Inspiration

If you only do one thing to ‘decorate’ your bedrooms this winter, make it all about the lighting. Nothing else has such an impact on how cosy, welcoming and cheering a space feels. It can be as simple as making sure each side of the bed has a reading lamp. Always choose warm-white bulbs – you’re looking for a 2700K rating. And, if you can, include both a targeted reading light (try our Rathbone or an adjustable wall light like Byron) with a brighter bulb – at least 450 lumens – and a dimmer table lamp that creates a generally soothing ambience.

The basics sorted, you can move on to more festive lighting. Fairy lights are undeniably Christmassy, but our advice is to keep them understated in bedrooms: you want a gentle glow to help you wind down. Again, opt for warm white rather than coloured or cool-toned bulbs, and still rather than twinkling. Wired fairy lights are a good choice too – the sort, like our Grosvenor, that come on a fine, silvery wire rather than a plastic flex – as the LEDs are generally so much smaller and subtler. They’re usually battery-powered too, avoiding the distracting sight of trailing cables.

Finally, turn to candlelight. Use it alongside fairy lights or instead of, but don’t miss it out – even one tealight on a bedside table can make all the difference to how special a space feels. If candles are a feature of your bedroom all year round, make the distinction between everyday and wintery by choosing mercurised, brass and silver-toned holders instead of plain glass. Or up the ante with tealights, pillar candles and tapers on every surface.

You might not opt for a tree in your bedrooms, but you can still use foliage to its full advantage. Bring in that same sense of life and vitality with evergreens draped simply over mirrors or picture frames. Or place a small seasonal posy on the bedside table. You could even include a wreath and hang it from the window frame or above the bed. Whichever way, just opt for a restrained palette of silvery greens, white and gold for a look that’s wintery but restful – eucalyptus, mistletoe, twiggy branches, gold-dusted berries and dried foliage will all work.

There isn’t quite as much call for Christmas decorations in the bedroom as there is downstairs, but they can still make their way in here and there. Hint at what’s to come before you even walk in with a tiny decoration hung over the door’s handle, then do the same on wardrobes, clothes ladders and chests of drawers. You could also slip larger baubles in amongst candles and vases on dressing tables.

Another detail that’s lovely to include – as decorative as it is practical – is a tumbler and carafe filled with water for when post-Christmas supper thirst strikes. As an extra little touch at this time of year, we’ll sit by its side a jar of gingerbread biscuits too, a tube of handcream (cold weather does take its toll) and a festive room spray. And if we are able to welcome guests to stay this year? Leave a tray nearby as well, and early risers will feel more than welcome to take cups of tea back to bed with them.