Designing Diva Interiors

 * This post originally featured on this blog in December of 2009.

Not falling asleep quickly? Maybe you just don’t feel rested once you wake up. Of course there may be a medical explaination for this. Or maybe the bedroom itself is the cause of your restless nights. If the latter may be true for you, read on for five tips that should help you get on the road to peaceful sleep.

#1. Clear the clutter. Nightstands and dressers are no place for yesterday’s coffee mug, stacks of magazines, laundry piles, etc. Hit the dollar store for baskets and other containers that will neatly store your necessities out of sight (don’t forget about under the bed!) and trash the empty lipstick tube.

#2. Consider color. If you have jolting colors in your sleeping space they could very well be causing your mind to stay active long after your body is ready to shut down. If a restful retreat is your goal, steer clear of reds, oranges, pinks, etc and go with blues, greens or greys.

#3. Scents you brought it up… The scent you surround yourself with alters your mood without you even realizing it. Plug-ins or linen sprays in lavender and eucalyptus all have calming effects to signal your brain that its time to rest.  

#4. You made your bed now you have to lie in it.  Most of us spend several hours each day under the sheets so why would you buy designer clothes but skimp on bedding? If you can afford it, get the right mattress for your sleep style. If that kind of investment is out of reach right now, you can compensate with a feather bed which goes on top of the mattress but under the fitted sheet. Used in Europe first these ultra plush beds are about 2″ thick and help to even out lumps in the mattress. Next, go for sheets that simply beg you to return. Ditch the pilled ones you bought when you were in college. Don’t be fooled by high thread counts, though. Once you get past 400 its an equal playing field. And make your bed daily! A made up bed makes the entire room look instantly more calm and picked up.

#5. Kiss the TV buh-bye. When designing bedrooms from the ground up I never put a TV in unless the client specifically demands it. TVs act as a distraction that keeps your focus off of rest. And if you are in the habit of falling asleep with the TV on you are preventing your REM cycle from completing which means you’re less than perky come dawn.  If you must have a TV in the master bedroom put it inside a cabinet or armoire with doors so you can close it up at night.