When you move to a new place, it seems that the bedroom is often the last room to be unpacked/cared for/decorated. It's easy to hide all your junk in there when guests come over, and the majority of the time in your bedroom is spent with your eyes closed.
But I would argue that your bedroom is one of the most important places in your home! After all, it's the only room that is just for you (and whoever you may share your bed with). It is the most intimate room and some of your most important work is done there (resting and the other thing)!
So what's the secret to a cozy bedroom?? Forget everything you read and go for what feels most appealing to you!
My priorities for our bedroom are that it's calming and cozy and practical. I am easily stressed and tend to experience anxiety at night, so it's always been important to me that our bedroom feels completely serene and as inviting as possible. For example, though my style for the rest of our home includes bright colors, I've stuck to a more neutral palette for the bedroom. To me, calming also means soft textures and handmade, sentimental elements, organized in a way that makes sense to us.
Neutral colors
With the exception of our deep purple afghan (crocheted by my sister as a wedding gift!), we've mostly stuck to creams, whites, grays, and natural wood tones. To me, this feels pleasantly serene.
I love our mismatched, wooden nightstands! When my husband Eric and I got married, we were both in college and had very little money. We took a trip to IKEA to buy all the essential furniture for our new apartment and ran out of funds for a second nightstand, so the one on the right (mine) is from a thrift store from back in my dorm days. Shortly after, I happened to find some Anthropologie knobs on sale that I felt added a little personality to both nightstands.
Now that we're both working professionals, we could probably purchase a second IKEA nightstand but I love the mismatched look and the reminder of our humble beginning!
Soft textures
From the walls to the bed to the ground, most textures in our bedroom are very soft to the touch.
I like to keep my robes and cozy sweaters in view to help me get out of bed on cold Chicago winter mornings.
Handmade elements
Shortly after we started dating, I went away on a short term missions trip and came back to this metal rose, hand made by Eric! Of course I could never not have it on display.
Dried lavender is not homemade, but it does add a nice, fresh touch and a calming smell to our bedroom.
Other than our wedding photos on display, all the art and the tapestry in our bedroom are homemade. Eric even created this pink necklace holder (below), himself!
Personal practicality
Living in a small Chicago apartment poses some challenges, but I usually like the chance to get creative with our organization and storage. This vintage trunk holds all of our extra pillows and blankets, and if I must say so, looks great doing it!
I keep my important oils and meds right on my nightstand. If I wake up with a headache or anxiety, I can fix the problem without having to think about it or get up. I highly recommend this trick, it makes it much easier to go back to sleep!
And that's it for our room tour! I have just one question for you: what's your bedroom style? Have you given it much effort and planning, or is this the first time you've thought about it? Let me know in the comments below!
I hope you enjoyed this tour of our little Chicago bedroom. If you'd like to see more of our home, check out my tiny home office or our living room!