Top summer bedroom interior design mistakes to avoid

Looking to refresh your bedroom this summer? It’s easy enough to do with floral patterns and neutral colours, but there’s plenty to get wrong, like layering heavy textiles, adding clutter, and ruining your sleep experience.  

Here are the summer bedroom design mistakes to avoid:

1. No blackout

Summer brings more daylight hours and sunshine, making blackout curtains and blinds essential upgrades for optimal comfort.

South-facing bedrooms also benefit from blackout blinds and curtains to reflect heat and keep your bedroom cooler. 

1. Dark colours

We’ll never say no to a moody feature wall, but keeping your other walls white and your fabrics flowery is a fantastic summer design trick. 

You can also increase light by tying your curtains back, adding mirrors to reflect light, and using white bedding. 

1. Memory foam mattress

Memory foam is fantastic at contouring your body to relieve pressure, but it also traps heat and can make sweaty nights more miserable. 

A better technology is memory gel – or latex gel – which contains thousands of gel beads to dissipate heat and create a cooler sleep surface. 

1. Heavy fabrics

Summertime requires lightweight fabrics like net curtains, silk throws, and pure cotton bedding to beat the heat.

Heavy fabrics can make your bedroom less visually inviting and trap heat when you get into bed or sit down on your bedroom chair. 

1. No ventilation

Desk fans are perfect for your bedside table and standing, while oscillating fans provide even more power to enhance airflow for a more comfortable night’s sleep. 

You can also keep your windows closed during the day and open them at night to flood your bedroom with cooler air. 

1. Not embracing nature

Plants and fresh flowers (or fake ones if you don’t want the upkeep) give your bedroom the pops of colour they need to ooze summery charm. 

Flowering succulents are ideal for south-facing windows, while bonsai trees and evergreens are perfect for some year-round greenery.

1. Keeping clutter

Summer is the best season to de-clutter your bedroom and get serious about storage with under bed boxes or an ottoman bed. 

Vacuum-pack your winter clothes and throw them somewhere out of the way. Sell or give anything you don’t want to charity. 

1. Ignoring window treatments

Window treatments like solar-reflective and tinted window films can transform your bedroom, even if it’s south-facing, into a cool space. 

The best films are external to repel heat before they enter the window, although internal treatments are cheaper and can be done DIY. 

1. No summer duvet

10.5 tog all-season duvets aren’t cool enough for sweaty summer nights. Only a 4.5 tog summer duvet will do, and hollowfibre (polyester yarn) is the best material because it’s breathable and won’t hold moisture (it’s also cheap).

Down and feather duvets work well but have animal cruelty concerns, but if you love the feel, nothing can replace the loftiness.

1.  Not getting serious about cooling

Portable air conditioners are lifesavers when the weather heats up, and they work brilliantly on landings to share cool air between bedrooms. 

A 12,000 BTU portable A/C will efficiently cool 500 sq ft; all you need to do is plug it in and vent the warm air somewhere. Most units have a window venting kit, although installing a wall vent will make things easier. 

Summing up

Look for ways to make your bedroom cooler and lighter this summer with fresh colours, patterns, or technologies to drop the temperature.

The priority is your sleep experience, which requires a comfortable mattress, lightweight bedding, and a cool breeze. Memory gel mattresses, summer duvets, and bedside fans are the recipe for maximum comfort.