We all know the statistics of how much of our lives we spend asleep, but the curious fact can be taken one step further. If we dress and prepare for our day — as well as end our day there — what percentage of our lives is spent in the bedroom? You would have to guess somewhere close to 40% overall, so it’s obvious that setting up a bedroom right is an essential part of your interior design. Whether big or small, hard wood-floored or carpeted, the bedroom must be handled with care. Here are the five big things to do in order to set up a perfect bedroom.

1. Get the bed right. Obviously, without the proper bed any planning you make in the bedroom will be nullified. Make sure it is up-to-date and allows you to sleep like royalty. Not only will your energy be affected by a poor sleep cycle: your entire demeanor can be damaged if you’re not sleeping soundly. Spend the majority of your budget on the mattress, with a balance between firmness and softness. The box spring, or foundation, is the place where the impact will be absorbed. Don’t undermine a great bed without the right foundation. As for placement, give access to sunlight but don’t drown yourself in it, unless you can block it out with blinds or curtains.

2. Identify and maximize storage space. If you have been blessed with many large closets, the majority of your bedroom furniture can serve a decorative purpose. However, if you need to store clothing, you’ll have to find the right pieces for space and design. A chest of draws with a mirror above it can serve as an ideal place for getting ready. An armoire will afford the luxury of hanging clothes where space in the closet ran out. Coordinating your pieces is essential.

3. Make sure your desk is usable. There is nothing like getting work done on a desk in the privacy of your own bedroom. Whether talking on the phone, sending an email, or just thinking things through, the desk is one of the most intimate places when it comes to self-reflection. If your windows overlook a busy street, move the desk back to keep that solid frame of mind.

4. Keep a chair and table space. No matter how small your bedroom may be the presence of a table and chair makes a huge difference. These pieces might have to be small, but it’s not something to overlook. Within the bedroom, there is going to be a desk and a bed to do your reading and thinking. They represent two extremes, one too rigid in some situations, the other too relaxed. With a cozy chair and side table, you will make your bedroom the ultimate comfort zone.

5. Get the lighting right. Don’t forget about lighting. It’s a room in which a dimmer switch is a must. Also, make sure turning off the lights at the end of the night is not a chore. You don’t have to clap your hands; just put the switch within reach of your bed.

When it comes to your bedroom and arranging your bedroom furniture, there are a lot of things to think about; this is the room in which you will be spending a significant portion of your life, after all. Of course, the way you arrange your furniture can mean the difference not only in a good night’s sleep, but also in the functionality and style of your room.

Probably the first piece of furniture to consider is the bed, as it is the center piece of the room and most likely the largest piece of furniture in the room. The bed is your focal point. One way to start off rearranging your furniture is by measuring your room with a tape measure. Draw your room to scale on a piece of graphing paper. Don’t forget to measure the distance between windows, heaters and other similar objects. Next measure your furniture and create cut outs. Using these you can arrange and rearrange your furniture without having to actually touch anything. It also gives you good grip on the layout of your room; using a scale model allows you to see what works and what doesn’t.

When it comes to the bed, usually this is placed against the first wall you see when entering your bedroom. The headboard should face you, as this is the main focal point. There are other things to consider when placing your bed. The bed should be arranged in such a way that it doesn’t create any obstructions. If your room is on the smaller side, try pushing it against a wall to save space. Also, be sure not to block any doors; you don’t want to make it difficult to get to your clothes, for instance. While placing your bed near a window may sound romantic, it can actually end up being a bad idea. You’re likely to catch a cold from drafts, and the extra noise and light you’ll experience may disturb your sleep.

Be sure to avoid odd angles or spacing, especially if your bedroom is on the smaller side. Leave room on either side for a nightstand. Dressers and bureaus should be placed on an adjoining or opposite wall, so as not to add to much weight to one side of the room. Consider how much storage you need. If you have a closet, try to maximize that so as to avoid too much furniture clutter. You can place smaller chests or storage boxes at the foot of your bed. Also consider storing seasonal clothing under the bed.

If you do have a TV, think about where to place it without adding to the clutter. TV sets can take up a significant amount of room, unless you have flat screen, which can easily be hung on the wall opposite your bed. Otherwise try placing the TV at an angle, or if you have a large armoire, consider placing in there, so you can store it when it’s not in use.

