Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Creating a blissful sleeping area.


I think your bed and your sleeping area are so important for your personal well being. Your bedroom is truly your sanctuary for relaxation and getting a good night's sleep. Here are a few tips and some beautiful pictures on creating that special place. This picture is from one of the bedrooms at the Rose Farm Cornwall Bed Breakfast http://www.rosefarmcornwall.co.uk/. I just love how bed and breakfasts decorate.

Lighting

Lighting is so important to me in my room. Low level lighting like a night light, small night lamp (perhaps a small Tiffany lamp or some wall sconces) can create a calming effect on your well being and can amazingly de-stress you. Candles can create a great effect as well but I'm so terrible at remembering to blow them out my low level lighting might turn into a 4 alarm fire! Ha! Here are a few examples of some calmly lit rooms to create this blissful effect.



Fresh Air

Even in the winter, fresh air is so important for a sound night's sleep. Stuffiness can remind you of your day or unsettle you preventing your mind from clearing. Believe it or not, when I have the window opened a crack and I'm in a warm toasty bed with my down comforter, I sleep so much better. If I leave the heater on I just get hot in the middle of the night and it's so uncomfortable. Also, the best thing my mother ever taught me was that cooler air is so much better for keeping your skin looking young. :)

Dream Pillow

A dream pillow is a small pillow or sachet filled with aromatic herbs. I typically like lavender. It's a very calming herb. Here are some instructions from Martha Stewart's website to make your own. Below are pictures of pillows from her website as well.

Cut two pieces of fabric to the same size. Sew the fabric pieces together, right sides facing, leaving a 2- to 3-inch opening on one side. Clip the corners diagonally, and turn the fabric right side out. Fill the pillow with dried lavender and, if you wish, flax seeds (available at health-food stores), which have a nice texture and weight. Hand-stitch the opening closed. Make pillows in several shapes and sizes to use as neck rolls, small throw pillows, or sachets.

Good book or magazine and some nice music

I typically like to read a good book or a magazine before bed. It helps me wind down. I also play a little classical music in the background. It's very calming.
Last but not least, some soft fur to lay your head down on. :)

I would put more pictures of Mocha on here but she's a little paparazzi shy. She knows right when I'm going to snap the picture and she also knows that bright light will follow and she turns away. Of course she has 10 years on Quincy so she's gained some knowledge through the years. ;)

18 comments:

cathleen said...

I love this post. It is just cozy and comfy reading it. You like all the same things I do for bedtime, especially the open window, the lavender, a book, and the soft little kittie. Mocha looks like a sweet little fur baby to cuddle with.

Mrs.French said...

fantastic post my dear...xo

soulchocolate@hotmail.com said...

I love the first pic...magnificent bed! And that photo with the window open! Oh Wow!!!! simply breathtaking...I love the dreamy setting of everything here!

Janet said...

Quincy is so funny! I love u!




from Paris

Michelle said...

Thanks Serenity! Bedtime is my favorite time of day....cozy time and well, I just love sleeping! :)

Michelle

Michelle said...

Quincy is a funny cat isn't he Paris! He wants you to come visit us so you can play with him. :)

Love you too!

Auntie 'Shelle

Unknown said...

reading your post makes me want to crawl back to bed... great post... :)

Vera said...

Michelle, very impressive beds. Not very much applied to myself - if I only could have had enough of undisturbed sleep the surrounding wouldn't matter much :)

Your kitty is a beauty!

The Blonde Duck said...

I'll send Wade over to cheer you up! I didn't mean to depress you!

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

Lovely post! I'm ready to curl up and go to sleep...except...I just woke up! I'm glad you came to visit...beacuse I had a great time at your blog! Love your music selections, and what adorable furballs!

Have a great day!

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

What a wonderful post on blissful sleeping...I am a big fan of lavender! In fact I sell little lavender pillows I make on my website.
Penny

Hisako Hill said...

I love
Quincy flat on the pillow! Love his fur...

Sako;)

CIELO said...

Beautiful photographs... for me “light” is the quintessence of a wonderful room.

cielo

Tracy said...

So true! Bedrooms really are the most important room in the house! I loved this post!! Beautiful pics and relaxing music to read to! Loved it!

Cathy ~ Tadpoles and Teacups said...

Ah, sleep. Wish I could get more of it. Very nice post, btw.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I love those bedroom photos! Ours is all right, not too cluttered, but lacking some flair, I'd say. I need to make my own dream pillow...mmmm

vanillasugarblog said...

Wonderful post. And might I add, since I'm a sleep freak and love my bedroom, that it really is important to invest in a really good mattress. The better ones are really expensive, but you know in the long run they are so worth it because they support you better. Simmons Beautyrest Black series has some of the most comfortable mattresses I've ever slept on. Plus, I think having high thread count sheets is another dreamy way of getting good sleep, they feel so perfect against you skin.

Tea Time With Melody said...

I love this post too. Makes me want to go and redecorate like NOW.