Chocolates, Champagne, and Camisoles are the usual suggestions for a celebration with your Valentine. Here are six simple changes to your bedroom that will help you celebrate Valentine’s day 365 days a year. I often see clients with beautiful homes, but their own bedrooms are merely functional: a room with a bed, a bureau and a bathroom, period. Making your room more romantic does not mean decorating it with bordello red flocked wallpaper. Simple additions or changes can make your bedroom into a warm retreat for you and your special someone. You can use adjustable lighting, tactile delights, and artwork or mementos with special meaning for both of you. Before you bring in anything new, do a simple decluttering: start under the bed, you will be surprised at what you find there.
- Colors – Colors set the mood in a room. No red walls please, they are too energetic and you will not be able to sleep. Red accents like pillows, bed covers and decorative accents are fine. One theory suggests using flesh tones for a relaxing room: beige-y pink to soft salmon to warm mocha. Or simply use a color you love, just make sure the shade of the color has warm undertones.
- Light – Overhead or recessed lighting is simply not romantic: it casts very unattractive shadows on your face. Place a table lamp on each bedside table. This provides a balance of energy and illumination. If you are using compact fluorescents, be sure you have “warm white” or “soft white” bulbs to avoid a cold, clinical look.
- Tactile – The best place to indulge your sense of touch is in the bedroom. Use fabrics that ask to be stroked, from chenille to cashmere, or satiny high-thread-count cotton sheets.
- Sound – Music, a bubbling water fountain or the sounds of nature can make a bedroom a relaxing retreat. Play your favorite mood music or open a window to hear the breeze in the trees.
- Personal Decoration – Personal decoration in a bedroom can be too “girly”: silk flower garlands, frilly pillows and pink or lavender everywhere. Have something that represents each of you and both of you. While I discourage bedrooms that are too feminine, I also discourage crossed hockey sticks above the headboard. Read on and learn about the best kind of personal decoration.
- Feng Shui – Locate the Marriage/Partnership/Romance corner in your bedroom. Stand in the doorway facing into your room, the Romance area is in the back right hand corner. The energy in that area has a direct impact on the energy in your love life. First de-clutter it. Then place a wonderful memento of your relationship there: a photo of the two of you, a souvenir of a wonderful trip you took together. You get the idea. If you don’t have someone in your life yet, then you can use symbols or metaphors: a picture or statue of a romantic couple, two flowers or two of something that symbolizes romance and love for you.
I wish you much love and happiness.