If you do have extra room, you can add a nice, comfy chair or two, in a corner or near a window. Remember, when it comes to bedroom furniture, you have to make sure that you avoid clutter. Leave yourself some space to relax and put your things.

The tween and teen years are a time when young girls are always looking for interesting ways to express themselves. While it’s important to support their budding individuality, the thought of a complete bedroom makeover can be daunting, as well as costly. 

Here is a teen bedroom makeover plan that is really budget friendly. Your daughter will love the idea of creating a hang out place for her friends right in your home. Give her room a theme of its own by starting with a great looking photo mural of her choice. Have her choose the bedroom theme based on her unique interests. You won’t have to encourage her to be creative!

The theme can be anything she thinks is cool, and this can range from cows to castles! For simplicity sake, this article will use Hawaii as the theme. First, help her find the perfect photo mural, complete with palm trees, sandy beach, and tropical sea. Prepare the designated wall and install the photo wall mural on a lazy Saturday afternoon. All the photo murals at www.ArtisticHomeowner.com hang easily, just like traditional wallpaper. Don’t forget to enlist the help of your daughter and her friends. You’re sure to have a memorable experience, and the girls will start to know right away that your home is a cool place to hang out!

Use the Hawaii photo mural as the bedroom’s focal point. Now, use smaller accent pieces to develop the theme and accessorize. You can head straight to your own basement or attic for props. Don’t forget to check out yard sales and even the Salvation Army for funky junk. Dollar stores are also a treasure trove for accessories.

Great old furniture pieces can be revamped for the cause. Wicker chairs and end tables are traditionally “beachy”. Spray paint the furniture white to freshen it up. You could also use actual beach chairs.

Accessorize an old mirror by hot gluing shells around the edges. Do the same to customize a hand mirror. Add shimmery bead curtains in place of regular curtains for a funky look. Hang flower leis from the corners of a headboard or drape from a lampshade. Use grass hula skirts in place of a traditional bed skirt.

If you don’t already have a rug, you might try an inexpensive indoor/outdoor carpet. This kind of carpet is easy to clean up if soda or snacks get spilled. Large floor cushions or bean bag chairs are great for hanging out in. Add brightly colored, stackable milk crates for storing CDs, videos, and books. Drape fisherman’s netting from the ceiling for a fun, nautical feel. Throw a few inflatable beach balls and a plastic shovel and pail in the net!

With just a few easy touches like those suggested here, you can give your daughter a room she will think is awesome. She will love her room’s new look. She will want to hang at home with her friends–mission accomplished! Now it’s time to celebrate. Invite a few of her friends for a beach party sleepover.

Great job, Mom and Dad; give yourselves a pat on the back! This project was done well and easily within your decorating budget. What to do with the leftover cash? Well, Little Brother would love an outer space-themed bedroom…

Decorating a nursery is a mother’s prerogative. The colors, theme and styles of furniture are all at her whim to choose and decide upon. But when children get a little older, their room should be a reflection of who they are – not their parents. Creating a child’s bedroom to reflect the child can be a fun and rewarding process, too. And while the theme, if any, will be key, the furniture will make or break the deal.

When it’s time to take down the fluffy bunnies or A, B, C blocks from the wall and transform a baby’s room into a growing child’s abode, seek advice from the child. Find out what he or she is interested in. Perhaps your little princess wants a royal room? Or, maybe your little quarterback wants to go with a football theme? It’s even possible no theme will be desired. Remember to ask them though … it’s their room now. Don’t try to impose your whims and wishes on the little things like border paper or colors (within reason).

If a theme is chosen, this can open the door for a whole lot of fun. Decorating, let’s say, a princess room doesn’t have to cost a bundle either. Plan together what you’d like the room to look like and start shopping for accessories. An old floor length mirror, for example, can be picked up at a junk shop or yard sale and painted high-gloss white to fit in just perfectly. Small implements and accessories such as pillows, a faux canopy and so on can go a long way, too, without breaking the bank.

And while looking for the accessories is really a blast, the real meat of the room lies in the furniture. This is where your opinion can and should count, too. Furniture for a growing child should be comfortable and functional. It should also be of quality construction.

