The early 20th-century Bauhaus movement has been hugely influential for several elements of interior design that are beginning to define the 2020s. This was built upon the idea that form should follow function in a manner that utilised materials honestly, with simple and natural elements holding a prestigious status.
The Earthy Bedroom trend that we are witnessing right now has clear connections to the Bauhaus, but in typical contemporary style, it also picks up ideas from other ideologies along the way. It touches on the biophilic aesthetic that has revolutionised living rooms and working spaces in the last decade and gives more than a brief nod to mid-century organic modernism too. Crucially, it is a design brief that traverses the globe, moving through the wabi-sabi choices of Japan, the minimalism of Scandinavia and the timeless, natural flow of Mediterranean architecture and design.
Understanding how all of these elements inform the Earthy Bedroom look is a useful way to approach the defining features one can use to create it. Here is a collection of those to explore.
From the Ground Up
Raw & Natural Materials
Using untreated materials or those that have had minimal processing is a key way to start cultivating the Earthy Bedroom energy. The best way to set your canvas with this in mind is to begin with wooden flooring that emphasises the knots and marks that make each piece individual, with the beauty of imperfection. Building on this base with some show-stopping raw-edge oak for tables and even reclaimed timber for beams, if possible, will create a bold framework for furniture and objects to fit inside. Do not be afraid to have visible joinery and fixings that showcase the craftsmanship for added authenticity.
Earth Tone Palette
Painting The Soil and The Sky
Classic Earthy Bedroom colours should be drawn from the layers of the land itself, with terracotta, ochres and clays blending with soft moss, granite hues and moving through to sand and bone. Used in isolation, these colours could suffer from monotony in a clinical and uninspiring way, so ensure that they are layered with tonal variations present across the whole room. Accents of deep forest green or burnt umber can be added to ground the room even further to achieve impressive psychological effects to mimic the Golden Hour within your bedroom space.
Layered Textures
A Sensory Story
The repeated Earthy Bedroom aspect of layering is present to achieve more than simply adding to the visual identity of the room. It is intended to reflect the rhythms that we are witness to in the natural world. Understanding this gives one a great design focus to play with, perhaps using jute rugs under organic cotton bed linens or raw ceramic objects that live on top of a vintage oak chest of drawers. This all creates depth and intimate engagement to encourage touch and a simple, pleasing flow around the space.
Curved & Organic Shapes
Mirror the Natural World
The natural shape and topography of the earth, with its hills, dales and valleys provides a stunning template for Earthy Bedroom furniture. Once again, the goal transcends the visual with wellness leading the way for the more welcoming shapes to create a calm environment without sharp and disrupting angles. Arched headboards for beds, domed lighting and pebble-shaped side tables offer silhouettes that create a layered landscape for the room. Comfort is the driving energy here, and everything should be working toward that aim when furniture is considered.
Wooden Accent Walls
Branching Out
Although Earthy Bedroom ideas are so centred around the harmonious and pleasing design elements of nature, that doesn’t mean there aren't occasional risks that can be taken. Cladding a wall in wood creates a tactile focal point that acts like an observatory into the natural world using raw materials. This can be achieved with pale wood, in neat and ordered vertical slats that also provide an enhanced acoustic dimension to the space, or through a rather more daring application of reclaimed oak planks. Allowing either choice to weather naturally will encourage your appreciation of the bedroom as a living space that ages and changes alongside you. Your inspiration here should be firmly rooted in the Scandinavian tradition or perhaps the sugi ban of Japan that employs elements of charred timber to such great effect.
Traditional Tactile
Artisanal Showcasing
For a long time, it appeared that Bohemian style trends had the monopoly on using the timeless natural materials of rattan, wicker and cane. The Earthy Bedroom design development has now liberated these versatile fibres to become a part of its armoury and introduce intricacy and craftsmanship on an artisanal level. A wicker pendant light or a cane-panelled armoire allows for statement pieces that speak of centuries-old crafts from India, Southeast Asia and North Africa. Weaving these into your overall design sketches is a restrained way to make the global features work in this environment.
Beautiful Botanicals
Going Green
Maintaining live plants in bedroom spaces is nothing new but can often be difficult to sustain depending on the orientation of the room. Because of this, Earthy Bedrooms tend to use a mix of potted plants with dried and preserved elements that reduce the overall upkeep of the space. Pampas grass, eucalyptus sprigs, seed pods and olive branches can be thoughtfully arranged in ceramic or stoneware in an almost sculptural manner. This also works well to create a sense of the slowing down that one would like to promote for relaxation and successful sleep cycles.
Let There Be Light
Natural and New
If one is fortunate to have the option of enhancing how a bedroom uses natural light, then this is the greatest material one could ask for. Elevating this with semi-sheer linen drapery, layered with woven blinds for a filtered forest-like canopy, can be a wonderfully dramatic use of window spaces. Augmenting design choices like this with warm, low-level ambient lighting in soft glows should rarely exceed 2700k in colour temperature. Removing the overhead lighting entirely means following a natural logic to where it can be replaced, with nooks and bedside requiring intimate glows that keep the room grounded and balanced in the evening when the sun has set.
A genuine and authentic Earthy Bedroom design should feel like a natural space enhanced through intent. The raw materials, earth colours and graceful silhouettes that are at your disposal will make the initial stages a pleasing mix of research and experimentation until you find the right energy for your personality. And with so much inspiration right outside your window and under your feet, it means you can begin straight away.
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