> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://haven.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # A bedroom for sleeping, and nothing else - URL: https://haven.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/a-bedroom-for-sleeping-and-nothing-else/ - Published: 2026-09-15T09:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-15T09:00:00.000Z - Description: We took everything out that was not about sleep, painted the ceiling dark and bought linen. - Author: Maren Holt - Tags: Bedrooms, #room Bedroom, #budget £850, #time Two weekends, #style Dark and calm, #Import 2026-10-02 16:14 We asked one question when we redesigned our bedroom: what does this room need to do? The answer was short. It needs to help us sleep. Not to work, not to watch television, not to store the ironing. Everything we did followed from that sentence, and it cost £850 over two weekends. ## Take things out first Before buying anything, we took everything out that was not about sleep. The desk went to the spare room. The television went to the living room, and then to a charity shop. The exercise bike went to a friend who promised to use it. The room was suddenly quiet, even before we changed a single wall. ## A darker colour than you think ![Heavy linen curtains, lined, from the ceiling to the floor.](https://haven.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/content/images/2026/10/bd-curtain.jpg) Heavy linen curtains, lined, from the ceiling to the floor. We painted the walls a deep, warm grey-brown, a colour that feels like the inside of a wooden box. Dark colours in a bedroom make the corners disappear at night, and the room feels smaller in a good way: wrapped, not cramped. The ceiling is the same colour, which surprised everyone who saw it. A white ceiling above dark walls makes the room feel like a box with a lid. The same colour everywhere makes it feel like a cave, and a cave is a good place to sleep. - #5E5147 Walnut — walls and ceiling - #EFE7DA Linen — bedding and curtains - #A8795A Clay — cushions and one lamp - #7C8A6E Sage — a plant, and the rug border ## The bed and the bedding We kept the bed and changed everything on it. Washed linen is the best thing we have ever bought for a bedroom: it is cool in summer, warm in winter, and it looks better creased than ironed, which is good news for people who do not iron. ![Washed linen sheets, two pillows each, and a wool blanket for cold nights.](https://haven.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/content/images/2026/10/bd-linen.jpg) Washed linen sheets, two pillows each, and a wool blanket for cold nights. ![](https://haven.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/content/images/2026/10/bd-linen.jpg) #### Washed linen duvet cover Stone-washed European flax, soft from the first night. Our pick after trying six. [See the details](https://example.com/linen?ref=haven.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com) ## Light A bedroom needs three kinds of light: soft light for the evening, a reading light for each person, and no light at all at night. We removed the ceiling bulb and added two bedside lamps with warm bulbs and dimmers, plus lined curtains that close fully. ![A small bedside lamp with a fabric shade and a warm, dim bulb.](https://haven.ghostcms.templates.codememory.com/content/images/2026/10/bd-lamp.jpg) A small bedside lamp with a fabric shade and a warm, dim bulb. 🌙 Choose bulbs of 2,700 kelvin or warmer for a bedroom. Cooler, whiter light tells your body it is still daytime. ## Storage The fastest way to ruin a calm bedroom is a chair covered in clothes. We solved it with one rule and one piece of furniture: clothes go in the wardrobe or in the laundry basket, and there is a hook behind the door for tomorrow's clothes. That is all. ## What it cost - Paint and a roller for walls and ceiling: £140 - Lined linen curtains and a pole: £290 - Linen bedding: £260 - Two lamps and warm bulbs: £160 Total: £850\. The curtains made the biggest difference, and the paint the second. > We did not make the bedroom beautiful. We made it boring, in the best way. > > **Maren Holt** ## Three months later We fall asleep faster, which may be the dark curtains, and we wake up less tired, which may be the absence of a phone charger by the bed. We moved that to the hallway too. ## The floor Bare boards look lovely and feel cold at six in the morning. We added a large wool rug that reaches under the bed on both sides, so the first step of the day is always onto something soft. The rug is a warm oatmeal with a thin sage border, and it softens the sound in the room too. ## Sound A calm bedroom is also a quiet one. Heavy lined curtains, the rug and a fabric headboard absorb far more noise than you would think, and the room now sounds soft, the way a room in an old hotel does. The street outside has not changed; we just stopped hearing it. ## Air We open the window for ten minutes every morning, whatever the weather, and keep the radiator low. A cool room, around eighteen degrees, is the easiest improvement to sleep there is, and it costs nothing at all. ## The one thing we would add A small upholstered bench at the foot of the bed. It would give the clothes that are worn twice a home that is not the chair, and somewhere to sit to put on socks. We have measured the space three times and not bought it yet, which is, perhaps, the most bedroom-like decision of all: no hurry. #### Are dark colours a bad idea in a small bedroom? No. Small rooms often look better dark, because you stop seeing where the walls end. #### What is the best colour for sleep? Any colour you find calm. Most people choose warm, muted, darker shades.