Your bedroom is a place of refuge and intimacy, therefore your furniture and decor should awaken positive emotions when you are in it. On a practical level, walking into home decor stores can be overwhelming.
Kim Williams, Cape Town-based Creative Behaviour Strategist focused on designing interior spaces, knows better than most the importance a beautiful bedroom sanctuary plays in influencing your emotional wellbeing.
Having spent much of her childhood in her bedroom, she has a deep passion for positively impacting the physical and emotional health of her clients’ so they can live their best possible life – at home and work.
Here are Kims Top Tips to Buying Essential Elements to Awaken Positive Emotions in the bedroom:
The Bed
A comfortable bed and good linen can drastically improve your quality of sleep and leave you feeling recharged. A soft throw draped over yourself as you take an afternoon nap or read a book does wonders for the soul. Great linen can make you feel deeply and profoundly happy and a good bed for a good night’s rest can totally change your perspective on the challenges you face in the morning.
Lighting
Lighting is an essential tool when creating ambience – and both functional and ambient lighting is essential to controlling the mood of your space. I love to bring in a seating area near a window where you can sit with your morning coffee and be bathed in the gentle morning sunlight … or just sit to put your shoes on.
A Dressing Table
Dressing tables perform an important role as they are where we prepare ourselves mentally and physically for the day ahead. Creating a space with beautiful mirrors and elegant chairs to get ready for a special occasion also adds that extra little spark of excitement to the process.
Artistic elements
A beautiful piece of art or sculpture adds an aesthetic experience that results in positive emotional feelings such as pleasure and joy, especially when lit properly and layered over some glorious wallpaper. Beautiful lamps are a great functional way to bring styling into a room and by adding an element of nature such as potted house plants create interest and a connection to nature which also brings calming emotions to the fore.
Scent
The scent is one of the stronger triggers of emotional memory. It can be as subtle as fresh scented flowers, something I always have in my room, that gives a luxurious and romantic feel to the space. Or as simple as your favourite candle that when lit over a cup of tea before bed can have a deeply relaxing effect.
Bedrooms are more than sleeping quarters. They are our secluded spots in which the beauty and peace of the atmosphere help us to connect with a vast array of emotions from romance and rejuvenation to refuge and relaxation.
After helping clients who have been confined to their bedrooms due to health issues, I realised that by creating a welcoming environment my clients experienced a renewed sense of hope from being in a space invigorated with new life.
As people, we create spaces on an intelligent subconscious level and that by understanding where we feel the best, we will get closer to excellent mindful design.
For more tips from Kim Williams, sign-up for her blog at www.kimwilliams.co.za or follow her on Facebook and Instagram @kim_williams_design.
