How to Make Your Bedroom a Sanctuary for Sleep

Posted on October 19, 2016

Your bedroom should be your escape. Even if the rest of the house is a storm, it should be the calm eye and conducive to sleep.

Now, I understand that some people can fall asleep anywhere, at any time, and are impervious to their surroundings, but I am not one of them. As I lie in bed, I am troubled by The Chair of Doom. You have one of these, too, right? (Please tell me someone else does…) You know: during the day, you fling everything on the bed in haste, and at the end of the day, you chuck everything off the bed (because you have to climb into it) and onto the chair. So, the chair is an issue, but the rest of the room is (almost) on point. You’d think I’d sleep like a baby. (Maybe I would if I sorted out The Chair of Doom?)

Keep it calm

Much as I love a bright pattern, I don’t love it quite so much in the bedroom. Instead, channel this season’s Scandi vibe and opt for a simple palette. Think shades of white, natural wood, a sheepskin rug next to your bed so your feet are cosy when you hop out of bed…

Surround yourself with comfort – and objects which are meaningful

What’s on your bedside table? Mine used to be piled high with books I hadn’t yet got around to reading – but I pared it back. Now there’s my beloved Roberts Radio; a book of collected letters (good for dipping into when I don’t fancy the book I’m currently reading); my bedside lamp; and, on occasion, a little vase of flowers and then something personal: a card my husband gave me, propped up against the books; a note from my daughter; a rose-scented candle Alex gave me. From my bed I can see the painting my husband bought me for our first wedding anniversary – and the chair I picked up in the antiques shop in my parents’ village for a song. So make it personal.

Indar Mirror, £176, Rowen & Wren

Munchkin chair, £596, Loaf

Deep Sleep candle, £25, This Works

Buy the best bed (and bedding) you can afford

Avignon bed linen collection, from £14, The White Company

Yes, it matters. You spend an awful lot of time in bed, so get the foundations right: a great mattress and a mattress topper (mine almost changed my life), and then make it as lovely as possible. Look for high thread count cotton – it’s cool, crisp and delightful – and add a blanket or quilt, which you can pull up if you feel chilly at night. I covet this one from The White Company – and what right-thinking woman could resist a pom pom blanket?

Brittany quilt, from £180, The White Company

Pom pom blanket, £115, Wood/Grey

Blue candy stripe, from £16, Cologne & Cotton

Pom pom blanket, (sold out, but more coming soon) Edit 58

Choose pyjamas worth wearing

Striped top, £26 and shorts, £14, Topshop

Because it’s nice to look nice when you go to bed. Even if it’s just with a book. I need to upgrade my bedwear and I’m holding out for a monogrammed pair of pjs from JCrew (is it too early to write to Father Christmas?) or a silk something from Whistles’ collaboration with Yolke; although this Bodas pair would also do very nicely, as would this metallic star print pair from Hush. So even if your dreams aren’t sweet, you’ll definitely look it.