A Guide To: Bedroom Furniture

Your bedroom can be a sanctuary and is one of the few rooms in the house that you can tailor the design to your particular tastes. Although re-designing your bedroom or replacing your existing furniture can be an expensive undertaking, it doesn’t have to be. In this guide we talk you through the options out there.

Sets or individual pieces

Bedroom sets can be expensive and may contain pieces of furniture that you simply won’t need or want, however, they do come in different sizes and variations. Some will be fairly basic and only include a bed, a bedside table and a dresser, while others can come with multiple wardrobes and mirrors. Bedroom sets can ease the problem of trying to find individual pieces that match, and some of the smaller sets can be pretty cost effective.

On the other hand if you enjoy shopping around, taking the time to gather a collection of items together yourself can be cheaper than buying a set and will also give you a greater choice of furniture, and give your bedroom a unique look and feel. Both methods can be effective it just depends on your personal preference.

Ready Assembled or Easy to Assemble Furniture

Again this can depend on personal preference and whether you’re buying a set or pieces individually. If you’re short on time or not the best at DIY then ready assembled furniture is the best bet for you. Most stores will deliver the readily assembled furniture straight to your door.

However, if you have the time and don’t mind getting your hands dirty you can save by opting for easy to assemble furniture, as it costs less to produce and transport. But there is the drawback of being limited to mostly sets as very few, if any, independent furniture stores sell easy to assemble individual pieces.

How much Space do you have?

Bedrooms come in different shapes and sizes so the first thing you should do is measure the dimensions of your bedroom to see how much space you’ve got to work with. Depending on the results this may limit what kind of furniture available to you.

Maximise what you’ve got

When you’ve worked out what space you’ve got to work with look for practical solutions to suit your situation, for example, there are wardrobes with sliding doors that can occupy a tight space. Others have shelving, draws and hanging rails to really make best use of the storage space available to you. Divan beds come with draws underneath and some bed frames have room to slide storage units underneath.

Materials

There a number of different materials available when it comes to bedroom furniture, they include:

Solid Wood: The most luxurious option, it shows the natural beauty of wood with its grains, knots and variations of colour, to give your furniture a unique look.

Wood Veneer: Looks similar to solid wood, but costs much less. Veneer is made up of thin layers of real wood to create a more decorative finish.

Wood Effect: Has the look of solid/veneer wood and costs a fraction of the price. Other advantages wood effect furniture has over real wood include: it’s easier to clean, the colour and appearance is more even and it’s stain, scratch and warp resistant.

Plastic

Plastic furniture can be far less expensive than a wooden equivalent, and although it may not be as robust as wood in the long run, looking at how much you can save with the initial purchase makes plastic well worth considering. Plastic may also come in handy when furnishing a child’s room where furniture is more likely to be damaged or need replacing.

Metal

While not as common anymore metal furniture is still an option worth considering. Metal pieces will last much longer than wooden ones, are harder to damage or break and can be painted to match other furniture in the room.

Glass

You can find bedroom furniture made from glass, particularly mirrored glass, but these pieces are usually more expensive than their metal or wooden counterparts so if you’re sticking to a budget you may want to look at other options.

Designs

Traditional: Continues to be popular and is a safe option if you plan on not changing the decor of your room for a while. Although you might want to add updated touches to the room the overall design can remain the same, as a traditional room can be accessorised with more modern fixtures and fittings that complement the underlying look.

Hotel: Can be a marmite option, but hotel style bedrooms are slowly exerting their influence over home bedroom design. Look for a large bed and headboard and hone in on the practical stuff such as bedside lighting, a table and chairs and a large window to let in a lot of natural light. You might also want to consider adding some plants and greenery to create a more homely atmosphere.

Rustic: This is all about using natural materials, colours and accessories and giving the room a country feel. A raw, natural and more rustic feel to a room has been a solid trend in recent years and looks set to continue in 2015.