The ABC's of bedroom design: Ten ways to have a better bedroom

When designing your bedroom, remember Atmosphere, Body awareness, and Cachet

by LIZ HOWARD
Sun Columnist
*Archived October 2006 article

• Illumination: Lighting is important. Make sure your bedside lights are tall enough for reading, or that you have good wall lights or recessed lighting.  Directional lighting may be a good idea so you don't shine your reading light in your partner's face.
• Lighting controls: where are they best located? Can you turn on lights from the door? Can you turn them on and off from the bed? Related to that, make sure you have enough bedside wall outlets for a light, a clock radio, a telephone - we never have enough.
• Air conditioning: If you intend to add it, be careful of its placement relative to the bed. You don't want one side of the bed sleeping in a draft, nor do you want large pieces of furniture blocking the airflow.
• Window coverings: This is one of the most important rooms from a window covering perspective. Light control, both day and night, is important; heat control and airflow are critical; and privacy issues must be addressed.

B is for body-awareness:

• The bed: Do your homework and buy the best bed you can afford. Choose a mattress that's hard or soft enough, get a twin bed or a king-size, but don't try to save pennies here. You'll be spending about a quarter of your life here, so make it comfortable. And remember that the larger you are (and therefore the more weight the bed must support) the more important the bed construction is.
• Floor covering: We all get out of bed barefoot, so make sure that the floor is welcoming. Ceramic tile gets cold even in Hawaii, so put an area rug by the bed. This is the room for that warm fuzzy feeling, so you can use a plush carpet with lots of padding.

C is for cachet:

• Privacy: Privacy means more than a lock on the door. It also means sound privacy. If you go to bed early or like to take a nap during the day you want to make sure that family noise doesn't disturb you.
• Display: Most of us keep many personal things in the bedroom. It's important to have room to display mementos and pictures of family and friends.
• Storage: We can never get enough of this, and in the master bedroom convenient storage must accommodate two people. And if you want your children to keep their rooms even somewhat neat, they need enough shelving and toy bins to do the job.
• Workspace: This is a real danger zone. If you have a desk in your bedroom piled high with work to do, it's the last thing you'll see at night and the first you'll see in the morning. Find some other room for it.

President and owner of Howard Design Group, Liz Howard is a member of the American Society of Interior Designers. As past National President of that 31,000-member organization, she is the only designer in the state of Hawaii to be elected to the ASID College of Fellows. Howard has been practicing interior design in Hawaii for over 40 years. The firm has won many design awards for both residential and commercial work, and Howard's articles have been published in numerous magazines across the country.