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A Modern Bedroom That Looks and Feels Good

Is your modern bedroom an inviting oasis of relaxation? Or does it look more like a storage unit, a veritable wasteland of clutter, dirty clothes, dirty dishes and kid's toys.

If your room is the latter and you're finding it increasingly more difficult to find the bed when it's time for bed, you may want to consider giving your bedroom a well-deserved makeover.

With just a few changes, some hard decision making and some tough love, you can transform you bedroom into everything you ever dreamed it should be. And it's easier than you think.

Start with the basic

First, your bedroom is not a storage facility. If things in the room do not contribute to relaxation, enhance the beauty, add space or provide some entertainment, get rid of it. Pack it up, move it to another room or put it in the garage or trash. If you like to watch a little television before calling it a night, consider getting an armoire to hide it away when it's not in use. If you're an avid reader, make sure your nightstands have a drawer so you can put your book or magazine away, along with your glasses. If you love the latest fashions, add more dressers, wardrobes and a closet organizer to the room. Finally, get a hamper for the dirty clothes so you're not tempted to leave them wherever they fall. As they say, "A place for everything, and everything in its place."

Add furniture to the mix

Now that your room is clear of clutter, it's time to add beauty and charm to the space. Start by looking at your furnishings. Do they have the same style or at least complement one another? Are there pieces that should be moved out to make way for others? Does the style of your furniture match your tastes? For example, if you have a love of modern or contemporary furnishings, why do you continue to hold on to that monster of an oak four-poster? Creating a cohesive or at least complementary look is essential to promoting relaxation and a sound sleep. As you review your bedroom's needs, consider the space you have to work with as well. If you are in desperate need of another dresser, do you really need the California King or can you do with a Queen bed instead? This is not the time to be in denial. Once a piece of furniture is purchased, it tends to stay with you for a long time, so you want to choose carefully and deliberately. Nothing is

re maddening than creating a bedroom retreat where the furniture is so big you can't make it to the bathroom without stubbing a toe or cracking an elbow.

Think of your future storage needs

The old adage, "stuff expands to fill the space available" is certainly true in the bedroom. Fashions change seasonally and what's hot now may not be next year. So clothing and footwear seems to multiply as the years pass, even though storage remains the same. Here's a couple ways to gain space in your bedroom without knocking out a wall or doing a major remodel. First, choose furniture that offers maximum storage. A platform bed with space or drawers underneath provides a surprising amount of additional storage without adding to the overall furniture footprint. The same is true with dressers. A nightstand with drawers is a better choice than one with a single open shelf. Several highboys take up the same space as a low dresser, but offer two to three times the space. The same is true of a lingerie chest. A shoulder height lingerie chest offers more storage than a Queen Anne dresser for your unmentionables.

When you're evaluating the space you need to store your clothing, don't ever think you have enough. It's far better to have a few nearly empty drawers for a few years than to have drawers so tightly packed that you have to struggle to get them open in the morning. Nothing puts the damper on a day than getting a black eye from a bra strap that got caught on the back of an overstuffed drawer.

Don't go it alone - ask an expert

A well-designed bedroom doesn't happen by accident. If you're not comfortable with doing it yourself, there are lots of good resources out there. The Internet has sites devoted entirely to the subject of interior and bedroom design. Another good source is a reputable furniture retailer. Because they deal with design, style and fashion at every turn, these experts can help you create a bedroom that meets your needs perfectly. They can also provide you with good advice about colors, materials and fabrics so you can mix and match with ease and confidence.

Rafael Montilla writes about architecture, modern furnishing, he is a SEO consulting for KMPfurniture.com

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