Bedroom Refresh for Healthy Sleep and Better Flow
As much as I loved most of the design elements of our bedroom, the flow seemed off and I wanted to incorporate more of the scientific research on better sleep hygiene that I covered in my recent article about optimizing your sleep environment.
The more I learned about the importance of sleep for our every day health, the more I was determined to create a sleep sanctuary that was not only stylish, but also more conducive to getting more quality sleep.
*The following article contains sponsored links. I only recommend products I believe will bring value to you.
Decor Elements That Can Affect Sleep
In addition for considering cost, comfort, style, and feng shui elements in this room, the plan focused on the following features that can highly affect quality sleep:
Mattress
The right mattress can make a large difference in the quality of your sleep. The firmness, material, and chemicals that go into your mattress can affect your sleep position and breathing patterns, exacerbate back issues, or impact your overall bedroom air quality.
A few years ago I ordered a memory foam topper for my mattress, having read reviews that it would give me a more comfortable night's sleep when combined with my old coil mattress. After opening the little box, and watching the memory foam expand, I placed it on my mattess and went to sleep. Unfortunately, I spent the entire night feeling like I was being suffocated by the fumes in the memory foam topper, and the next day I couldn't wait to send it back to the manufacturer.
The lesson I learned from that experience is that your bed is not just a comfortable surface to sleep on. The chemicals that go into your mattress, the toppers, and bedding can all affect your overall health and sleep— And one must be wary of the materials that go into mattress products.
What I Chose
After many months of research and trial runs, I finally decided on the Saatva latex hybrid mattress because it is made with natural, organic, hand-tufted latex, and offers the following:
Premium eco-friendly materials, sustainably sourced
GOTS certified organic New Zealand wool and cover made with organic cotton
Free of toxic chemicals, emissions, pollutants, chemical flame retardants, and chemical adhesives
Naturally, hypoallergenic latex repels dust mites, mold, and other common indoor allergens
Every Saatva Latex Hybrid mattress features:
Certified organic cotton
Guardin™ nontoxic, botanical antimicrobial treatment
Natural latex that's free of toxic chemicals, emissions, and pollutants
Recycled steel coils
A flame retardant barrier made from organic New Zealand wool (rather than chemical sprays)
Aftger testing out the Saatva mattress for the past month, I am happy to report that the sleep I get with this mattress is far superior to the sleep I was getting with my old mattress. Both my husband and I wake up feeling refreshed, and the pain I was feeling in my hips as a side sleeper has definitely subsided.
Bedding
This is the BEFORE image of the current bedroom set up with the recent upgrades to the bedding.
Updating your sheets, quilts, and comforters or duvets can be a great way to change up the decor of your room and also upgrade your sleep experience.
The fabric, thread counts, and washability of your linens can make a huge difference in creating a comfortable sleep environment. Recent research points to bedding that should be:
organic cotton
free of harsh chemicals and detergents
soft yet not too high of a thread count (a 300 thread count is just right for linens)
I am excited to have recently upgraded our bed sheets to an organic, 300 thread count cotton and gotten rid of our synthetic down filled comforter. I went with the Saatva sateen sheets and the beautiful organic velvet diamond quilt as our blanket and bed covering.
Air Quality, Dust, and VOCs
Minimizing the amount of dust, dust mites, and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the bedroom is the only way to reduce your exposure to compounds such as mold, benzene, formaldehyde or toluene.
The safety of a particular compound depends heavily on the person, the exposure, and the frequency. Reactions will vary from person to person and symptoms of exposure depend on the specific compound found in the everyday products we use.
Not all VOCs found in our homes will present harmful health effects to the people and pets who live there, but the person who encounters a particular VOC every day may have a different experience from someone else who only comes into contact with VOCs once in a while.
Generally, people who are near off-gassing products may notice the following signs:
headaches
fatigue
breathing difficulties
coughing
burning eyes or throat
nausea
increased likelihood of asthma attacks
Regularly opening bedroom windows and using an air-purifier with a heavy duty filtration system is one way to remove certain gases and contaminants from the air.
An air-purifier can be very useful for removing fumes from cleaning products as well.
Be aware that not all VOCs are noticable by smell, and masking any scents with air fresheners tends to simply release another scent into the air (typically containing and releasing more VOCs into the air).
VOCs are so ubiquitous that most people assume they are generally safe— they are not— and products can off-gas VOCs for many months or many years.
Hidden VOCs in the bedroom
VOCs are found in many household products aside from just paints or cleaning products, such as the following:
In Furniture
VOCs in furniture can be part of the manufacturing or treatment process after construction. This means that surface coatings added to upholstered furniture or mattresses to prevent staining or make it flame-retardant usually contain VOCs as well
Allow furniture plenty of time to off-gas before use (in some cases this can mean years, which is why I like the idea of buying second-hand, hardwood furniture from a smoke-free home).
In Flooring
Flooring made of vinyl, carpet, wood, and wood composite may off-gas VOCs for years after installation
Formaldehyde is one of the most-common VOCs used in flooring. It can be a component of a material’s production, particularly for vinyl, laminate, and engineered hardwood.