If a theme is chosen, look for pieces to fit into it, but keep in mind if the construction isn’t quality, it’s not likely to last. A $1,000 princess bed that’s put together with staples may look cool at the start, but once the little royal does some jumping and normal wear and tear takes place, it may look like a crusade came through the room.

Try to find pieces that will fit the theme and grow with the child as well. Your seven-year-old may want a football room, but when he’s 15 that could change. Buy for now, but keep your eyes on the future.

When creating a room for a growing child keep in mind the extras that will eventually need to go into a room. A desk for school; perhaps a computer stand as well will be needed most likely. If you buy furniture that will work for the seven-year-old only, you’ll find yourself buying again a few years down the road. But if you choose items that blend into the room and will work with different design themes and good quality pieces are chosen, a single purchase should suffice over the many different stages your child will go through as he or she grows.

No matter what’s chosen, make sure the furniture is comfortable, fits in the room well and is well designed enough to handle the wear and tear a child can dish out. Children are tough on their furniture, so their furniture should be tough enough to handle it.

A popular misconception about bedroom furniture is that all the pieces of furniture have to be identical in order for them to match. This is true in some respects but the reverse is also true. You can have a set of bedroom furniture that does not match exactly and they still fit together nicely for a bedroom set.

Many furniture stores and high street shops sell bedroom furniture sets as completely matching items of furniture. The material they are made out of are exactly the same, the texture, the colour, the style, the furnishings, everything is the same. This is great because you can go to one shop and buy all your bedroom furniture pieces for a good price and you know that they go perfectly with each other, probably why they are so popular.

But we have another option as well. You can shop around for furniture and buy different pieces of furniture from different shops that have your own uniqueness and make your own set. You can be as whacky with this as you would like depending on your sense of taste and your preferences, or you can be more subdued and go for subtle differences. This adhoc method of furnishing your bedroom creates a great sense of individuality and distinctiveness. Due to shops like Ikea and other huge chains making furniture so affordable it is thought that many people’s living rooms and bedrooms are all looking the same. Everyone is buying the same sets of bedroom furniture. Shopping around for these great items of furniture and putting them together as your own set will make you stand out from the rest and will be completely personal to you.

What are the rules when putting together your own bedroom set? A good rule of thumb is to go for items made out of the same material. Every other aspect can be optional but the material is quite important to be similar. You can mix and match but having an oak bed, a metal nigh stand, and a pine set of wardrobes would look too mix and match. The colour of the material doesn’t have to match but the material does, generally speaking. This gives you a lot to go on as there are many different variations of styles and colours of furniture in a particular type of material. Shop around and see what the stores have to offer, you can even buy in the same shop from different ranges, or check out your local charity shops and second hand stores, you can pick up some great bargains this way.

Don’t be afraid to buy something which is a little out there, you can always play it down by buying a plainer mirror for example, if you see something you like and it fits with your theme, go for it.

When it comes to Staging your home remember to think – MONEY! Today’s buyer is picky, and looking for the PERFECT home. You know, the one that looks like a model. They no longer are willing to walk into a well-used home to visualize!

Because of the huge inventory of homes that builders are now sitting on – and paying interest on – realtors and homesellers are having to find new ways to compete more than ever before. Builders, as most know, have been merchandising their model homes for years because they know this is what it takes to get their homes sold fast, and for more MONEY. They simply figure in their cost of merchandising as a cost of doing business, knowing they will net a large return on their investment! Also, new home builders have begun lowering prices, offering HUGE incentives i.e. free upgrade packages, paying closing costs, and even putting a car, color of your choice, in the garage for you in order to boost sales and reduce their inventory. These are the builders you, as individual realtors and sellers, are now in competition with!

As a professional designer in Central Florida, I have worked with these builders for more than twenty years. I can tell you what is involved in Merchandising a Model Home versus Home Staging an existing home. You will find there are many more similarities than differences when the existing home is well staged.

