Lighting has a massive effect on ambiance. In fact, it has the greatest
effect on mood. If the lighting is not right nothing else you do will
salvage your design, so when it comes to redecorating your bedroom, you
should spend some time thinking carefully about what you want to
accomplish. Do you want a sexy boudoir or do you want a functional home
office/bedroom?
It matters a lot whether you are married or single. Many married people
do not require a sexy bedroom, especially if they have children, whereas
single people, particularly women, would rather a sexy boudoir. Single
men are inclined to go for a functional bedroom with a computer station
in the corner.
There are three ways you can go about designing your bedroom: You could
use pen and paper; you could use software or you could plan it in your
head. Whichever way you decide to go, you will need to think about style
and lighting. Let's say that you will be using pen and paper to sketch
out your design, because that is what most people would do.
Graph paper is the easiest to use exactly. Pick the largest scale that
will allow your longest wall to fit on the page. So, if your sheet of
paper is 12x7 inches and your room is 5x3 yards, then your scale would
be 2 inches to 1 yard or 2:36, which is 1:18. Draw in the walls of your
bedroom.
Next draw in immovable objects like windows and doors and then
electrical points and light fittings. The rest is yours to do with what
you like. At this point, you may want to make a dozen photocopies of
your sheet of graph paper, so that you can outline different ideas.
Draw in where you want large furniture to go - things like the bed,
wardrobes and the dressing table. Now mark in where you need extra
electrical sockets to go. Next job is to clean everything from the room,
lift the carpets and strip the wallpaper. Now what colours do you
fancy?
Red or pink is sexy, blue or green is more neutral. Black is weird. Dark
grey would be depressing, but a very light grey might be all right. Go
down to the paint shop and try to get some sampler tins so that you can
paint small patches on the walls. Or borrow a wallpaper catalogue to
take home.
Install the extra sockets before you begin decorating. The woodwork is
usually painted white or off white; cream or rose white are nice warm
colours; apple white is a little cooler. After painting and decorating
move your carpets and furniture back in along with any new furniture you
have bought.