How to design a dream bedroom: 7 gorgeous bedroom styles
03.2022
Discover 7 inspiring ideas to help create your dream bedroom
From bedroom furniture to colour advice: 7 stylish bedroom looks
Decorating a bedroom can be great fun, as it’s an opportunity to unleash your inner creative and play with themes and styles with more freedom than in other rooms of the house. Having said that, it’s also an incredibly important room, so it’s crucial to be ever so slightly sensible. After all, the bedroom is an environment that should foster a feeling of wellbeing and be conducive to a good night’s sleep.
As bedrooms come in all shapes and sizes, and are often squeezed into the oddest places, you will not always start with the perfect blank canvas, whether we’re talking about a modest makeover or even a complete overhaul. But, fear not, there are plenty of ways to transform even the most uninspiring four walls into a gorgeous bedroom so let’s become voyeurs and tour around a few.
Choosing your bedroom style
As we’ve already mentioned, when it comes to home decorating, bedrooms can pose a few challenges, mainly to do with their size – too big, too small, windows in awkward places, to name just a couple.
On the other hand, this is a room that lends itself to an almost-endless choice of themes and décor styles, so it’s an excuse to have fun and let your imagination run riot.
Whether you are designing from scratch or giving it a makeover, we’ve put together 7 inspiring bedroom design ideas. To make things simple, we’ve categorised them by style, apart from one, which deserves special attention because it covers a common problem, which is how to best decorate a small bedroom.
A modern bedroom
It will come as no surprise when we say that the so-called “modern style” has become firmly entrenched in recent years.
Characterised by a certain severity in its lines and shapes, its versatile nature lends itself to any room in the home, and, when it comes to the bedroom, is an easy option that can be implemented quickly and with relatively little fuss.
However, you do need to be a bit careful here! This “simple” look actually requires more attention to detail and care than you think, from the colour of the floor and walls right down to the choice of accessories.
Let’s take a look at the key guidelines to follow for a modern bedroom style:
- Start with wall and floor materials and colours
- Modern bedroom, modern bedhead
- Lighting – the magic ingredient
The first rule to achieving a modern bedroom décor is to opt for neutral colours, both for the walls and floor.
Then, when it comes to choosing your floor, there is nothing more suitable (and timeless) than something natural, whether that be wood or stone, with the good news being that nowadays you can find parquet tiles in both materials.
Given a modern style bedroom is all about understatement, the first thing that will generally catch the eye is the wall where the bedhead is placed, so it’s a critical décor decision, and also one which allows you to up add an elegant touch to the overall look.
A simple Internet search will present a raft of bedhead designs and styles, but if you’re looking for a contemporary solution, you should opt for simplicity and simple shapes, with little in the way of embellishment.
The most popular materials for a modern bedhead are wood, natural stone and padded fabric, but they don’t necessarily have to be part of a bedframe – all three of these can simply be attached to the wall above the pillow line.
The important thing here is to make sure whatever material you choose for your bedhead, it creates a contrast with the wall, whether in terms of colour or material.
Another key feature of a modern bedroom décor is the bed itself, which should be discreet and as simple as possible. This is not a piece that should clutter or dominate the room, which is why a futon or low-slung platform bed are perfect choices with their sleek edges and minimalist look.
It’s a well-known fact that light affects our mood, our sleep patterns and even our sense of well-being, so when it comes to the bedroom, the room dedicated to rest, it’s a serious topic!
While natural light is always good for the soul, “artificial” lighting can also perform magic, creating an environment that is atmospheric, relaxing and conducive to a good night’s sleep. That’s why we recommend having more than one light source, scattered around the room at intervals, obviously by the bed for practical reasons, but also over a mirror and in a principal location.
In terms of aesthetics, if you’re wanting your light fixtures to double up as accessories, you should concentrate on simple, linear shapes and colours, and our “baby” Urano lamp fits that brief perfectly with its understated 18-cm spherical form in pure white marble.
Below is an example of how to achieve a modern bedroom look that is pared-back, contemporary but absolutely welcoming.
A designer bedroom
If you love design hotels, why not recreate the look in your own home with a “designer bedroom”?
As with a modern bedroom style, here you are again looking at neutral tones, such as white, beige, grey, brown and every shade between, but you are less restrained when it comes to lines and shapes.
This is where you get to play and experiment, pushing the boundaries, mixing crisp edges with soft curves and unexpected juxtapositions.
