Enjoy A Simple Bedroom

LESS IS MORE.

These are the words that sum up my view of design (really?!),  personal style and life in general. While it is easy to maintain a minimalist look in a large space (because there's always room for ... stuff), real life tends to overwhelm small rooms (because we need several certain functional items to be IN that little room...). Also, I personally find that a bunch of personal stuff makes a small space even more cozy! But every now and then, I just take things away from one room instead of adding more. And the result is simple, streamlined, uncluttered beauty.

After the dramatic makeover of my Valentine bedroom, I needed to cool it down a bit, so I created a calmer place. The colors are less vivid and the decorations are kept to a minimum. If you wish to create a simpler design for your room, follow these simple tips:

1. Stick to the basics. Remove all unnecessary items from the floor, the walls, tables etc. For example, my simple bedroom has a bed, a wardrobe, a little nightstand and a small carpet. No cluster of pictures on the walls, no throw pillows and extra duvets on the bed, no poufs or boxes on the floor. And I could have lived without the rug, too :)

2. Choose double-duty furniture. Use clever space saving pieces of furniture: a convertible sofa for an extra bed; a stool or ottoman with ample storage space; a folding table which can transform into a desk; a stool which can serve as a coffee table, an end table or a nightstand (like the one you can see in here).

3. Avoid too many colors. Decide on a simple color scheme and stick with it. This way, the eye will travel across the room. Too many colors would make the area seem too busy and cluttered.

4. Avoid too many patterns. The safest way to play with a simple interior design is to work with solid colors for everything. Solid color translates as a single unit into your brain - this way, you perceive the room as simple, with a small amount of objects inside. But if you are playful by nature and you can't stay away from pattern (like me), make sure that you don't have more than 3 patterns in the room and that these patterns are different sizes (notice that the rug stripes are so much smaller than the flowers on the bed sheets).

5. Make it personal. A simple space doesn't have to be devoid of all personal objects - it's your home, after all, not a hotel. Choose something small, but significant, to make the space cozy and familiar. For my simple bedroom, the choice was easy: a potted plant (the beautiful Madagascar Jasmine, who refuses to bloom but still graces us with its beautiful foliage) and a Mongolian doll dear to my heart. And now I feel at home!

A little update, ladies! My thanks go to Carolyn from Homework and to Betsy from Romance on a Dime for featuring my simplified bedroom - thank you very much indeed!