In the following are highlights of some of these similarities and differences:

* Remove all clutter – In Home Staging this is a fundamental rule. Remove all clutter from every room . . . including closets and drawers. (Trust me, the buyer will be looking!) Don’t forget corners and countertops, and remove unnecessay pieces of furniture that you have inherited from your Great Aunt Gertrude. Get rid of it. Decluttering makes rooms look and feel larger, (remember they are buying square footage) as well as sends the important message to the buyer that “this is a home that has been well loved and cared for!”

In Model Merchandising our job is much easier. Noone has yet ‘lived’ in the home so we don’t have years of ’stuff” to declutter. We do have to know when enough is enough though. Accessories and furniture are used to profile a lifestyle, create memory points, emotional connections and the WOW effect . . . all which will translate into a ‘great first impression’ when people enter the home. But good model merchandisers know when it’s time to stop. Their main function is to showcase the model so the HOME takes center stage . . . NOT the furnishings. This translates into open, airy, light, balanced . . . and yes . . . UNCLUTTERED rooms.

* Check your walls – In Home Staging the premise is to depersonalize the home as much as possible. While you enjoy your walls that are galleried with family photographs and hand made works of art from your children – your potential buyer will not. And neutralize the color choices for your walls overall, to appeal to the broadest band of buyers. Note: I said go neutral on walls overall!As in model merchandising, I would still recommend you use bolder colors to accent key areas or architectural details to give the home wamth and personality.

In Model Merchandising, designers generally will have more flexibility to create their own story because noone is actually living in the home. We research the demographics of the area, and are able to specifically target that market. For example, we may show you a teenaged girls bedroom who happens to be a cheerleader for the local high school – or possibly a boys room, who obviously is on the football team for your State University. If the home is located in a golfing community we will make sure to include a set of clubs in the master bedroom closet. In both home staging and model merchandising, the goal is the same . . . to sell your buyer on the home . . . both as a product, and a lifestyle!

* Aroma – In Home Staging, smells always need to be objectively and gently addressed by the stager – as an outsider. Homes that have been lived in have inherrent odors, which are often not detected by those living there, as they have become desensitized to them over time. Check soft agents, (i.e.carpeting, drapery, fabrics on furniture, etc.), as these fibers will absorb odors. Do a PET CHECK to remove any stains or signs of Felix or Fido! If these odors cannot successfully be steam cleaned out of the fibers then REPLACE, REPLACE . . . REPLACE! Nothing can kill a sale faster, or cause a bigger price reduction than offensive odors that could, and should have been previously addressed!

InModel Merchandising, creating pleasant aromas matter. Again, though models are easier as there has been noone yet living there, we still pay very special attention when addressing this to detail. We often have to caution the sales people NOT to cook their lunches or burn bags of popcorn in the microwaves. People will buy not only what they see . . . but what they smell!

Natural, clean scents are preferrable for both homes that have been staged or merchandised. Fresh flowers, potpourri, herbs, and of course fresh air. Open up the home as much as possible before showing. Avoid unnatural scents such as plug ins, sprays and oils as a consideration for those with allergies. These methods are often even more offensive than the odors you’re trying to eliminate!

* Setting the Mood – For Home Staging and Model Merchandising alike, this is a very important component to successful selling. Open blinds, turn ALL fans and lights on, have soft classical or smooth jazz softly playing in the background . . . SET THE STAGE!

Remember, home buying is an emotional purchase, and, for most of us, one of the largest investments we will make. Home Staging statistically has been proven to be one of the most effective and affordable ways to give realtors and home sellers a much needed competitive edge for this slower market . . . transforming homes into a showplace designed to appeal to the broadest range of potential buyers!

Textiles have a huge impact on the mood of a room. You should always invest in the highest quality fabrics you can afford.  Whether this is your first home or your dream home you can create lush, luxurious spaces by selecting beautiful fabrics to adorn your abode.

The colors and textures you choose will influence the atmosphere, mood and style of your home. 

Choosing fabrics can be both fun and stressful. There are so many options to consider such as:

Bouclé

Broadcloth

Brocade

Cashmere

Chenille

Crewel

Damask

Faille

Gros Point

Imberline

Jacquard

Lampas

Linen

Matelassé

Merino Wool

Mohair

Moleskin

Peau De Soie

Pongee

Ramie

Sateen

Satin

Shantung

Silk

Suzani

Taffeta

Tapestries

Toile

Velour

Velvets

Viscose

Voile

Plan on choosing fabric for furniture, wall treatments, accessories, draperies and bedding. Be sure to select fabrics that are the appropriate weight for their intended use.  For example, if your dining room chairs are used frequently an upholstery weight fabric that is more durable would be a much better investment than an unlined silk.

