5 Easy Ways To Turn Your Bedroom Into A Peaceful Sanctuary

We spend a lot of time in our bedrooms — we sleep, dream, binge-watch, scroll, FaceTime loved ones, and so much more. They're our own personal havens of rejuvenation and act as a sanctuary away from the world.

The way our rooms look and feel also directly impacts our mental health — according to the MCI Institute, "cluttered spaces" tend to heighten the stress hormone cortisol, and rooms with bright colours and heightened noise can make getting a good night's sleep harder.

If the Scandi sleep method and pre-bed journalling, haven't worked in giving you a better night's sleep, maybe giving your entire room a zhuzh is the answer. Because let's face it, 2023 has been quite a stressful year, so it's probably best to get rid of any lingering frazzled energy — try these easy tips for creating a peaceful bedroom sanctuary.

The first step to making any room more peaceful is decluttering. And since the year is about to wrap up, there's no better time to part ways with your belongings that no longer serve a purpose.

Be ruthless — put GUTS on and cull those pieces from your closet that haven't been touched since 2014 and pop them up on Depop to find a new and loving home. Raid "the drawer" that's full of miscellaneous receipts and cables, and make an executive decision as to what knick knacks deserve a permanent place on your desk.

Once you've decluttered, you'll have a clearer idea of what needs to be added in terms of furniture, colours, lighting, and, of course, accessories that make the room feel like it's yours.

We engage with our bedrooms in a more tactile way than the rest of our homes — we lounge around in bed, indulging in the cosy feeling of our sheets and pillows (hence why we don't like getting out of bed in the morning).

Because of this, the materials you pick matter when it comes to creating a peaceful sanctuary vibe. For starters, investing in sheets that have a thread count of 200-600 will ensure you're crawling into a soft bed every night, and silk pillows are good for more than just keeping your hair looking fresh (they feel amazing too).

If you're looking to take things to the next level, invest in a bed frame that not only looks amazing, but feels amazing too — like Sarah Ellison's 'Lull' Queen Upholstered Bed. Inspired by '70s surf aesthetics (which just screams 'chill' already), the frame is upholstered with a luxurious textured velvet, which looks comfy enough to sleep on, in our opinion.

Night-time routines have dominated our TikTok FYPs over the last few years. And for good reason — watching videos of freshly moisturised folks winding down in perfectly candle-it havens, ready to doze off into restful sleep are just as relaxing as the routines themselves.

It's highly unlikely to find bright, fluorescent lights blaring in these videos — because soft, moody lighting is key to winding down. Sticking to bulbs that create a dimmable, soft yellow or white glow is an easy way to relieve your eyes from the strain of staring at a screen for eight-hours at work. Once you've nailed that, implementing a few lamps at different heights to fully engulf the room in cosy lighting could work.

Additionally, having a few luxe candles ready to light up while tucking into a good book is always a good shout.

There's nothing more calming than walking into a room that feels colour coordinated. While we're all for abstract colourblocking and experimenting with tones in our outfits, when looking to create a peaceful bedroom haven, it's best to stick to a theme.

Our moods and colours can often be connected, so it's best to pick a colour theme that helps you feel calm, rather than heightened. There's plenty of information out there exploring the sentiment around colours impacting people differently. This great video explains that there's no conclusive evidence as to whether specific colours create specific emotions — it's all about personal preference.

If muted, earthy tones, blushy oranges and rustic browns simply soothe your brain, adding a few accessories like Sarah Ellison's 'Swell' chair could help round out the calming aura of your room.

As a wise philosopher once said, when all else fails, scroll. Well, not exactly, but you know what we mean. Luckily (or for the decision paralysed amongst us, unfortunately), Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest are full to the brim with photos and videos of aesthetic bedroom decor.

We highly recommend making as many Pinterest boards as possible before diving into a full-on room transformation — the clearer the idea you have for the room, the more curated it'll be and therefore feel more peaceful and calming. If TikTok is your go-to, the #bedroommakeover and #modernbedroom hashtags are a great place to start for a little aesthetic inspo.