We can always rely on Tricia Rose, the doyenne of Rough Linen, for a bit of bedroom advice. Here, she tells us how to achieve a calm, low-key bedroom, scented candles not included.
1. Get comfortable.
Above: “I’m assuming your bedroom is already a haven—you created it after all,” Tricia says. “It’s for you, not anyone else, so if the mattress is too soft, the sheets clingy or slithery, the pillows resilient, what are you doing to yourself?” Instead of cotton sheets and pillowcases, put linen on your bed. (After all, this category of textiles is called bed linens for a reason.) Photograph by Kendra Smoot.
2. Remove Distractions
Above: Stow electronics, loose pocket change, and other odds and ends elsewhere (or in your bedside table); your bedroom should be a clean slate. Photo by Kendra Smoot.
3. Personalize Your Space
Above: “Generic is insulting,” Tricia says. In this bedroom, unexpected touches include a ceramic bell by Michelle Quan as wall art and a leather tripod stool as a bedside table. Photograph by Kendra Smoot.
4. Don’t Go Overboard with Scent
Above: “Scent is a tricky thing,” according to Tricia. “No point in turning your room into a Bessarabian brothel, unless that is your chosen pleasure, so go gently here. Clean and fresh is a good starting point; start by running a bath with a few drops of essential oils” (or tuck one of Tricia’s Lavender Sachets under your pillow). Photograph courtesy of Rough Linen.
5. Size Matters
Above: Ditch the fitted sheet and instead tuck in a flat sheet around the mattress. “Fitted sheets are an excrescence,” said Tricia. “Mattresses are all different depths. Fitted sheets never fit properly and they never look good.” Instead, she suggests, use a big flat sheet—if necessary, buy one that’s a size larger than your mattress—and tuck it tightly around the mattress. Photograph courtesy of Rough Linen.
6. Consider a Yin-Yang Palette
Above: Make your bed with a mix of Charcoal and rosy-hued Dusk linens for a yin-yang effect. Photograph by Kendra Smoot.
7. Dim the Lights
Above: “A little magic comes in useful, based in the senses,” Tricia says. “Start with lights: candles or strings of LEDs, since you can’t relax if you’re worried about starting a fire in the curtains rather than in your partner’s heart. Either will create a soft and flattering light, which can’t hurt.” Photograph by Laurie Frankel.
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