a padded top, which can also double up as a practical bedroom seat.

How do you maximise space in a small bedroom?

In a small bedroom, where floor space is at a premium, you don’t want to overload the room with furniture, but at the same time, you want your guests to have the luxury of ample storage space.

The Standford chest of drawers and cupboard is a versatile piece of reclaimed wood furniture that offers drawer space and cupboard space in one. In a smaller bedroom, it can also easily function as a rustic bedside table next to a reclaimed wood bed, as can this medium chest of drawers. This time in a dark shade, it makes a very pretty bedside table. Opt for a matching pair and position either side of the bed; when space is at a premium, smaller items of furniture instead of one large chest of drawers can be the better option.

Another solution is to opt for the tall chest of drawers. Tall and narrow, they take up less floor space, ideal if you have higher ceilings in your guest room. These chest of drawers are also perfect for a corner or to fill a gap next to the wardrobe.

How can I make a small bedroom look bigger?

The knack of making a room feel bigger is to maximise the amount of floor on display and that means choosing furniture that has a gap between its underside and the floor. Choosing key pieces that your guests will love is also key.

For example, a white dressing table with drawersgives not only drawer space but tabletop space too. Similar in design, the extra storage options and details of this rustic dressing table will also complement a smaller bedroom.

Bedside tables that are not imposing in their dimensions also help to make more of the bedroom space but offer enough storage for guests staying in the short term. Useful features such as the pull out extra table on this chest of drawersis perfect for a morning cup of tea!

With so many options, you’re sure to find the right furniture that will guarantee guests return time and time again!

Styling a small bedroom means solving many problems but it is possible to create a relaxing space. The rustic style lends itself perfectly – streamlined, yet warm and comfortable, it brings many options to the smaller bedroom.

Limit the colour palette

Reducing the number of colours you use on walls and soft furnishings will bring a sense of symmetry and cohesion. The rustic interior design style effectively uses a neutral but warm colour palette which means that cool light blue walls or warm pastel yellow will work perfectly with reclaimed wood furniture.

Maximise floor space

A clever trick and one that you can use in any small space is to maximise the amount of floor on show. The more floor you can see, the bigger the small bedroom will feel.

And that means choosing a reclaimed wood bed that not only fit with the rustic style but is also non-bulky and overly oppressive.

With space between the underside of the bed and the floor, the headboard and footboard of the Standford reclaimed wood bed won’t look or feel too much in the smaller bedroom.

Consider painted bedroom furniture too, such as in the Worcester Collection, a range recently added to the Modish stable of beautiful rustic reclaimed wood furniture.

Maximise light

Light is important in any space but in a smaller bedroom, if it is at a premium, you need to take steps to make more of every inch of daylight and ambient light too. Mirrors and shiny surfaces clearly make a marked difference in a small space. A floor mirror will work wonders, especially in a shaded corner.

Consider storage options carefully

Storage options in the smaller bedroom need to be carefully thought through. Not having enough makes it a less-than-practical space but you don’t want to crowd the room either. Consider which bedroom storage options will offer the best solutions. For example, a tall chest of drawers in a small room that has high ceilings won’t look out of place – the Winchester tall chest of drawers is a stunning example as are the tall drawers from the white painted version from the Dorset Collection.

Other chests of drawer options include the ample storage offered by a 6-drawer chest. With less height but broader width, the six-drawer option would be ideal along one wall. Accessorise with a pretty lamp and key pieces to add harmony and symmetry to the bedroom.

Frame the room

Like all rooms, a small bedroom needs points of reference that make sense to the eye. And that means getting to grips with framing the space. The easiest means of achieving this is with bedroom rugs. As well as adding colour, they bring texture too but choose size wisely – always leave a gap around the edge of the rug and the wall – and consider how much colour you want or need the rug to add. The rustic bedroom style relies heavily on neutral and light shades of colour but a darker shade of a highlight colour wouldn’t go amiss. A green abstract pattern rug wouldn’t look out of place.

Don’t squeeze everything in!

Choose pieces carefully starting with the bedframe, followed by storage options but think outside the norm too – there is nothing to say that a blanket box won’t work in a small bedroom as storage.