Lovers of design won’t be surprised to hear that key to creating this look are the details, no matter how small. Whether it’s a picture hung just so, the choice of lamp or the items placed on a shelf, every single piece plays its part in the overall look and feel.
As we all know, pictures usually speak louder than words, so our advice would be to look at this bedroom, and notice how each element is in perfect harmony with the space and with each other, while traditional rules are broken, such as “you must have matching bedside cabinets” or “pictures must be centred over a bed”.
When it comes to designer bedroom style, it’s all about creating a cohesive impact that simply pleases the eye.
A minimalist bedroom
As the name suggests, a minimalist bedroom is all about creating a clean, uncluttered look. However, that doesn’t have to mean the room becomes sterile or lacking in personality.
After all, the most famous proponents of minimalism are surely the Scandinavians, and Scandi Style is an enduring favourite when it comes to interior design!
There is no better example than this image in which each item of furniture has plenty of room to breathe, yet together the elements create an environment that oozes serenity and comfort, which, after all, is exactly what you want from a bedroom.
City loft style
Think vast rooms, high ceilings, full-length windows with fantastic cityscapes and maybe a touch of industrial chic in the form of iron or steel.
The rule book is torn up for loft style, metropolitan chic, call it what you want, but this is the opportunity to create a bedroom that has no boundaries, literally and figuratively.
After all, why not make the most of all that space and install a shower or bathtub in the bedroom? Sheer bliss!
An Oriental style bedroom
Design has long been influenced by Oriental culture, appreciating its clean, fluid aesthetic and purity of line and concept.
With its innate capacity to create a sense of harmony and serenity, it’s no surprise that Oriental style has become an increasingly popular choice when it comes to bedroom décor.
Natural materials, timeless, elegant patterns and an uncluttered approach are all essential to creating an Oriental theme.
Contemporary design and modern technology give new interpretations to ancient techniques, fusing traditional and modern to create the perfect antidote to today’s fast-paced world. This bedroom, for example, features the Japanese art of Tatami, reinterpreted in stone on the walls, to produce an environment that is restorative, calm and oh so elegant.
A classic bedroom décor
If you’re looking to create a classic bedroom look, there are a few essential elements that will immediately help you develop the theme.
Unsurprisingly, the type of bed you choose is fundamental and two of the most popular solutions are a metal frame, either in dark iron or painted in white, or a wooden bedhead and bedstead combination. Or, if you really want to indulge, why not make a four-poster bed the focus point?
Generally, drawers, bedside cabinets and wardrobes will be in wood, and here there are no rules when it comes to colour, with white, light brown or dark brown all ideal for a classic bedroom décor.
If you have opted for dark brown furniture, we would suggest balancing that out by going for a lighter colour on the walls as otherwise you could risk the room becoming too heavy and sombre.
If you like simple, neutral colours, but want something that adds a little more depth and elegance than simple painted walls, natural stone is an interesting alternative.
Whether you choose it in a standard honed finish, or a texture for a little “oomph”, we’d suggest either a classic Bianco Carrara or, for a warmer feeling, a soft, pale hue such as Crema d’Orcia.
Oh, and stone walls have another advantage – they are incredibly long-lasting and easy to look after!
Here’s an example of how stone has been used on both walls and floor, with a lovely large rug creating that cosy touch and ensuring no cold feet first thing during those chilly winter mornings.
Small bedroom ideas
Furnishing and decorating a small bedroom can be a tricky business, devouring time and energy on pragmatic aspects such as finding a bed that fits or compact solutions for hanging your clothes when of course, it’s much more fun to focus on colour schemes and accessories.
However, even the tiniest bedroom deserves to have attention lavished on it, and there are certain tricks you can employ to make it seem less cramped, playing with colours to draw the eye to where they’re placed rather than to the smallness of the room.
There are also many smart space-saving solutions for small bedrooms on the market today, especially when it comes to bedframes with integrated storage and drawers. In such case, you’ll still want somewhere to place your cosmetics, jewellery and so on, but the answer is simple, as all you need to do is attach a stylish shelf to the wall at whatever height works best for you.
As you can see from this photo, by using bold colour and unconventional solutions such as a partial wall, there is no reason a small bedroom shouldn’t pack a big punch when it comes to stylish décor.
Whether it’s for business or pleasure, your first time in the city or your tenth, one cannot come to Paris without taking some time to walk along the dark green waters of the Seine.
The true nature of Scandinavian design goes far beyond mere minimalism. The pale colours, ample use of space and light and coolly sparse, pared-back style which generally spring to mind don’t necessarily reflect the true depth and soul of the movement.