In Rugs and Carpets
Carpets can produce noticeable VOCs for as long as five years or more. During the installation process, remember that many adhesives used to seal the material to the subfloor also contain VOCs. The same can be true for area rugs and synthetic or machine made Oriental carpets.
Our current area rug is a turquoise, synthetic, polyester rug with plastic backing that loses fibers every time I vacuum it. I will be switching out the turquoise rug for an ivory, hand knotted, Persian wool rug made with vegetable dyes and with no synthetic backing.
In Paints, Lacquers, and Coatings
Paints and coatings use particular compounds that keep them in a liquid state until application, and dry quickly after they have been applied to a surface. Paint is more volatile while it is a liquid—and as it evaporates— and is one of the largest emitters of VOCs worldwide, after vehicles.
Low-VOC or no-VOC paints may still not be completely free of harmful compounds such as toluene, benzene, acetone and others. The EPA sets levels particularly low for manufacturers to be able to advertise a product in the low-VOC category but that usually applies to paint without colors added. Adding color to a base paint often adds additional VOCs to the liquid.
I will not be painting this room. as it was already painted two years ago in Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore, a crisp white shade that is also in the rest of our home.
In Biological Sources
Although a significant amount of materials that contain VOCs are man-made and petroleum-based, many come directly from biological sources, including:
smoke from fires, lit candles, or cigarettes
pet dander
dust mites
mold
To minimize dust and mold particles that can hide in dust and dust bunnies, it’s important to have a minimal, clutter free space that can be easily dusted and often vacuumed.
Lighting
The brightness, saturation and hue of lighting can improve or disrupt our sleep, cognition and overall well being. Lighting can improve our mood and stabilize our circadian rhythms, helping us get better, deeper sleep.
Our current bedroom chandelier is a 19 bulb crystal chandelier from Restoration Hardware. As you can probably imagine, even with a dimmer, 19 low wattage bulbs can be much too bright for a small bedroom and so I have had to remove many of the bulbs from the fixture. This leaves our room much too dark in the day time and that work around doesn’t work for us anymore.
I initially fell in love with the vintage design of the fixture, but now recognize that it is not the one for our sanctuary needs.
I am looking to switch out the current Restoration Hardware Chandelier, and replace it with a simple (read, not as heavy or ornate) chandelier that will create a serene feel and give the right amount of light for our needs.
I created a few mock-ups using my current chandelier picks:
Our sconces could also benefit from a dimmer switch to create more ambient lighting in the evening time as we are winding down for bedtime, and so I will have to include a three-way dimmer in the plans.
The current black-out curtains from IKEA will be staying, as they are the right color for our room and the thick backing helps to block sunlight and any cold drafts.
The Chandelier I Went With
After much deliberation and a little bit of luck, I was able to find a vintage, Hollywood Regency chandelier that was the perfect fit for the room. I almost pulled the trigger on buying one of the new chandeliers I had listed in the mock-ups above, but once I laid eyes on this vintage brass beauty, I couldn’t think think of anything else that I wanted to look up at day-after-day.
Feng Shui
The philosophy of feng shui in the home is a practice of finding balance and harmony between different elements in a room.
By arranging the furniture and decor pieces in a balanced manner—with the idea of energy flow in mind— it is believed that one can harness energy forces and establish harmony in a space.
There are many feng shui elements and principles. When it comes to the bedroom, most feng shui experts recommend that it should solely be a place of rest, romance, and relaxation.
Bedroom Feng Shui
When it comes to elements and colors that bring about feelings of peace and relaxation, the right color scheme for a bedroom can mean maximum sensuality, peaceful vibes, and restful sleep.
Skin tones and the muted shades you would find in nature can have this peaceful effect, and include:
Creams and ivory
Browns and chocolate tones
Peach tones
Some experts suggest that mirrors should not be in a bedroom, and should definitely NOT be hanging over a bed. This means that I will soon be taking down my beloved vintage mirrored tray collection that is hanging above my bed, although I am unsure of what to replace the mirrored trays with.
Art and Decor Elements
One option would be a board and batten panel detail on the wall, for which I have created a mock up for, and would appreciate your comments and suggestions below. I’m slightly hesitant to go this route, as it would require new paint in that area, and I am now weary of the VOCs in paint so close to my due date (that’s right, did I mention that I am pregnant?)
Instead, I opted to take down the mirrors and create a piece of textile art that combined wood, string, yarn, and brass leaves together.
After switching to the Saatva hybrid latex mattress, sateen sheets, and organic velvet diamond quilt, I realized that I also needed to upgrade the wall art on the other side of the bed to match the luxurious feel and depth of the new bed and bedding.
This meant that I created a gallery wall to directly face the bed.
The Takeaway
A balanced, well thought-out bedroom requires specific planning and forethought in order to become a sleep sanctuary that looks good and flows well. Even though decor and design can be subjective, there are scientific elements that can contribute to the best sleep quality for you. I hope this post helped shed light on some ways you can create a calming space, suited to your best sleep needs.
