Five styling choices preventing you from getting peaceful sleep

There are design guiding principles, that will help you style your home as a professional. They will help you achieve balance and alignment, proportion, contrast and emphasis and flowing movement.

But most importantly, they are guiding principles meant to help you discover  your own style. They also guide you to create an environment suitable for your family’s needs. 

While these guiding principles are fluid, there are some rules that should not be broken, because when broken, they have tangible impacts. Consider them as styling faux pas that you should stay clear. 

Light in bedroom

You will always get the best sleep when you sleep in a very quiet and very dark room. To have a very dark room, you need to cover all the points where light enters your bedroom.

When it comes down to it, your bedroom is probably the most used space in your home and one that has a sole purpose. It is not a multipurpose space, not like the other spaces in your home.

You can skip sitting in your living room and sit in your dining room instead. You can skip eating in your dining room and eat in your kitchen nook instead. You can skip cooking altogether and not set foot in your kitchen at all. You can do laundry in your bathroom. You can work from your store… and so on. But you have to sleep in your bedroom.

Your bedroom’s purpose is to provide a space for you to sleep, relax, unwind and have your privacy. It is your sanctuary. And because its sole purpose is being your sanctuary,  so style it for that purpose mainly.

Your bed is the wrong place

Your bed can have a major impact on your sleep quality.  As a general rule of thumb, your bedroom door should be visible from your bed, but your bed should only be partially visible from your door. This can help provide a greater sense of security, as you can easily see who is coming and going, without them seeing you. And avoid placing your headboard against a wall with noisy pipes, too.

For those  that believe in the traditional Chinese practice of feng shui, place the head against the wall with space around both sides and the foot, to allow energy to flow freely.

Family photos

It is not a good idea to hang mounted or framed photos of your family or friends on your bedroom walls. It matters not if the photos are of living or deceased people, they should not hang on your bedroom walls.

Why? Because of the energy from these photos, according to feng shui practices, the energy from photos is overpowering and can cause restlessness that upsets your sleep night after night.

Plus it feels as if the eyes of the people in the photos are seeing you, looking into your soul. Simply put, you cannot have the privacy you seek in your bedroom when you have an audience. (That reason is mine, it’s not a feng shui practice.)

The ideal place to hang framed or mounted photos of your family and friends is anywhere in the home where the family communally gathers.

If you must have framed or mounted photos in your bedroom, then select minimalist abstract photos or artwork that promotes rest and relaxation.

Non-blackout curtains

You will always get the best sleep when you sleep in a very quiet and very dark room. To have a very dark room, you need to cover all the points where light enters your bedroom. Blackout curtains will do the job for you.

Now, remember, black curtains are not the same as blackout curtains. Blackout is a special type of fabric that is either woven into the curtains themselves or added as a lining to curtains that let in light.

Blackout completely blocks all light – natural and artificial – from entering your bedroom through your windows and upsetting your sanctuary. You can buy ready-to-install blackout curtains (mostly second-hand curtains at thrift markets) or you can buy the lining and have your fundi add the lining to your curtains.

TV in the bedroom

 The main reason not to have a TV in your bedroom is that (a) it will bring a lot of over-stimulating noise into your bedroom.

The noise and the blinding light from the TV will disrupt the restful energy you seek from your sanctuary, and (b), you will steal too much time to watch it.

Working in the bedroom

Your bedroom’s purpose is to provide a space for you to sleep, relax, unwind and have your privacy. A time that should have gone into wholesome activities that fulfil your soul and wind you down for restful sleep that will be squandered on watching TV.

I am talking about soulful activities such as reading a book alone or journaling, listening to a podcast or reflecting on your day, perhaps quality alone time with your significant other.

Related to the TV is having your work desk in your bedroom. Granted, you may have placed it there to have some privacy for your online meetings. Or because you have a beautifully styled wall in your bedroom that provides a beautiful backdrop for these meetings. Or because you need to concentrate on your work and there is no other space in your crowded house that offers this reclusion for your deep work. While your bedroom may be a fantastic space to get your work done, it is not the ideal space for the purposeful sanctuary of the space.Having your work desk in your bedroom means that you cannot healthily separate your work life from your rest life.

You may fall asleep working at your desk and wake up at your desk, barely giving yourself a chance to sleep restfully, wake up properly, meditate, shower, get dressed and leave your bedroom to go start your workday elsewhere.

Have a healthy distinction between your work and rest by not having your work desk in your bedroom.

Your room is too cluttered

A cluttered bedroom could contribute to an inability to unwind at the end of the day, as it can quickly overwhelm your mind and give the feeling of having unfinished tasks to do,.

Simple tasks such as making your bed each morning and clearing away clutter can help you to fall asleep each night.

To avoid spending your evenings tidying up, add a storage basket in your room so you can quickly store away clutter that belongs in another room, ready to organise in the morning.

Uncomfortable accessories

If have a good mattress and supportive bed frame, why do you still end up tossing and turning on your bed?  Is your pillow saggy? Is your blanket so hot that you are drenched with sweat at night? Are you bothered by nightly itching, sneezing, and irritation?

If you have been using your pillows for more than two years already, chances are they have become saggy, lumpy and are prone to catching allergens.

That is your cue to replace your pillow. When buying your new pillow, make sure it is supportive and comfortable. Also, look for anti-dust mite, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and hypoallergenic properties.

For your bedding, look for products made with natural materials such cotton to ensure breathable comfort.  Also consider  items with a sateen finish for a softer feel.

Over-stimulating wall colours

Lastly, you may have selected a wall colour that is overstimulating your senses and upsetting your peace. Warm colours over-stimulate you and cool colours soothe you and put you in a restful state. Warm colours are such as oranges and yellows, reds. Cool colours are such as greens and blues, greys. Blue, in particular, is known to be a very restful colour that enhances relaxation and release, which is what you want when you walk into your bedroom. Also, extend this colour palette to your bedding. You can use warm colours as decorative colours on your throw pillows but make sure the functional main pieces have subdued tones that enhance relaxation.