Go totally TROPICAL

Embrace colour and pattern to make a design statement in your bedroom

THE interiors trend for all things tropical is in full swing this summer. It’s all about incorporating colour, pattern and plants – with the odd pineapple thrown in for good measure. And it’s a trend that interior designer SOPHIE ROBINSON thinks is perfectly suited to the bedroom of your house. ‘Ultimately you want your bedroom to feel relaxing – a place where you can rest, recuperate and fall asleep. So you have to keep that in mind when you’re designing a bedroom. But that doesn’t mean that the bedroom has to be boring, bland and beige,’ says the Great Interior Design Challenge judge.

THINK PINK

‘There are some really lovely restful pinks out there. I love nudey pink – Calamine, Nancy’s Blushes or Pink Ground from Farrow & Ball are perfect. It’s a really relaxing, cossetting colour,’ says Sophie. ‘I think the tropical trend works really with this, as green goes really well with pink. Green is also a lovely bedroom colour, because of the enormous sense of wellbeing it fosters. It’s a lovely trend to incorporate into the bedroom.’

CREATE A FEATURE WALL

‘When I was designing this room [pictured, right], I opted for a really strong, vibrant crazy wallpaper,’ says Sophie.

‘A rule of thumb when you’re using this in the bedroom is to use it in a feature wall behind the headboard so that when you walk into the room you’re struck by this bold, vibrant design – but when you’re lying in bed reading or trying to get to sleep, you don’t have to look at it, because it’s behind your head.’

HAVE FUN WITH YOUR ACCESSORIES

‘You can accessorise with lots of plants and the lovely tropical accessories that are around in the shops at the moment,’ says Sophie.

‘Mirrored furniture and gold accessories will add glamour.

‘Rugs in a bright, bold pattern are a great way of adding a pop of colour and pattern to a room. I think it’s more impressive to go for a really big one under the bed than lots of little ones around the edges.

‘With lighting, my pet hate is the single lonely pendant in the middle of the room, casting shadows everywhere. Go for bedside lights – there are some great mini pendants out there currently. They’re a really great choice for a small bedroom, as they free up space on the bedside table.

‘There are some great gold lamps and pineapple styles available at the moment which would work brilliantly with this trend.’