Your bedroom should be a place of sanctuary; somewhere you can relax after a long busy day. Yet your bedroom also has to house belongings, like your clothes, shoes and personal items. Ideally, you’ll have cupboards or wardrobes to keep most of your items in but if you don’t, or need to get ones that better suit your needs, perhaps in terms of size and function, lack of space will often leave you frustrated.
Decluttering is a great way to start sorting out your bedroom because by getting rid of items you no longer use means you’ll be able to see what space is available in your bedroom for furniture you need or want. But before you buy anything, read our 6 tips because they could make a difference between buying furniture that looks made for your room or looks out of place in it.
- What You Need v. What You Want
It’s easy to get carried away and buy on impulse, just because you like the look of something, or it’s cost-effective. One way to get around this is to look at what furniture you need to keep your items safely stored away and make a list. Stick to this list when you’re ready to go furniture shopping because you’re less likely to get items that you either don’t need or are unsuitable for your room.
Another reason for you to make a list is that after the impulse of buying something you want is gone and if you’ve already purchased it, you may not be able to return it. This means you’re stuck with an item you don’t need and, at worst, is unsuitable for your bedroom, so you can either chuck it out, which would be a serious waste of money, or sell it. More often than not, you’ll be making a loss if you decide to sell it and using up your time trying to do this.
- Room Size
The size of your room will ultimately dictate what furniture can go in there and that’s regardless of whether you need or want an item, have the money to buy it, or it matches your current decor. Measuring the size of your room is a good start to working out what can actually fit in there.
Next would be deciding what must-have items you need. Obviously a bed will be at the top of your list because you’ll need something that can be used to have a good night’s sleep on and won’t cause health issues, like a bad back or insomnia, because it’s either uncomfortable or not meant for regular use.
Yet you can’t just buy any bed. For instance, if you have a single room, a double bed may not fit in there, or if it does, it may take up too much room for you to have anything else in there.
If you have a large room, then you’ll have more flexibility in terms of what furniture you can have. But if your room’s small, you’ll have to be creative in terms of the space you have. Putting up shelves above your eyeline, having storage boxes, and even mounting your TV, if you have one, on a wall are all great ways to keep your floor clutter-free.
- Furniture Measurements
After you’ve measured your room, you’ll have a rough idea of what furniture will fit into it. The first thing, as we’ve just mentioned, that should be on top of your list is a bed and everything required for a good night’s sleep; the frame, mattress and bedding. Your bed needs to meet all your sleeping needs, so once you have a rough idea of the type; single, double, bunk, mid or chaise longue, then you can look at the best bed sizes for your room. It may also be a good idea to decide where you want your bed to be positioned in your room before you actually make a purchase, just in case this also affects what bed size you end up buying. For instance if your room is rectangular, your bed may only fit one way.
- Budget
This needs to be considered at the start, before you even start looking at furniture. There’s no point in looking at something that’s out of your price range, unless you’re prepared to save for it, or pay in instalments, perhaps. For those of you that don’t want to do this, budgeting will keep you free from impulsive buys and making repayments that more than likely will have interest added, meaning you’ll be paying more than the actual asking price. It will also keep you from buying anything on impulse that’s really too expensive for you.
- Decor
If you’re not planning to decorate, then you’ll want to make sure that your new furniture matches your decor and any other furniture that you’re planning to keep. If you’ve got different furniture that somehow goes together, that’s great. But if you’ve got one piece of furniture that looks really different to the rest it will stand out like a sore thumb. Remember: your bedroom is meant to be a relaxing place but if there’s mismatched furniture you’ll be focusing on the odd one out.
- Reputable Retailer
After all of this, you’ll have finally made a decision about where to buy your furniture. Before you do, you should check to see the reviews of both the product and customer service, whether the furniture will be delivered and/or made, as well as their refund policy.
You’ll want to know that the retailer you choose to buy your furniture from is reliable, professional and will be willing to refund any items if you’re not happy with them. Don’t forget, this is your money that is going towards furniture that you need. If you can’t use it or if it’s damaged, then you have every right to seek a refund.
Buying bedroom furniture allows you to get creative with the one room in your home that is yours. You get to decide what type of material, colour and size they are, as well as where they’ll be positioned. Because of this, you want to get your purchase right. By following our tips, you’ll be on your way to creating a bedroom that you can’t wait to relax in and possibly indulge in the occasional duvet day too.