Don’t be afraid to combine patterns and textures. It is sometimes difficult to see the big picture when looking at small fabric swatches so the help of an interior designer can be extremely useful and cost-effective in making the right decisions.

Match your color choices to the function of the room.  For example, you may want a romantic and restful bedroom, a living room that stimulates conversation or a bathroom that calms and relaxes.

Basic colors such as yellow creates a feeling of happiness and sunshine, blue is calm and restful, red increases energy and excitement while crimson can increase anger, deep dark purple brings a feeling of luxury and increases creativity and other lighter shades create a soothing tone, pink evokes a feeling of romance and sweetness, green relieves stress and orange will stimulate energy and excitement.  Neutral colors do not affect mood so you can use them as accent pieces or to tone down a too colorful room.

It is important to consider floor coverings, furniture and wall treatments that are included in your design plan before you select fabrics so that the room will have a unified theme.  Begin by choosing a beautiful fabric in a print or pattern that you adore for each room of the house.  This fabric will provide the overall focus for each room. 

Your next step is to choose two or three other fabrics that will include a color from your original fabric choice.  Mix and match colors, weight, scale, textures, sheen and patterns to create a unique look for each room.  In some rooms you will select a traditional understated fabric scheme and other rooms will be more bold and playful mixing and matching various fabric elements and colors. Limit your pattern choices to no more than three per room to preserve overall design scheme.

To make the process less stressful and more fun consider reading the books “Color Harmony: Fabric Harmony: A Decorating Guide to Creative Fabric and Color Combinations for the Home” and “Decorating With Fabric and Pattern” both available in bookstores and online.

Your interior designer should can help you with your final color and fabric choices.  You will discover that some of your favorite designer or luxury fabrics are only available through your interior designer so it is important to choose someone who understands your vision and your lifestyle.

You will live with your choices for years to come, so take your time making selections that make you happy.

2008, Style for Life Interiors.  Copying of Contents, in its entirety is permitted provided that author by-lines are kept intact and unchanged. Hyperlinks and/or URLs provided by author must remain active.

It is unfortunate fact of many people’s lives that infertility strikes where and when it wants. The desire to have a child is a natural, normal progression in a couple’s relationship. While there are certainly individuals and couples who choose to not become parents, an overwhelming majority are happier with the idea of starting and raising a family. The reasons for infertility are wide and numerous. Some are focused on health issues for the potential mother, while others strike the would-be dad. Despite all of the amazing strides made by the medical community to battle infertility, many couples give up after long, expensive treatments make their lives miserable. It doesn’t have to be that way any longer. In addition to medical treatments, many couples are turning to Feng Shui and fertility suggestions to increase their odds of having a baby of their own.

The uninformed know that Feng Shui is related to decorating and arranging their homes. In actuality, this ancient practice is far more than that. It is a time honored Chinese philosophy that helps practitioners create an environment rich in harmony and balance in all areas of their lives. Modifying your home in this tradition may help you and your partner achieve your goal of becoming pregnant. Using Feng Shui and fertility friendly practices are less stressful ways improve your chances of having a baby.

As we have already mentioned, Feng Shui is intended to completely balance and regulate every aspect of existence. In terms of conception, this harmony is nothing short of a miracle. Doctors and other medical professionals will be the first to tell you that it is essential to be at peace and relaxed during the conception phase of creating life. Both potential parents will experience the positive influences of good chi if their environment is conducive to the Feng Shui philosophy. For this reason, if none other, Feng Shui and fertility are a powerful combination.

To begin using Feng Shui and fertility to improve your chances of having a child, start outside. Take a look at your front entrance. Is there anything blocking good energy from moving into your home? One couple struggled with infertility for years. When a Feng Shui consultant recommended removing the tree that blocked their front door, the couple finally experienced success and became parents. Make sure that the main entrance to your home is clear and open to the flow of positive energies.

