When you consider that our bedrooms are our most intimate spaces – the place we start our days and retreat to before sleep – its a shame that it’s one area in our home that we often neglect. And I get it, I really do. It’s rarely seen by anyone outside our immediate family so if it’s looking a bit sad or neglected, well, who’s going to know, right?

So we end up putting our best foot forward in those common rooms that our ‘company’ sees. We make an investment of time and money into the living room, the dining room, perhaps the kitchen too. But the thing is, the bedroom should be one of your priorities, if only for yourself. I know when we updated our bedroom (the only part of the house we’ve really managed to sink our teeth into), it suddenly felt like a sanctuary. We’re ready to start a huge project (you can read more about that here) and I just know that our bedroom will truly become a respite from all that chaos.

Building work tends to seep into every single area of the home so don’t get me wrong, here. I know that there may be a bit more dust around than usual. But I’m determined to ensure that the bedroom remains, if nothing else, a peaceful escape. And part of that for me is making sure it’s a no-clutter, no-mess zone. Because if you are waking up every single day to piles of laundry waiting to be put away, a ‘chairdrobe’ that has more clothing on it than your actual wardrobe or bits and pieces of paperwork on your bedside tables, it’s going to feel stressful and chaotic. Do you really want to close your eyes on that every night and open your eyes to it each morning? Of course not.

So, in light of the thought that ‘my bedroom is my sanctuary and will remain that way’, I figured I’d do a little styling refresh of our chest of drawers. It’s a lovely spot for a little styling and so I wanted to share my thought process behind how I style it to make it not only functional but also pretty to look at.

Above, I’ve broken down the elements that I think are a great start to creating a stylish vignette for your bedroom chest of drawers. So I’m going to talk through each element now to explain why I’ve included each item.

1. Start with a Mirror or Large Piece of Artwork

We have a mirror on another wall so I went for a large piece of art in this spot. I’d recommend a mirror if you’ve not got another in the room but either way, the larger size helps anchor it to the piece of furniture below. Don’t hang it too high either – around 6″ – 10″ will be just fine because you want it to visually look connected to your chest of drawers. The other recommendation I’d have is to ensure it’s at a minimum, around 2/3rds of the full width of your chest of drawers. Don’t go any bigger than the full width though.

2. A Table Lamp

You don’t want to depend just on your overhead light in your bedroom. Ensuring you have a few lovely pockets of light really does add to the ambience in the evenings so a couple on each of your bedside tables and one on your chest of drawers is a nice way to do that. Choose a lamp that speaks to your personal style but make sure it’s size is relative to the size of the chest of drawers. A tiny little lamp on a big chest is going to look strange – proportions are important here.

3. Something Living

Plants are great in the bedroom – they purify the air and add colour, texture and an organic quality no matter what your personal style is. This snake plant is really low-maintenance and is perfectly happy in indirect light which is what this corner in my bedroom tends to get. Flowers are another option of course and waking up to a bunch of fresh blooms is such a lovely start to the day. Lavender or jasmine plants will add yet another benefit – their heady scents are said to provide a deeper and more restful sleep.

4. Something with Height

One of the secrets to the most successful vignettes is a layered look, choosing items that have varying heights and widths creates more interest and allows your eye to easily take all the items on display. For my chest of drawers, I added a necklace hanger which provides useful storage and allows me to create some depth by decorating smaller and shorter items in front of it. You might want to choose a tall decorative vase instead but whatever you choose, just make sure this piece isn’t taller than your lamp. 

5. A Tray

How many times have I banged on about the usefulness of the humble tray? Too many to mention. Here, on a bedroom chest of drawers, they come into their own, allowing you to corral smaller items to make them look more purposeful and tidier rather than just a random collection of things. In mine, I’ve included body lotions and perfume along with a small bowl to collect some of my everyday jewellery (watch, ring, earrings). You can put your everyday makeup on your tray or a collection of fragrances or your jewellery – whatever you might find useful that you’re using often.

6. Something Personal

I would always recommend that nearly any vignette you create should include something personal to you. It gives your display a bit of your own personality and you will feel a greater connection to the items on display as a whole. After all, this is your own personal bedroom and your own sanctuary. You don’t want to feel like you are staying in some impersonal hotel room. On mine, I’ve included a little glass box filled with champagne and Prosecco corks that we’ve kept over the years. I write a little note with the occasion and the year on the bottoms and going through them reconnects me to a specific memory. For your own, you might want to include a family picture or an object that has special meaning to you. 

I also included a few books – a couple on design and one on art – which, again, shows off the things I’m interested in. They also add a bit more height to the vignette so it’s another great way to create a more dynamic display whilst bringing in your personality.

7. Something to Add Ambience

And finally, I would recommend something that adds yet another layer – scent. I’m a big proponent of bringing in some personal fragrance into your rooms and really tapping into all your senses. A beautiful candle, will of course, do the same along with adding some romantic lighting (hint hint) but I tend to enjoy fragrance diffusers because I can just leave them in the room and forget about them for a while. And then, walking back into the space, it’s just so nice to have a gorgeous scent lingering. 

Get the Look

Of course, if you just like the look of mine and want to recreate it, I’ve given you a little shortcut to do just that – although I would always encourage you to find objects and pieces that really speak to your personal style and mix it up a bit! Affiliate links have been used.

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I hope you found my little styling tips helpful but now I’d love to know whether your bedroom is a spot you’ve neglected in your decorating or do you make sure it’s a sanctuary? How do you style your bedroom chest of drawers? Go on, let me know in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you!

Disclaimer: Miller Harris items had been previously gifted.