The bedroom....definitely juicy!! ;)

The bedroom is our sanctuary. Its the place we relax, revitalise and....well...*cough cough* other recreational activities ;)

There are plenty of ways we can give our bedrooms a lovely lift without having to spend a fortune buying all new furniture etc.

1. Think about changing the colour. Maybe you have a neutral room, how about throwing a nice accent colour in the mix? Choose a nice calming colour that all occupants feel good being in. Get a new doona cover, accent pillows or throw rugs. Maybe a nice print for the wall to reflect the colours. Beautiful wooden frame repainted to match scheme with treasured family photos? Colour has a strong psychological effect, it can help you to create the ambience you are after in the room.

2. Get into organisation. Utilising handy organising systems can create a more relaxed calming atmosphere. The more you can have in closed storage in a bedroom the better. Who can relax in a cluttered room? Space bag the opposite seasons clothing. Utilise under bed storage. You can also get underbed shoe storage if wardrobe space is a problem.

Reevaluate your wardrobe & storage. There are a few things you should consider when doing this. a) Clothing storage: Consider tiered hangers, vacuum pack bags for off season clothing
b) Shoe storage: Theres a huge range of different shoe storage systems available (yes, just for shoes!!) I wanted to put up a pic of some of the types....its mind blowing!! For me and my shoes I am going to have to consider fitting out a spare room to accomodate my Amelda Marcos sized collection ;)

c) Accessories storage: Jewellery organisers, tie & belt racks, bag organisers d) Seasonal/longer term storage: Under bed storage, vacuum pack bags & Various sized tubs for rarely used items

3. Think about your other senses. Ok, so we have our visual decoration looking good. What about scent? touch? Spoil yourself and get some good quality high thread count sheets, or maybe a lovely soft plush rug. Its nice to have a bedroom that smells fresh and lovely. In the mornings its best to pull back your covers, open your windows and let the fresh air get to the sheets before you make it. Without spoiling the "romantic bedroom" vibe, when you sleep and sweat apparently thats the precursor for a bed bugs haven!! Ew! Other than that its nice to have good smelling things in your room to help with the nice atmosphere. I love those ceramic globe huggers, maybe with a rich vanilla or sandalwood scent? Scented candles or even fresh flowers!

All these things are considerations that do not cost the earth but can make your main bedroom into something lovely and beautiful place to be.

Colour colour colour

Probably one of the biggest areas I have found people are stuck on with design is choosing colour. It can be overwhelming to select a colour scheme, whether you are starting from scratch or just repainting the walls! There are certain things you should consider when selecting colours

Considerations

1. The existing decor - this is a no brainer if you are repainting walls your existing colours of the items you will retain will dictate in part what direction you take

2. Yours/your families personality - Its nice to have your home reflect who you are and one of the very dominant features will be colour.

3. Psychology of colour - If you want your 2 year old to calm down at night time (need I remind you of a certain popular book of late :)...) dont paint their room red! Colour has a psychological effect...not everyone believes in this but hospitals, retail, hospitality all use colour in a psychological context. Heres a great article on colours and their effect on the psyche - http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/a/colorpsych.htm Its good to keep in mind when you consider the function of a room...is it a calming room? Somewhere that you would like inspiration & stimulation?

4. Warm vs cool colour - This almost falls in point 3 but worth a seperate mention. Warm advances, cool recedes. Warm colours are welcoming and comforting, cool colours are calming and relaxing. Warm can make a room seem smaller, cool can make a room seem larger. All things worth thinking about when choosing a scheme.

Colour theories

To create a scheme you need to understand the basics of a colour wheel

Achromatic - Literally meaning without colour. Usually black, white & possibly shades of grey. This is a very bold statement and a very contemporary scheme.

Monochromatic scheme - is one taken from one colour with various tints/shades. These tend to be very calm.



Analogous scheme - Is a colour set taken from adjacent colours on the colour wheel. these are slightly more vibrant, still very harmonious though.



Complementary scheme - There are 3 different types of complementary: Direct, split & triad. These schemes are best to up the vibrancy of a room.
















Dulux has an easy to navigate site with great tools like the mycolour visualiser http://www.dulux.com.au/colour/mycolour.aspx you can upload a pic and recolour the walls yourself. Dulux also allows you to order A4 sheet samples of the colours you like....particularly handy as those puny sample chips dont really give you a good idea of how the colour looks. Saves you money on 10 different sample pots while you are trying to select the perfect colour!!

If you have a bigger project than that and you would like to see how it will look in your room, contact me and I will give you a cost for me to rendering.

Have fun!!

In the meantime....

Pantry organisation on its way! Its proving to require quite a bit of research, good news is there is so much cool gear and ideas to improve your cupboard space!!

Out of interest corian has some GORGEOUS new colours, "greige" (grey beige, lol) is the new black!! Im in love with Senora!

Corian Rocky Colours

by: Surface Solutions

Photos: 41