With Feng Shui and fertility, the focus is a little different than what most of us are accustomed to. The focus is primarily on the man. All of you ladies out there can take a relaxing breath now. Feng Shui is guided by the Descendant’s Luck principle. This luck determines the success of a husband or partner will have starting a family with his significant other. Learning the best ways to stimulate this luck is a beneficial practice for the man in the relationship to aid in the conception process.

This won’t come as any surprise, but the bedroom is instrumental in combining the forces of Feng Shui and fertility. The first step in the master bedroom is to make sure it is free from unwanted and unneeded clutter. Clutter stands in the way of good energy and makes it difficult to achieve a harmonious flow. This means to throw away the receipts on the dresser, pick the clothes up off of the floor, and arrange things neatly. Don’t forget about the closet either. It should be clear of any unused items.

Now that the bedroom is ready for Feng Shui and fertility, it’s time to add some decorations and furniture placement that is perfect for encouraging the production of children. When you think about it, it makes sense. Elephants symbolize pregnancy in the Feng Shui tradition. A couple trying to conceive should consider displaying elephant figurines in their sleeping space. Another animal reference that will help with fertility is fish. The symbol of two fish represents marital unity. As a matter of fact, any decoration you use in this room should involve the number two. Throwing the color red around is helpful as well. Place two red paper lanterns on either side of the bed. These represent the positive yang influence and will help increase fertility. A single piece of hollow bamboo is useful as well. Once again focusing on the potential father put a dragon on his side of the bed to flame his passion and add potency to the union. These well placed items are a good way to encourage the flow of energy through the room.

With the correct use of Feng Shui and fertility energies, a couple struggling with infertility can give themselves an edge in the conception process. The creation of a relaxing, loving home environment will improve the couple’s chance at starting a family of their own.

An attractive, inviting bedroom can play a big role in keeping the romance alive in your relationship. Whether you’re looking to completely redesign your bedroom or just add a few decorative touches, there are plenty of ways in which you can create a romantic haven where you and your other half can unwind after a busy day and rediscover your love and affection for each other.

If you want to keep the focus on romance in your bedroom, it’s important to eliminate other distractions. This means keeping the room clean and free of clutter. Links with the outside world such as telephones, TVs or computers should ideally be kept in another room or placed somewhere unobtrusive. Avoid bringing the stress of the workplace into your bedroom -keep office files and documents well out of sight!

You may not be able to change the size or location of your bedroom, but repositioning the furniture can dramatically change the appearance of your room. If your bedroom is smaller than you’d like, positioning the bed at an angle in a corner can make the room appear larger, while mirrors add depth. If your room looks bare, a plain wooden floor can be made more romantic with the addition of a richly patterned oriental rug or carpet.

Beds and romance

Your bed is obviously the key piece of furniture in your room when it comes to love and romance!

Certain styles of bed, such as four-poster, Victorian or canopy beds evoke old-fashioned romantic moods, while for some couples the playfulness and adventure of a waterbed does the trick. Generally speaking, large, soft, inviting beds of any type are romantic when everything else is right.

For a luxurious, sensual feel, sheets should be made of satin, silk or soft, high-quality cotton. Quilts and bedspreads decorated with lace or embroidered with floral designs are very romantic and feminine. Scattering a number of soft, fluffy pillows in different sizes and colours on your bed creates a charming effect. Curtains or valences with fringes, beads, or lace can complement the style of your bed and add detail and elegance to your windows.

Inspire romance using all the senses

The colour of the walls in a room is known to have an influence on our mood.

Your choice of colours will be determined by your personal taste, but be aware that softer colours are more relaxing and tend to inspire serenity. Red and pink are associated with love and passion, however too much of these colours could be overpowering, so combine touches of red or pink with a neutral background colour such as white or cream. Whatever colour scheme you choose, make sure you keep it consistent, as introducing too many colours or styles creates disharmony in your room.

Flowers are always romantic and instantly brighten up a room. For a classic romantic gesture, red roses are the obvious choice, though daisies and tulips are popular alternatives.

