How (And Why) I Transformed My Bedroom Into a Haven of Rest

HOMEMAKER CONFESSION AHEAD: My bedroom (that I share with my husband, Levon) used to be one of the most neglected rooms in our house. It was last on my list of rooms to clean, and when people came over, I simply shut the door. Also, since we have very little storage space, it became kind of a catch-all for things without a home. “It’s just our bedroom,” I always said. “No one ever sees it, so I’m not going to bother.”

But recently, I decided to change all that and turn our bedroom into a haven.

In this post, I’ll tell you all about why I drastically changed my priorities and how I transformed our bedroom from a dumping ground to my own personal sanctuary.

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WHY I TURNED MY BEDROOM INTO A HAVEN

Why the sudden, radical change in my housekeeping priorities? Why did I want to turn my bedroom — a room that is rarely, if ever, seen by other people — into a haven?

For several reasons:

I needed a place I could go to relax

For my own sanity (and my family’s safety *wink*), I needed a place that would offer a little peace. Our home is a single-story house with an open floor plan. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I absolutely love this arrangement. But it means there are very few places I can go for a few moments of quiet and solitude. Our bedroom was my best option, so I decided to make it my own personal haven.
I needed an escape from the toys

I was also getting tired of the kids’ toys overtaking the whole house. There were cars and LEGOS and toy guns and kids’ books in every. single. room of the house, and I found I was really craving a place — one little room — that was toy-free.
To improve my quiet time

My morning quiet time (a time in the Word, prayer, and devotional reading) is extremely important to me. I’ve written about why and how I make it happen in this post. But recently, I realized I wasn’t able to focus on what I was reading or writing, and it, therefore, wasn’t doing much to fill my tank. I decided to create a quieter, more private space where I could better commune with God in the mornings.

To get better sleep and better rest

I also wanted to make my bedroom more conducive to better sleep at night. I’m currently in my third trimester of pregnancy, so I’m waking up several times in the night and will soon have another (precious) reason to be up around the clock. But I wanted to make the sleep I do get more restful.
For my relationship with my husband

Making marriage a priority after kids, especially in the season of little kids, is HARD. But that doesn’t mean we can shelve it for later. Quite the opposite, in fact. It means we need to be even more intentional about protecting it. And one of the ways I realized I could improve in that area was my making our bedroom — our special room we share — more conducive to greater intimacy and relaxation.

5 WAYS I MADE OVER MY BEDROOM

Now that I’ve told you why I chose to turn our bedroom into a haven, let me give you five practical ways I did it.

Decluttered!

The very first thing I did was clear out the clutter. I didn’t want our bedroom to be a catch-all anymore. Everything that wasn’t bedroom-related or that didn’t contribute to feelings of rest, serenity, or love had to go.
Made cleaning a priority

Next, I made cleaning it a priority. As I stated earlier, our room used to be one of the last rooms I cleaned because I just didn’t think it mattered. Now, I make sure that it stays picked up, dusted, and vacuumed as well as (or better than) any other room in the house.

Related Post: 12 Unique Ways to Enjoy Housework (Even When You Hate It!)
Made it smell nicer

Let’s be honest — bedrooms can get… a little stinky. And ours doesn’t have any windows (something that I sometimes hate but that comes in handy when Levon works all night and has to sleep during the day), so it doesn’t get much of a chance to air out. As a result, I have to be proactive about making it smell nicer. And I do that by 1) making sure I regularly wash the bedding, and 2) using my favorite Mrs. Meyers Room Freshener spray in lavender that I get from Grove Collaborative.
Kicked out the kids

This one might be controversial, and I’m certainly not prescribing it for everyone. To each his own! But in order to make our bedroom a place of refuge for Levon and me, I decided to make it a kids-free zone.

Now, I don’t mean they’re never allowed to go in there — we do enjoy our Saturday morning snuggles! But their toys are not allowed in our room, and they’re not allowed to play in there.

They have two living rooms and a bedroom to play in (aka make a mess in), so there’s no reason they need to play in ours, too. And keeping our room adults-only not only makes it more peaceful for us, but it is a tangible sign and reminder to us to keep our relationship a priority.
Made it more comfortable

Finally, I turned our bedroom into a haven by making it more comfortable. It wasn’t ever a place I wanted to just sit and relax before, and that was because I hadn’t set it up that way. During my transformation process, I thought first about what I wanted the room to be and then figured out what changes I needed to make to make it happen.

And here are the two biggest changes I made:
I cleared off the comfy chair we had in the corner and created a place next to it for my quiet time supplies and coffee in the morning (or tea in the evening). We’ve had that chair there for several years, but it had always been filled with stuff, and there wasn’t a place to rest books or drinks next to it. By keeping it cleared off and moving a small table (or crate, in my case) nearby, I set it up to do what I actually wanted it to do.

Secondly, we splurged on bedding we love. Until then, we had bedding that was cheap because I didn’t want to spend a lot of money. But it didn’t bring us joy or comfort. During this transformation process, we invested in a good quality set, and we are now loving our bed like never before! (Which is always a good thing for a marriage, don’t you think? 😉 )

WHAT BEDDING DID WE GET?

For the first time in our lives, we now have a duvet and duvet cover, and we LOVE them!

The duvet is the bamboo duvet comforter from Aloha Soft. They generously provided me with a complimentary product for me to review, and I can honestly say that it is my favorite bedding I have ever owned. And even Levon, who is quite picky about his bedding, continues to rave about it.

We love how soft and comfortable it is, and it is the perfect weight and thickness.

Our favorite thing about it, though — and something that we still can’t get over — is how warm it is! The duvet is not very thick, but it is naturally thermal regulating, so within minutes we feel comfortably warm. (And I hear, though we haven’t had it long enough to test it ourselves, that it also stays cool in the summer. So it’s perfect for our crazy Midwestern seasons!)

Because the duvet is a beautiful, perfectly-crisp white, and we have two (soon-to-be-three) small kiddos, we quickly ordered a duvet cover. That was a no-brainer.

After much research and attempts at bargain shopping, we decided to do it right and splurge on something we would love for our bed. We ended up going with a 100% cotton cover from Macy’s. (Fortunately, I happened to be looking around the holidays, so I got it for a steal, which definitely helped.) And so far, we have not regretted the purchase one bit.

Bed Picture — The set came with the cover and two shams. The other pillows are leftover from our last bedding set.

If you’re interested in making an investment in a high-quality bedding set that you love and that will make your bedroom the oasis of rest you’ve always wanted, I highly recommend Aloha Soft. We love our duvet, and the company has been a pleasure to work with in our collaboration.

Our bedrooms are often the last room people see in our homes, and it can be easy to shove them to the back burner. But I have learned through this process — and the wonderful results they’ve brought to my soul, my body, and my relationship with my husband — that sometimes the least visible parts of our lives are the most important.

And that creating a space that is a haven for you is a worthwhile investment of time, money, and energy that has a spillover effect in every area of your life.