RESTFUL AMBIENCE
Enjoy a midsummer night’s dream quickly and affordably, writes Vicky Sanderson.
A refresh for the bedroom
Long, hot days are a rich reward for making it through another cruel winter. But when the sun finally does go down on a steamy summer day, it’s still nice to escape into a cool and restful space.
There are fast, affordable ways to make the bedroom a more serene and spa-like sanctuary in any season, according to Sébastien Fauteux, creative director for Urban Barn. The simplest tip is to change bedding, a move he describes as “so easy, but so impactful.”
Urban Barn has a twist on the crisp white linens so many favour in summer, with a 100 per cent cotton duvet digitally printed with the spidery grey veins of Carrara marble.
If there’s lots of room in your budget, take a look at the capsule collection designer/editor Suzanne Dimma launched with Au Lit Fine Linens. Awfully pretty, it includes duvet covers with casual washed linen — delicately cross-stitched on one side, crisp percale on the other — made-in-Belgium linen/ cotton sheets with Tuxedo trim, and a lovely slate-grey bed skirt with pebbly, ombre embroidery.
These bed linens are pricey, but keep in mind that they are beautiful, high quality, and will last a long time when cared for properly. Go to www.aroundthehouse.ca for tips on that.
Adding an area rug to a bedroom is another way to change the look and feel of a space entirely, suggests Fauteux. If space is at a premium, consider switching out nightstands for small pieces with storage, or opting for compact tables that create the illusion of space by adding clearance around the bed.
Changing colours is another quick fix.
Fauteux likes blue for the bedroom, suggesting it’s “become the ‘go to’ colour for our clients who want to introduce a colour in their home for the first time — it’s casual yet sophisticated, gender neutral with a calming vibe.”
Designer and lead colour consultant for Farrow and Ball William MacDonald likes blue for a bedroom ceiling, with Farrow & Ball’s Borrowed Light being a favourite.
“It creates the most beautiful effect as you lie there and look at it,” he says. Full disclosure: On MacDonald’s advice, I’ve now done this several times, and think it works for any room.
Refreshing a bedroom colour should always start, says MacDonald, with deciding how you want the room to feel. “Do you want it to be calming and restful or to you want it to be more alive, so that when you get up in the morning, you’re ready to get going?”
Take a chance on a colour. Once you find one you really love, everything else starts to fall into place.
If he has one steadfast tip for bedroom design, it’s to be open to colour. Too many people, he says, feel compelled to stick to white, grey and beige.
“The wall surface in lots of bedrooms is actually pretty small. Two thirds are covered in walls and window, beds, closets, doors. Take a chance on a colour. Once you find one you really love, everything else starts to fall into place.”
MacDonald questions the oft-heard rule that the bedroom should be reserved for sleeping only, that screens and other devices should be banished, and that the room should be a sanctuary where work in never done.
“Hogwash,” he says. “It’s not realistic now. For people who live in 350 square feet, the bedroom becomes the living room. Why not work in bed, if you can do it comfortably propped up by pillows and be surrounded by beauty?”