SWEET SLUMBER Arabella St John

Slumber Sweet

A haven and a wonderland, romantic yet restful, bedroom interiors are making a statement, writes Arabella St John Parker

While the opportunity to travel is almost fully restored, if the last two years of lockdowns have taught us anything, it is to make sure we have homes that are as inspirational and meaningful to us as they are practical and comfortable. That need is set to continue in 2022, and a particular focus is the bedroom.

Cocoon-like sanctuaries are top of our wish list, with textured wall and floor coverings in understated yet vibrant colours (try Fibre’s new Wood Chevron Gorse rug, fi brefl ooring.com) and richly coloured layers of cashmere, natural cotton and linen to dress the windows as well as the bed for a good night’s sleep (try the new collections from arleyhouse.com, james-hare.com and johnstonsofelgin.com).

TRANQUILITY

Far left : Draperies in Fresco Cove, £122 per m, and all bed linen, by Johnston’s of Elgin. Above: Tatum chair, £4,623, Jobe desk, £8,513, Arteriors

STATEMENT WALLS Left :

Deborah Bowness’s new limited editi on Heirloom wallpaper in collaborati on with the recently revivied Hornsea Pott eries, £195 per drop

SLEEP WELL, SLEEP HEALTHILY

Ultimately, it is all about the bed and a good night’s sleep. According to UK Google, searches for sleep advice and how to improve our sleeping environment rose by 800 per cent in 2021, a statistic that would come as no surprise to the experts at bedmaker and supplier to luxury hotels, Jensen Beds (jensen-beds.com): “Valuing the quality of your sleep, setting good routines for going to bed and investing in a bed that adapts perfectly to your body is crucial to waking up feeling rested, so you reach your full potential in everyday life.”

Statement beds are the beds of choice this year, and the larger the better. The experts at Sleepeezee (sleepeezee.com) agree: “Our customers often opt for bigger beds at premium standards and the Poise Plus mattress is most popular amongst those looking for luxurious mattress cushioning.”

Antique beds (victorian-dreams.co.uk and 1stdibs.com) can inject so much personality, says Shabs Kay, of Victorian Dreams, and four-poster beds are back, adds Blandine de Navacelle, of property developer Lodha UK, which commissioned a bespoke bed for No. 1 Grosvenor Square.

With adjustable back support and mattress technology, and LEDs built into the base to set the mood at night, Carpe Diem’s handmade Skaftö bed (£11,290, carpediembeds.co.uk) oozes contemporary luxury, as does Hästens’ x Ferris Rafauli’s Grand Vividus, a vision of cotton upholstery, leather strapwork and brass studs (join the waiting list at hastens.com).

Five-star hotel-quality bedlinen will complete the upgrade, with increasing demand for sustainable credentials too. Tielle’s FeelGood duvet, crafted from recycled feather and down in a 233-thread count casing by Tielle Love Luxury, which supplies Classic 300 thread-count sheets to hotels such as The Pigs and Firmdale (tielleloveluxury.co.uk).

Linen and silk are watchwords for luxury, but hemp is as superbly soft and extremely environmentally friendly; try the Secret Linen Store’s white 100 per cent organic hemp sheets.

DREAM STATE

With more of us at home for longer periods of the day, our bedrooms have developed into home office, morning room, salon and library as well as being a sanctuary for sleep. Hotel rooms such as those at Batty Langley’s (battylangleys.com) and The Zetter Townhouses (thezetter.com) show us how to create a room that is both haven and wonderland, using antique furniture and sumptuous fabrics against walls painted deep berry, charcoal blue or soft sage. The effect is glamorous and

CHARACTER Clockwise from top

left : Mezzo wall light, £372; Jennifer Manners Odessa rug; £8,000; Modern Textures Bolt cushion in charcoal, £58; Grace dressing table, £7,071. All through designbuzz.com

ELEGANCE Right:

Bedroom by VSP Interiors, vspinteriors. com. Far right: Wallpaper, £64, by Kit Kemp for Andrew Martin, headboard in Friendly Folk Melon Orange fabric, £58, all by andrewmartin.co.uk

romantic yet balanced and perfectly functional. “Our bedroom interiors should be as individual as the people who inhabit them,” says Martin Waller, of Andrew Martin (andrewmartin.co.uk). “Don’t be afraid to choose a more outlandish style as this only adds more character. Wallpaper, for instance, has a huge impact on the mood of a room and intricate headboards are a great way of introducing personality to a space.” Take a look at Deborah Bowness’s new hand-printed wallpapers, Heirloom, in collaboration with Hornsea Potteries (deborahbowness.com), and for bespoke headboards that are recyclable, try Ensemblier’s Prêt à Dormir service (ensemblierlondon.com).

LIGHT WELL

Add hotel-style magic with statement lights and creative lighting schemes. Bedroom lighting needs to be bright enough and directional to read or work by, and soft, warm and flexible enough to make the room feel dramatic and cosy.

The honeycomb effect of Gong’s handcrafted Bulat lights emit a soft light and hanging on either side of a bed “they make a pleasing symmetrical statement, free up space for bedside furniture and add a sense of nature to the scheme”, says Gong’s founder, Jo Plismy (gong.co.uk).

“Avoid positioning lights so they glare at you as you lie in bed,” says Piero De Marchis, director of Detail Lighting (detaillighting.co.uk), “and opt for dimmers to create a warming and welcoming atmosphere.” Choose lamps and task lights with switches of their own, so you can vary the light effects throughout the evening and not annoy others sharing the room with you.

PUT IT AWAY

An abundance of different types of storage is key to maintaining that five-star clean and tidy look. In the bedrooms for Heckfield Place in Hampshire, interior designer Ben Thompson has used walkin wardrobes, conventional freestanding storage pieces, and features such as Shaker-style peg rails that are decorative as well as useful.

At home, think about what you want on show and what you want to conceal. Smaller items such as jewellery, bottles, hairbrushes and sunglasses quickly create a cluttered, disorderly look and collect dust but a statement dressing table with plenty of drawers can double as a desk. “Drawers with internal dividers for hats and gloves, and scarf and tie rails on the back of a wardrobe door, are often overlooked but are also incredibly useful,” says Philipp Nagel, of Neathsmith (neatsmith.co.uk).

TECH IN THE BEDROOM?

The negative effects on our sleep of mobile phones, computers and television are well documented and the best advice is to check them at the door at least an hour before you get into bed. With more of us working and relaxing in the bedroom, though, our tech etiquette is likely to slip but a programmable smart light system will encourage us to switch off physically and metaphorically at a set time every evening. Try Philips Hue (philips-hue.com) and pair with smart blinds (try somfy.co.uk).

Watching television in bed is a classic hotel luxury but put it out of sight, out of mind when not in use – Overmantels can hide it behind a mirror for you (overmantels. co.uk), while LG has designed its Oled R, the first rollable TV (lg.com).

An open fire is a sheer hotel luxury and Le Feu (lefeu.co.uk) is a bioethanol fireplace that comes in a range of ground and suspension models so you can gaze at the flames without harming the planet. L