This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure Policy here
Today I’ll share five ways we’ve created a bedroom sanctuary, along with some pictures of a peaceful spring evening in our bedroom, a bedding refresh (side note: you’ll want to get in on this sale through tomorrow!) and a few of the ways we’ve updated this room over time (and how we are avoiding regrets and mistakes along the way).
1. Creating a place where your soul exhales.
Since moving to our coastal cottage three and a half years ago, making our bedroom a cozy, comforting space has become a home rhythm I really look forward to.
It’s refreshing to create a place where your soul exhales.
While we haven’t been working on major decorating projects in this room (other than installing a new light fixture and new floors nearly two years ago now–can you believe it? My how time flies!) when you’re intentionally creating a sanctuary in every season, layer by layer, the room transforms—not just in how it looks, but in how it cares for you.
This was the room as it was staged for sale when we looked at it. Such a pretty and serene room to begin with — and the VIEW! — it sold us on the house! Slowly this room is becoming a reflection of us and beginning to tell our story. To me decorating involves learning about yourself, too. YOU need to feel your best in that space. This is really a peaceful and soulful way of decorating!
I teach a rhythm for decorating in my Room Recipe course (it is included with your HomeBody monthly or yearly membership). It’s a step-by-step method to decorate and create a sense of sanctuary. It helps cut down on design decision fatigue and decorating regrets as well as encouraging an ongoing rhythm of care for you and your home.
This evening felt especially peaceful, so I took a few moments to bring spring to our room by giving the bed a little refresh—new patterned linen sheets and a darling ruffled white quilt with matching shams and a pretty throw all from Garnet Hill, one of my favorite places for bedding. It’s all on sale through tomorrow!
Our secondhand bed really has become the focal point of our room and has set the tone for our future decorating decisions!
2. Finding our Dream Bed Secondhand
Last year, we serendipitously found this dream bed on Facebook Marketplace. That’s one of the best gifts of slow decorating—every piece can have a story and you don’t have to spend a fortune!
More than just a room with a bed and a nightstand—you can build a more meaningful emotional connection to the space over time.
One of the common concerns surrounding “slow decorating” or waiting for things you love is the frustration of living in a room you think will never be finished. It doesn’t have to be that way (unless you’re renovating — then you have to wait a little longer than you want but the results will be worth it!).
I’ve been chatting with my HomeBody community lately about what it really means to “finish” a room.
When you’re creating a sanctuary, finishing isn’t always about being done forever—it’s about being at peace. It’s about creating a home that serves people along the way.
The truth is a sanctuary can feel finished many times over — even when it’s not yet where you want it to be.
3. Slowing Down to Find a Simple Solution
A few months ago, we swapped cabinets between rooms to make each area more functional. I save so much money by experimenting! I can’t believe I didn’t try arrangement sooner, it solved several space and organizing problems at once! But when you know how to make the right decisions for you, you will make far fewer regrettable purchases and enjoy the process more.
By the way, if you fear that by decorating with things you already have is “settling” — it doesn’t have to be that way. A slow rhythm of decorating over time, using pieces you have and gathering new ones, really can create a more meaningful home.
If you worry that decorating with what you love will end up feeling like a hodgepodge of things that don’t go together–there is a method to making it all feel like it “goes together” without having to decorating in a “matching” way.
My Room Recipe Method (a series of beautiful magazine style guides in my decorating course) will help you with a jump start to decorating on the right path and style for you! This method guides you through the process and offers you formulas for key decisions early on so you enjoy the results now and don’t regret your choices later.
4. Layering Linens to Create a Cozy Feeling
I recently hung another curtain panel to soften the corner. While I love the clean fresh look of more invisible window treatments, the layers make it feel cozier and more like “us.”
Like the true coastal grandma I’ve become, I’ve continued adding to my growing collection of linens and quilts.
It has always been my dream to have a lovely stack of pretty quilts to enjoy and use as I make beds for our family. Bedding can be an investment but to me it’s worth collecting what we really love so we do it over time — it really inspires us to love where we live and it sets the tone for how we want to feel in our every day lives.
5. A slow rhythm of care
I love how any space can evolve with simple shifts—seasonal refreshes and those little moments of inspiration that strike when you’re not even planning on a major change.
Caring for your home isn’t just about chores. Home Rhythms are the gentle, recurring patterns of care HomeBodies learn to embrace—small routines and rituals that bring order, beauty, and well-being into our daily lives.
A slow but steady rhythm of creating beauty in your home brings a sense contentment with what you have and helps you to design a sanctuary that serves you better in every season.
Come learn and apply these gentle Home Rhythms with me!
Our room may never be “done” but it’s always our sanctuary!
Ruffled white quilt with matching shams
Buffalo Check Curtains (chambray color)
Rug (sold on Amazon or Wayfair or Rifle Paper)
Outdoor Deck Bistro Table and Chairs
Paint Color: Bunny Gray Benjamin Moore
