Inspiring Summer Bedroom Decorating Ideas

What makes for a great bedroom in winter may not hold true as the heat (hopefully) rises. Seasonal decorating may seem an extravagance but in the same way we tuck away our winter woollies, a few hours swapping fabrics, accessories and colours can lift a room and make it the ideal place to retreat from the midday sun. If you’re wondering how to decorate your bedroom for summer in a way that combines cool and airy with comfort at the heart, we have the best bedroom decorating ideas for striking the balance.

Find Your Style

The best way to build a flexible design is to create a great, year round base. Design styles that are bang on trend but can be cooled down or warmed up as needed, include the perennial coastal interiors, which invoke the spacious Long Island beach house or the bolder nautical décor of Nantucket reds and dark blues.

Get the ‘bones’ right; a wall colour that can be styled differently like a warm grey or classic navy, dark wood or white shutters at the window and lighting that is adaptable. From here you can play with easily changed elements like throws and accessories.

Deep Hues

Summer colours aren’t all bright or white: don’t think bedroom paint ideas need to be restricted to easy and light. Unusual but effective colour ideas for a bedroom include colour schemes that combine rich hues like a dark brown wall with a blue and brown roller blind. These shades will also help make the room darker when the sun won’t give up the day long after you need to sleep.

Change it Up

The quickest wins to make the biggest difference will be changing up your accessories. Move any unnecessary clutter: pack away heavy mohair blankets or cosy fake fur throws, change knitted or velvet cushions for fresh pastels or navy and white stripes.

Bed covers make all the difference: try broderie anglaise cotton and layered white sheets or natural linen with a high thread count; it regulates body temperature and keeps you cool in summer (and warm in winter making it a perennial) used with lower tog summer duvets.

Try wall art in children’s rooms such as budding flowers and bright colours, or replace bedroom wall décor with simple pressed flowered prints in broad white bordered frames. No DIY required, these changes can be done in under an hour and lift a room instantly.

Cool Off

There are two main changes you need to manage in summer season. The heat (the increased thermal gain through windows and the lack of temperature drop at night) and the longer hours of sunlight. Regardless of whether you want sheer or wooden window treatments, look at the solar heat control element. In spaces that get very hot choose blinds that limit heat allowed in; and in regions where it can get very cold at night keep them open during the day and then close at night to trap in the heat that has built up by using Duette® Shades with built in insulation.

Controlling Light

The electric task bedroom lighting needed in winter is less important, but try replacing a softer bulb wattage and effect in your bedroom lamps for late night reading. The biggest light challenge is from your windows: the best bedroom window ideas allow a sun dappled lazy weekend lie in with a book and a pot of tea, but also keep the early dawn at bay.

Replace curtains with a sheer voile that will be pretty in a breeze should you want to keep the window open, and allow the most light, but pair with a blackout blind that makes sure you can avoid greeting the dawn chorus.

The arrival of the sun seems such a treat that it feels counter-intuitive to block it, but the glare of the midday sun can make it impossible to work. Diffuse light with semi-transparent fabric, a blind that can be opened from the top or bottom (great for privacy issues) or manage it more directly with Twist®Roller Shades with fabrics that overlap to give very precise control.

Also look at the UV protection ratings; excess light can bleach furnishings and paintings, so it’s worth looking at how to manage this especially in rooms with large windows.

You can get lots of advice and inspiration too at your local Luxaflex® retailer.

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