Strategies for a Serene Bedroom

Filed under: Design, How To, Lifestyle

A group of scientists intent on studying the impacts of our technological crutches spent several days camping in Utah, utterly removed from the digital world. Their trip, chronicled in The New York Times, revealed -- surprise! -- that behavior and thought processes change when we unplug from cell phones and e-mail, arguably for the better.

One finding, however, stood out, and could have far-reaching consequences. The scientists hinted that our decision-making abilities could be hindered by technology overuse, similar to the effects of drug or alcohol addiction.

While we can't all detox in the great outdoors, there are ways to bring some of nature's benefits inside. For urban dwellers, the bedroom is one of the most important havens from the technological deluge of daily life. Keeping the TV out of the bedroom is one of the easiest ways to improve your chances for a good night's rest. Here are some other ideas to help you create a serene sleeping place in your apartment.

Keep It Simple

New York-based blogger Joanna Goddard recently featured photos of her own West Village apartment, which got a makeover from interior designer Jenny of Little Green Notebook. Goddard's cozy place offers a wealth of inspiration, but it's her bedroom that stands out most. Simple and clean, with a plain white comforter, endearing needlepoint pillow, nondescript Ikea lamps and black-and-white photography, the relaxed look is easy to re-create.


Buy the Best of Beds

Design Sponge has a roundup of bed ideas, including four-posters, canopy beds, minimalist platform beds, sleigh beds and day beds. The focus here is on construction rather than bedding, which is a good thing--a well-designed bed requires only the simplest of bedspreads and bedroom decor.


Get Lazy With Lighting

If you'd like something a bit more eye-catching, visit Casa Sugar, which points out what may be the perfect bedroom lamp: the Sleepy Lamp by Italian company Busso. An elegant piece that leans like a ladder, it's the picture of modern minimalist perfection. With a shade built into the wall and a few rungs for hanging clothes or storing books, the lamp is also a space-saver.


Sing the Blues

Color is also key to creating a subdued atmosphere in your bedroom. Gentle tones of blue are a good bet, according to Real Simple. The site has a slide show of beautiful blue furniture, paint and decor, and advises that warm blues "help make a room feel cozier," while cool blues "can help make a small space look bigger" and can "encourage calmness (which is nice for a bedroom)."

The idea of a cool blue bedroom instantly conjures images of stormy beaches, where the water and sky sometime appear to collide. In a recent post, Remodelista focused on the dreamy summer beach homes of the 1930s European Modernists. Built mostly in Wellfleet on Outer Cape Cod, the homes are "humble in budget, materials, and environmental impact," which makes their design schemes applicable to apartments as well. The Modernists were also intent on living close to nature, a philosophy many scientists would likely recommend to the technology-prone insomniacs among us.

 

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