A mini bedroom makeover & my top tips for a good night’s sleep

We’re living through unprecedented times at the moment, and with lots going on and even more to worry about, one conversation that keeps coming up between my friends and I is a bad night’s sleep.

I’m not sure if it’s because of my relaxed routine, the fact that I’m moving less throughout the day (no gym, no commute) or the fact that my mind is racing with anxious thoughts as soon as my head hits the pillow, but over the last few weeks my sleeps have been awful as I’ve found myself lying awake until 2am, 3am and even 4am overthinking every little thing and subsequently feeling sluggish and down the next day.

Enough was enough and I decided to make some changes in the bedroom to see how they’d affect me, and I was pleasantly surprised to say they worked. In this blog post, I’m going to share the small tweaks I’ve made in the space along with my top tips and must-haves for sleeping right through.

First things first was a bit of good old DIY!

After

Colour

We first decorated our bedroom soon after we moved in (back in January 2019) and we’d gone for the fuss-free theme of monochrome with gold accents. The bedroom was light and crisp but was lacking all important character, and in comparison to the rest of my house it felt cold and not cosy.

I was loving some of the earthy, sage greens I’d spotted on Pinterest so decided to go for it and do things slightly different. Rather than paint the whole room, I opted to create a half-painted feature wall – check out my IGTV for exactly how I did it!

The shade I selected was Earth Green by Wilko at just £16 for 2.5L.

A good pillow

I’m not sure if it’s from working at a desk for so many years, but I’ve been suffering with pain in my neck and shoulders for as long as I could remember. One bad night’s sleep on them could cause me days of pain and enough was enough, so I decided to reach out to Casper about giving their pillows a go.

Let me tell you – I was blown away after just one night’s sleep! The technology which combines a firm, adaptive inside pillow with a fluffier, soft outer pillow means I feel supported and comfortable when going to sleep and wake up more refreshed than I have in a long time. Guy (sans neck and shoulder issues!) has been using a Casper pillow as well and says how much of a positive difference it’s made to his sleep, too.

You can read more about Casper pillows and their technology and purchase on https://casper.com/uk/en/pillows/

Bed Linen

Sticking to the theme of investing in high quality items for the bedroom, I’m a firm believer in spending a little more on some good quality bed linen.

At the moment, I’m swearing by the Marseille range from Dusk – it’s a 600 thread count Egyptian Cotton sateen and is silky smooth and uber comfortable.

This style has an elegant pin tuck detail, and I’ve chosen white as I can style it up no matter if and when I change my bedroom colours.

Not to mention – using natural fibres in your bed linen (and specifically pillowcases) is also great for your skin and for your hair!

Styling & Decluttering

The main feature of my new bedroom was the picture shelf which is from Desenio. I opted for three, 70cm shelves to create one long ledge above our bed in ‘oak’.

I’ve styled this with natural, earthy prints and wooden frames – also from Desenio – along with a few accessories such as our wooden initials, mini buddha and trailing plants.

Finally, I’ve added in a Seagrass belly basket from Wilko and I’m using this as my sort of morning laundry basket – when I wake up, I throw in my pyjamas and my slippers and it saves them getting shoved behind pillows or left on the floor.

Relaxing fragrances

As a long-term sufferer of anxiety, I’ve tried every trick in the book to find a quiet mind and these are some of the products I’ve used over the last five years or so that help me to really unwind.

This Works Deep Sleep Range ­– I’ve got a back log of their cult favourite Pillow Spray! I use this every single night without fail and also take it with me on holiday and specifically long-haul flights to help me find that all important slumber.

I also use the range’s Dream Cream and bath salts for that perfect, pre-bedtime combo. 

Elemis Quiet Mind Temple Balm – This is my holy grail product and the first one I reach for when I’m finding it hard to unwind. All you need to do is pump and rub in to the temples, which I do before bed but also throughout the day if I’m feeling a little stressed or anxious.

Therapy Range Sleep Pulse Point Oil – Another pulse point product I swear by is the Therapy Oils ‘Sleep’ oil. I rub this into my pulse points (temples, behind the ears, back of the wrists, back of the elbows and back of the knees).

I’ve also got the ‘Jet Lag’ and ‘Stress’ oils which help with exactly what they say on the tin!

2 Comments

  1. […] few months back, I updated my bedroom and insisted on going green regardless. The compromise was that we went for something softer and […]

  2. […] terms of the split wall effect itself – I did something similar as part of my Bedroom Makeover a few weeks back and loved the effect it created in the […]

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