Creating the perfect bedroom

Although a bedroom needs to be relaxing it often needs to be flexible as well, doubling as a study, bedsit, playroom or spare room. Planning and styling can be a little tricky, but with a little help you can create a room that is perfect for you.

Above all else a bedroom needs to be a place in which to relax and sleep in comfort, so start with a suitable bed, position it in the most practical place, and work the rest of the room around it.

If the bed is to double as seating during the day it should be firm and comfortable for both purposes - sofa beds need to be easy to open, close and make-up and you will want adequate storage for bedding during the daytime.

The bedroom is also where most of us have to store clothes and personal effects, as well as luggage, sports gear, hobbies, toys, games, records, CD's, books and so on.

Ideally plan storage from the inside outwards. Work out what you need to store - length, width, depth, and weight then plan flexible cupboards, drawers, racks and shelves to house it all neatly.

It is easiest to plan storage if you consider built-in furniture and many specialist custom-made furniture companies offer a consultancy service that looks at your storage needs and then creates a plan for your room.

You can also get good results using freestanding storage in your bedroom. Choose a range to which you can add extra items later on, or opt for pieces which you can paint, stain or decorate to match or coordinate with the rest of the scheme. Look ahead to the future too - you will nearly always need twice as much storage space as you imagined.

Room to relax

When you are planning a bedroom try to create a little private corner - a place to get away from the rest of the family, with comfortable seating and a small table, or a desk or writing table and chair.

Sometimes a divan can be made into a daybed. Position it parallel to a wall, place bolster cushions at each end and scatter cushions along the back or suspend cushions form a wall-mounted pole as a back rest, add a decorative fabric drape from a coronet or pole positioned centrally above the bed to create an Empire-style flavour.

In most bedrooms the bed is the 'important' or most dominant feature because of its size, especially in a small room. When you are putting a decorating scheme together always think of the bedding - sheets, pillow cases, duvet covers and bedcovers - as an integral part of the scheme and not as an accessory or afterthought.

'Sample' and colour-match them as carefully as you would the wall treatments, floorcovering and curtains.

If you want the bed to fade into the background choose a similar colour for both the floor and bed treatment. In a very small room you could also use the same colour and pattern on the walls as well as on the bed.

Setting the style

Styling will depend on who is to use the room - and for what purpose - but will also be affected by the size, shape and height of the room and the amount of natural daylight it receives. This influences the 'feel' of the room - whether it has a cold, clear northerly light, is bright and sunny from the east first thing in the morning or is warmed by the sun as it sinks in the west. This may influence your choice of colour and style, but bear in mind existing architectural features - enhance these if they are attractive or camouflage them if they are ugly. If a room is bland and box-like impose a distinct character on it - it is as rewarding as painting on a blank canvas.

Patterns, colour, furniture and the window treatments all contribute to a specific style, and can also be chosen to soothe and relax - keep to simple, flowing designs and plenty of plain, though interestingly-textured surfaces for a subtle effect. Use traditional motifs if you want to re-create a particular period flavour - old pine furniture, a brass bedstead, rich colours and William Morris designs with windows dressed with lace panels, over simple Holland blinds and under richly sagged-and-tailed drapes for example. For a Jacobean look, drape a four-poster with tapestry curtains, or linen embroidered with crewelwork and velvet or brocade the window.

Rooms for feminine use look pretty and romantic in lacy textures or soft, out-of-focus florals in misty tones. Shades of pink and lots of crisp white cotton for bedlinens will enhance the feeling of light in such a feminine room.

Children's bedrooms allow great scope for imaginative treatments - there are many specially designed borders, wallcoverings, bedding and fabrics widely available. You can create your own decorating scheme with murals, posters on the walls or specially painted or stencilled furniture.

But remember children soon tire of current fads and outgrow nursery, film or television characters even more quickly than they outgrow small-size furniture! It is often wise to confine such designs to items which are easy to change - borders, wallpaper (easy to paint over) or a set of bedding.