How to design a calming bedroom with Sharon Lillywhite from Oliver Burns design studio

The bedroom continues to be one of the key spaces within the home. A calming bedroom environment creates a relaxing personal space, which is essential to allow us to rest and recharge. With that in mind, we couldn’t think of anyone better than Sharon Lillywhite to talk us through how to design a calming bedroom and what are the key elements to consider when purchasing a new bed.  

The bedroom is always a key space to consider within the overall design scheme of a home. Image courtesy of Oliver Burns

Firstly, what role do you think the bedroom plays within the home?

Since we spend around a third of our lives asleep, the bedroom has always been a key space to consider within the overall design scheme of a home. The bedroom is more important than ever before. It’s a place to rest, recharge and dream and as such will always remain a cherished space in the home. 

At the top end of the market, our clients want this space to be highly personalised to meet their individual needs. The master suite will usually occupy a whole floor of the home. Within this space, there will be his and hers bathroom and dressing area, a separate or communal living area.  Occasionally, we may also work with clients to create separate bedrooms. 

We continue to see the desire to transform the bedroom into a cocooning environment. How do you create a space which not only generates the sense of cocooning but is also light and spacious?

Our clients love Savoir’s luxury beds as they provide the ultimate comfort. To create a cocooning environment, we recommend investing in sumptuous and high-quality bed linen to ensure the overall feel of your bedroom is inviting. The key is to choose high-quality fabrics that are luxurious in feel but also practical and durable. 

We love to incorporate bamboo carpets into our bedroom design schemes. This soft and sensuous material feels sumptuous underfoot and is also highly sustainable. 

Another two elements to transforming the bedroom into a cocooning environment are storage and lighting. A decorative bowl on your bedside table is a great way to conceal any clutter and ensure the space feels ordered. Likewise, ambient lighting is crucial to creating a relaxing environment. We love to incorporate voice-activated technology within our luxury bedroom design to be able to control everything from the comfort of your bed. 

At what stage of redesigning a bedroom should we consider the bed design?

The foundation of good design is space optimisation and careful planning. As the largest piece of furniture within the bedroom, we always consider the bed at the beginning of the project. In addition, the style of the bed you choose will likely shape the overall design direction you take with the space. 

Our Chrissy design showcases a calming and textural take on the simplicity of an all-white bedroom

As it’s the largest piece of furniture within the room, what are your recommendations to incorporating the bed within the space?

When designing the interior scheme of a bedroom, we like to think of the bed as the focal point of the room and the bedside tables as the perfect bookends that frame this key feature. If you have high ceilings, an oversized headboard can create a stunning design statement. 

Once we’ve decided on the size and style of bed, what should we be mindful of when it comes to colour?

Colour psychology always plays a key role when designing luxury bedrooms. As it has a direct impact on our mood and energy levels. Since a bedroom should be a place of complete tranquillity, by extension the colour palette should reflect this. We would always recommend a classic neutral palette for the bedroom. We suggest shades such as grey, taupe, white and cream, for their timeless and calming appeal. Otherwise, blue is deemed to be a good choice due to its soothing qualities.

Bold accent colours can then be woven in through accessories and soft furnishings to add visual interest. We also like to add in colour and interest via a statement headboard. We work alongside specialist craftspeople to create amazing, one-of-a-kind headboards that elevate a space from ordinary to extraordinary.

Tactile and textural designs continue to be plentiful this year, how can this trend be translated into the bedroom?

Layering luxurious textures and fabric will not only add depth to the room but it will also allow the individual to tailor the bed to their specific needs. We recommend playing with layers of sumptuous bedding to create a space that is rich in textural interest. For instance, the bedroom is one space within the home where our clients love to have a sumptuous rug or carpet underfoot. Which helps to warm the room and make it feel more inviting. 

Lighting plays a key role and should be designed to be adaptable to different moods and the time of day. Image courtesy of Oliver Burns

We know that the ideal sleeping environment is dark. However, what components of the bedroom should be considered to ensure the space works both during the day and at night?

Lighting plays a key role and should be designed to be adaptable to different moods and the time of day. Firstly, configure the layout of your bedroom so that your bed either faces or is close to a window so that you benefit from maximum natural daylight and views when you first wake up. Bringing the outside in is also important, as it can help develop a stronger connection to nature, which has been scientifically proven to improve sleep quality. 

We always begin by incorporating a statement light as the centrepiece within a room. The most used lighting is likely to be task lighting. So, either opt for stylish pendants on either side of the bed or traditional bedside lamps. To conceal natural light whilst creating a warm atmosphere, the best combination is black-out blinds combined with curtains. An alternative option is to add sheers behind the curtains. This creates a more classic feel and allows you to let daylight in during the day without it being overpowering. 

The finishing touches can make all the difference to the design of a calming bedroom. Image courtesy of Oliver Burns

Lastly, are there any key elements that you personally think will help design a calming bedroom?

I’m lucky enough that where we live in the countryside, there is a beautiful view of the surrounding fields from my bedroom window. To make the most of this view, I’ve positioned a comfy chair by the window to read a book. Maintaining connectivity to nature and the outside world continues to have an impact. This can be achieved by making the view a key feature of the space, which has the added benefit of maximising the natural daylight a room receives. Lighting is another important element in creating a relaxing ambience in the bedroom. I always recommend having adjustable lighting with different settings, so you can alter the lighting to reflect your mood or the time of day. 

Lastly, the finishing touches can make all the difference to how inviting a bedroom is. I love layering sumptuous bedding and having a soft rug underfoot to make the space feel ultra luxurious. I always make sure I have flowers and my favourite candles on my bedside table as a joyful thing to see when I fall asleep and when I wake up. 

Sharon Lillywhite is Founding Partner of multi-award-winning architectural interior design studio Oliver Burns, who thoughtfully design the world’s finest homes. Discover their recent projects,  www.oliverburns.com. 

From traditional curves to modern silhouettes, visit our Design page and discover the limitless possibilities of bespoke design.