Decorating
11 Ways to Bring Nature into Your Sleep Space
Plunder the natural world for inspiration, colours and tactile materials that will transfer beautifully to a bedroom
A bedroom is a nurturing, private, restful space, so it makes sense to work some natural materials into your sleeping environment.
Bright, artificial colours and sleek surfaces can feel a little too sterile for this sensual room, but hues and materials taken from nature will never strike a jarring note. From a few simple houseplants to full-on timber cladding, how much or how little of nature’s bounty you work in is up to you. Start by enjoying these 11 rooms, all featuring elements and details taken from or at one with nature.
Bright, artificial colours and sleek surfaces can feel a little too sterile for this sensual room, but hues and materials taken from nature will never strike a jarring note. From a few simple houseplants to full-on timber cladding, how much or how little of nature’s bounty you work in is up to you. Start by enjoying these 11 rooms, all featuring elements and details taken from or at one with nature.
Add a wooded feature wall
Wallpaper depicting trees is widely available and adds a lovely wooded mood. To really make it feel as if you’re sleeping in a forest, paper every wall in it; for a more restful feel, simply cover one feature wall. For added realism, make sure the image doesn’t repeat itself.
Keep the room’s furniture minimal in style so the walls remain the focal point, and don’t overwhelm.
Read expert advice on choosing the perfect bedding
Wallpaper depicting trees is widely available and adds a lovely wooded mood. To really make it feel as if you’re sleeping in a forest, paper every wall in it; for a more restful feel, simply cover one feature wall. For added realism, make sure the image doesn’t repeat itself.
Keep the room’s furniture minimal in style so the walls remain the focal point, and don’t overwhelm.
Read expert advice on choosing the perfect bedding
Tread on natural fibres
Natural flooring woven from seagrass or sisal is durable and tactile, and it’s a great insulator, too.
Natural flooring woven from seagrass or sisal is durable and tactile, and it’s a great insulator, too.
Work in some baskets
Woven baskets made from natural materials, such as wicker, rattan or bamboo, look great and work hard, too, providing informal storage for all kinds of bedroom bits and bobs. Try hanging soft baskets on hooks, while rigid designs that sit on the floor are ideal for laundry or storage.
Discover 10 ways to boost your bedroom storage
Woven baskets made from natural materials, such as wicker, rattan or bamboo, look great and work hard, too, providing informal storage for all kinds of bedroom bits and bobs. Try hanging soft baskets on hooks, while rigid designs that sit on the floor are ideal for laundry or storage.
Discover 10 ways to boost your bedroom storage
Bring the outdoors in
If your home is surrounded by trees or plants, try to open up your bedroom to this natural scene. Here, these vast panes of glass will make whoever is resting in this bed feel as if they’re actually sleeping in the garden. But even a small window with some greenery outside can be turned into a feature. Try dressing windows with plain, pale treatments to let what’s outside take centre stage. And if you have no view, fill your panes with verdant window boxes.
Check out ways to bring the outside in to other areas of your home, too
If your home is surrounded by trees or plants, try to open up your bedroom to this natural scene. Here, these vast panes of glass will make whoever is resting in this bed feel as if they’re actually sleeping in the garden. But even a small window with some greenery outside can be turned into a feature. Try dressing windows with plain, pale treatments to let what’s outside take centre stage. And if you have no view, fill your panes with verdant window boxes.
Check out ways to bring the outside in to other areas of your home, too
Don’t be afraid to go faux
The quality and range of artificial flowers and plants available now is superb, so consider choosing a well-made fake beauty over fresh. The benefits are obvious: they last forever, need no maintenance, and still add the feeling of freshness and organic colour that real plants, trees and flowers bring to an interior.
The quality and range of artificial flowers and plants available now is superb, so consider choosing a well-made fake beauty over fresh. The benefits are obvious: they last forever, need no maintenance, and still add the feeling of freshness and organic colour that real plants, trees and flowers bring to an interior.
Clad the walls with wood
Timber-clad walls give a cabin feel to a sleep space, which feels cosy, natural and inviting. Rather than painted cladding, opt for exposed timber, so all the natural grain and detailing can be seen and enjoyed.
Explore more inspiring ways to use wood in the home
Timber-clad walls give a cabin feel to a sleep space, which feels cosy, natural and inviting. Rather than painted cladding, opt for exposed timber, so all the natural grain and detailing can be seen and enjoyed.
Explore more inspiring ways to use wood in the home
Install a natural bedhead
Natural fibres and cords have long been used to create chair seats and backs, but their strength and beauty also make them ideal for a headboard. This woven design brings texture to a simple rectangular bedhead and adds a pinch of retro style, too.
Natural fibres and cords have long been used to create chair seats and backs, but their strength and beauty also make them ideal for a headboard. This woven design brings texture to a simple rectangular bedhead and adds a pinch of retro style, too.
Spread a sheepskin
Soft sheepskins bring natural warmth and texture to a space and they don’t have to be real - faux fur is just as good. Try spreading a sheepskin at the end of your bed to keep your toes warm, or position it alongside, so it’s the first thing you step on when you get up in the morning.
Soft sheepskins bring natural warmth and texture to a space and they don’t have to be real - faux fur is just as good. Try spreading a sheepskin at the end of your bed to keep your toes warm, or position it alongside, so it’s the first thing you step on when you get up in the morning.
Plant a thicket
Branches can make brilliant decorations. They won’t die, unlike fresh flowers, and need no maintenance. Gather sticks and branches and hang them from the ceiling, pile them in a disused fireplace or make them part of a bespoke bedside table to frame the bed, as in this scheme.
Branches can make brilliant decorations. They won’t die, unlike fresh flowers, and need no maintenance. Gather sticks and branches and hang them from the ceiling, pile them in a disused fireplace or make them part of a bespoke bedside table to frame the bed, as in this scheme.
Finish off with fresh flowers
Flowers by the bed are such a simple addition, but they bring a beautiful splash of natural colour to a bedroom. In this space, the vibrant orange of the retro bedding and the bright yellow clock are matched by the vase of freesias.
TELL US…
Have you used natural materials or finds in your bedroom? Share your tips and photos in the Comments below.
Flowers by the bed are such a simple addition, but they bring a beautiful splash of natural colour to a bedroom. In this space, the vibrant orange of the retro bedding and the bright yellow clock are matched by the vase of freesias.
TELL US…
Have you used natural materials or finds in your bedroom? Share your tips and photos in the Comments below.
You don’t want to sleep in a greenhouse, but it can be satisfying to watch one or two houseplants grow in your bedroom. For a modern look, opt for sculptural plants such as cacti. For a softer feel, consider a flowering houseplant, such as a peace lily. Plants can even improve the air quality in your bedroom.