The artwork you hang on your walls can also be used to inspire romance. Display your artistic taste with beautiful prints, watercolours or oil paintings, or for something more personal to your relationship, hang a series of photographs of the two of you, or other mementos that have special meaning. Surrounding yourself with personal memories can inspire your relationship like nothing else.

We all know soft lighting is crucial for creating a romantic atmosphere, whether it’s in a dimly lit restaurant or at home in your bedroom. Candles are indelibly linked with romance, so light as many as you like, in all sizes, colours and scents. You could also install lights that can be dimmed or make use of bedside lamps with shades in a soft colour. Don’t allow external light to spoil the mood – If there’s a harsh streetlight outside your window, block it with curtains.

Scent can also have a significant effect on our emotions. To set the mood with scent, use perfumed candles, essential oils burned in an oil burner, or simply a splash of your favourite perfume on your sheets. Choose calming or sensual scents such as jasmine, ylang ylang, rose or vanilla and don’t overdo scent to the point where it becomes overpowering. In addition, bear in mind any allergies or sensitivities to scents your partner may have.

Finally, soft music is a key element in setting a romantic mood. Place a stereo in your bedroom with the speakers away from the head of the bed, so the sound is not too intrusive. Make a CD with a collection of romantic songs or music (bearing in mind again your partner’s taste). Be creative, be inspired, and revitalise the romance in your life!

Missed the end of season sales? Don’t fear – top brands are slashing prices this weekend and we’ve scoured the stores to bring you the hottest deals. Catch them while you can.

1. Luxe for less

Heal’s is a master of statement-making design and their sale offers cutting-edge prices to match. Add drama to your home with this Jet nine arm chandelier, made from barley twist glass. It’s just £195, reduced from £455! mydeco is also championing high–end design with an exclusive 15% discount at Nest. Get furniture by top European names like Eames, Starck and Dixon at low prices. Just enter code mydeco15 at the online Nest checkout.

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3. Wall wonders

Wallpaperdirect is like an A to Z of wallpaper trends, with all you need to bring your home up to date. Get these for less with our exclusive 20% discount. We love the retro optical effect of this dramatic Fountain design. Enter code MV1788 at the online wallpaperdirect checkout to receive a discount.

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4. Let there be light

Make the most of our exclusive 10% discount with Graham & Green while it lasts. Invest in their sophisticated sofas and furniture or illuminate your living room with this glowing fantasy table lamp (£110). Just enter the code H8FSD at the online Graham & Green checkout. View their top ten bestsellers.

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5. Top table

Marks & Spencer are offering 30% off furniture and 20% off homeware so snatch up their delicious bedding and other knick knacks while you can. We love the classic look of this Kingston extending dining table – £719, reduced from £899 – made from solid walnut. Entertain in style.

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6. Music to your ears

John Lewis are offering 10% off PURE DAB radios, TVs and white goods this weekend – an opportunity too good to miss. Get the party started with this Pure Chronos i-Dock DAB radio (£99.95). Just enter code PURE at the online John Lewis checkout and let your weekend kick off.

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7. Trend spotting

The Cotswold Company is the place to go for country chic style and from Thursday to midnight on Monday they’re slashing 70% off sale lines and 20% off full price items. On our hotlist is their Spot On range of stoneware utensils, including this jar – now £12.25, reduced from £18.95.

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8. Gadgets and gizmos

Littlewoods Direct are cutting prices by up to 50% so be sure to pick up some of the sale’s spoils. Catch the Olympic finale on this sleek Panasonic HD Freeview LCD TV– now £599, reduced from £849 – or watch your favourite movie in style.

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9. By Candlelight

Like an eclectic look? The Pier has a wide range of styles – from Indian to European contemporary – with big price reductions. Hot up your home’s ambience with this flaming red candle bowl – now £3.60, reduced from £12.

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10. Chateau chic

If you love ornate French flourishes grab our exclusive 10% discount on Dibor furniture. Their Louis XV-style pieces will up your home’s luxe factor and this single door wardrobe – now £495, reduced from £550 – is a beautifully carved solution to bedroom storage. Enter mydeco10off at the online Dibor checkout.

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Want to find more exclusive mydeco discounts? Check out our shopping pages. Learn how the art of credit crunch chic with our guide to style for less. To ease your conscience while you shop, visit our eco shopping guide.

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