How to create a festive bedroom without going OTT

_{Some items have been gifted}

When you’re decorating your home for Christmas it’s tempting to drape tinsel over every picture frame and add flashing fairy lights in every room. But that means you don’t really ever get a ‘rest’ from the chaos of Christmas, and I think that the bedroom is the one space that you really do need to keep as a sanctuary. That said, I’m crazy for Christmas, and can’t help adding little festive touches into every room – yes, even the loo! So today, I’m styling up the bedroom to get a wintery vibe without going over the top…

BEDDING

When I started to think about buying festive bedding I realised that, although I would use it every Christmas, it probably wouldn’t the light of day for about 10 months of the year. So I decided to opt for a tartan design instead. The mulberry-and-grey colour palette means it matches my upholstered headboard, but the richer hues bring warmth into the room, especially compared with my usual monochromatic bedding. And the brushed surface of the cotton definitely feels so much warmer when you’re getting into bed on a chilly evening. This duvet set is from Julian Charles and, because it’s double-sided, I can see myself getting a lot of use out of it over the coming year.

LIGHTING

While fairy lights are good fun, their flashing bulbs are probably a little too bright for the kind of ambience you want to create in a cosy festive bedroom. I decided to swap my usual task lights to a softer lampshade. This diffuses the light and casts a glow over the bed, and pools of light on the walls. These bedside lights are from First Choice Lighting and I really love the cut-out arrow design in these metal shades – it lends a Scandi style to the bedroom.

TEXTURES

I know I bang on about adding textures to your home, but I think it’s especially important in the bedroom. If you can’t get cosy with lots of cushions in the bedroom, where can you eh? This grey faux fur cushion is my favourite of the year and I’ve added a bobbly-surfaced cushion as a contrast beside it. Throws, such as this softest-ever grey one from Julian Charles are essential for adding layers to the bed and provide that extra bit of warmth on chilly December nights.

RELAXATION

I wanted to create a space for relaxing in the bedroom, so that I could take myself away from the busy-ness of Christmas and have a read for a while. I draped a knitted blanket over my Cox and Cox chair, and added the Christmas Jumper cushion I made myself. A basket of books and my journal is all I need to encourage me to sit down and take a calming breath amidst the chaos.

CANDLELIGHT

One of the things I love about autumn and winter is lighting candles. I don’t know why I don’t do it as often during the warmer months of the year, but as soon as the darker nights draw in, I’m lighting candles all over the house. These metallic pillar candles are from Bolsius and they’re unscented, which I think is important in the bedroom; you don’t want an overpowering fragrance lingering in the room when you’re trying to sleep. I’ve had them in my bedroom for a while – you might have spotted them in previous posts.

METALLICS

This brings me nicely onto metallic tones. Adding slightly shimmering pieces, such as my copper baskets (so handy for keeping my bedside tables tidy for once!) and my gold alarm clock (all from Red Candy) gives the room that Christmassy feeling without going full-on glitz. Although, as you can see, I did add a small string of gold stars to my chill-out zone. I couldn’t help myself! 

DECORATIONS

And, speaking of doing the opposite of what I planned, I also added a tiny Christmas tree. I mean, it’s 1ft tall and is iridescent white, so it’s barely noticeable. But it does remind me that Christmas is coming and I can start to get excited about all the festive fun we have in store this December. I got this tree from Paperchase and picked up a pack of teeny tiny clear baubles filled with tiny rainbow stars too. The colours of the stars tie in perfectly with the rich tones of the bedding. And finally, I picked up a new journal for the new year in a lovely burgundy shade from Pen Heaven. It’s real leather with beautiful thick pages. I love a blank-page journal because it allows me to doodle, brainstorm, write lists and keep notes of all the fun things I’ve been up to. The dark red shade is so ‘me’ – I think most of my wardrobe is burgundy and navy at this time of year! I also ordered the purple Parker pen at the same time, and it’s a joy to write with. 

What do you think of my festive-yet-not-to-christmassy bedroom? Let me know by leaving me a comment below 🙂

Some items in this blog post have been gifted to me and the pink links indicate a gifted product, affiliate link or information source. All thoughts and opinions in this post are based on my own experience and I am not responsible for your experience 🙂