How to Style a Relaxing Bedroom

For many of us, our home serves as a place to retreat and relax. Specifically, our bedrooms are where we spend some of our most important time resting. But don’t be fooled into thinking your nightly slumber is the only form of rest that matters. From taking time to do your skincare routine, to reading in bed, to meditation, every moment of quiet relaxation helps us take on whatever the day holds. 

All of this is exactly why it’s so important that our bedrooms are a calming environment. From the way you style your bedding, to the way you organise your bedside table (yes, it matters), every little detail contributes to creating a space that’s primed for a bit of R&R. 

To help you on your way to creating your own personal retreat, we’ve put together seven ways to create a relaxing bedroom – including a few key styling tips from Interior Stylist, Fiona Gould. 

Colour therapy, psychology or meaning — there’s no denying the impact that colour can have on everything from an outfit, to a garden, to your bedroom. As founder and principal of the Iris School of Colour Therapy, Suzy Chiazzari, told Vogue Living Australia, “Colour affects our moods and emotions, so it has a profound effect on our thoughts and behaviour.” 

When it comes to creating your calming colour palette, Fiona recommends looking for soft, muted shades. Our Arwood Quilt Cover brings a light and airy feel to your space, with its soft shade of sky blue. Pair with Abbotson Linen sheeting in white for a timeless colour combination that will have you feeling like you’re sleeping on a cloud. Plus, the natural fibres are soft and breathable, keeping you comfy as can be for a smooth night’s sleep. 

Just because we’re keeping things light doesn’t mean we can’t have fun with our bedding. Introduce some subtle prints into the mix or play with different textures. There’s plenty of ways to add variation to your bedding ensemble without diving headfirst into maximalism (although we do love a maximalist bedroom, but there’s a time and a place for that). 

Fiona says it’s these kinds of small details that can take your look to the next level. Looking again to Arwood (our muse for this look, if you hadn’t already picked up on that), it’s the Italian ladder stitch detailing on the trim, and the nature-inspired tonal print that really bring this look to life. 

Your bed is a vital part of creating a calming space, where not only can you relax, but you can leave feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. All of the re’s, really.  

And to do so, you need to prioritise your sleep — or, more accurately, invest in it. Our sleep — or lack thereof — impacts our performance. So how can we sleep better, and truly feel relaxed? Well, there are the classic recommendations like getting sun exposure when you wake up, avoiding naps during the day, and keeping your sleep environment dark, quiet and cool.  

But your bedding can actually have an impact on your sleep hygiene — helping you sleep faster, and sleep for longer. Think about all the times you slept on a dodgy mattress or a flat pillow, and how well you slept — and how you felt the next day. 

If you can’t your hands on a brand new mattress there are still multiple ways to make your bed as comfortable and cosy as can be. 

Surround yourself with softness, and start with a mattress topper or underlay. You can keep cosy year round (and avoid reaching for the thermostat) by adding a quilt to your bed that suits the season.  

And don’t forget about the importance of a pillow — or two, or however many you need — when it comes to how to make your bedroom a relaxing place. Different pillow profiles work best for different people — both how they sleep, and their shape — and while you may like memory foam or latex, the person sleeping next to you might prefer feather & down, or a polyester alternative. 

Don’t forget about blankets, throws and bed covers for a top off of cosiness. 

This is a way to take relaxing ideas outside of the bedroom. We’ve all had a moment where we’ve tried on an itchy jumper or struggled with jeans that are a bit too tight — which is why it’s important for your pyjamas and loungewear to be anything but.  

Fashion Institute of Technology professor, Ajoy Sarkar, told Today that skin-friendly fabrics include “cotton, linen, silk, and those made with wood pulp.” Something like cotton will feel lightweight against your skin — whereas plant-derived TENCEL™ Lyocell fibres offer a smooth feel. 

Look for pyjamas like our Audra Shirt and Pants. Merino wool — see our Baseline Knit collection — offers softness against the skin, whereas jersey like our Solstice collection or Elowen Pant Set stretches with you. 

Although touch is a key sense when it comes to curating comfort — lighting, scent and sound can all help to set up the senses for relaxing.  

If you go too dim of a light, you can end up putting strain on your eyes, whereas too bright and white — it’s giving clinical, it’s giving dentist.  

So how do you create a calm bedroom in this instance? It’s all about the ambience. Start with the lightbulbs — a warmer, neutral or softer light bulb, for something that’s soothing but still allows you to see. According to the professionals out there, you’re looking for a colour temperature between 2,700-3,000K.  

If your lighting situation is more bare bulb hanging from the ceiling than anything nicer, a light-coloured shade can help change the feeling (and make the whole room look a bit better, if we’re being honest).  

And creating a scentscape — looking at you, scented candles — can also have a pretty powerful impact on your mood. Science backs up the fact that our sense of smell plays an important role when it comes to things like our mood, stress, and even our working capacity. 

Sorry team — but you know that creating a relaxing space in your bedroom does not involve having your phone in hand, scrolling endlessly past what should’ve been your bedtime. 

There’s the blue light of it all, the addictive aspect of it all, the fact it disrupts your circadian rhythm. Just don’t do it. 

If you’re worried about your reliance on it for things like alarms — sometimes, every five minutes so you do actually get out of bed - well, alarm clocks exist for a reason. And we’ve gone so far past them trend-wise, that they’ve circled back around to being considered retro and cool.  

If you must must must have your phone in your room, don’t have it within arm's reach of your bed — place it on the other side of the room, so when an alarm does go off, you have to get out of bed to get it. It’s one way to wake up. Also, the do not disturb setting? Use it.  

If you’re not a fan of the traditional alarm clock, sunrise alarm clocks have been having their moment for quite some time — waking you up by mimicking the natural rise of the sun in the morning. 

In terms of what you should on top of your bedside table? Your emotional support water bottle, a good book, a journal and pen.

It can be hard to keep a new year's spring clean going year-round — or, more specifically, it can be hard to carve out time for. But sometimes, it’s just something you need to get to, particularly as clutter can affect anxiety levels, sleep and the ability to focus — not exactly conducive to having a calming bedroom. In fact, according to Ikea’s Life at Home 2023 report, as many as 40% of people agree that having a tidy, organised home helps them feel content and at ease. 

So, if you truly want to know how to create a calm bedroom, pick up and clean up before you go to bed — people who sleep in cluttered rooms are more likely to have sleep problems.  

It could be by investing in storage solutions, like the bedframes that allow you to keep the bedding underneath. Or if you’ve got a bed frame with open space underneath, use tubs to keep things neat and tidy — and then a bed skirt to keep said tubs out of sight. Perhaps it’s getting a nice basket for your laundry to go into, as opposed to a pile on the floor. Or a little tray for keeping jewellery and other knickknacks.  

You can also invest in keeping your actual bedding cleaner for longer — pillow and mattress protectors are perfect for this.  

Oh, and another way to keep everything in your room cluttered? Our care guides. Trust us, you’re probably washing pretty much everything slightly off schedule.