3 ways to make your bedroom design more sophisticated, explained by an interiors editor

Pip Rich has been a design journalist for 20 years, and now edits the interiors bible Livingetc. 'With so much functional furniture to fit into a bedroom it can be hard to prioritise how it looks, too,' he says. 'But these ideas don't take up any extra space and add plenty of extra style points, turning it into a sophisticated scheme.

Design journalist Pip Rich, editor of interiors bible Livingetc, explains the ways designers get it right.

The bigger the headboard, the more it seems like the bedroom has character, detail and flair.

If there is no architectural detail, don't be afraid to take the headboard from one side of the wall to the other - even in a small space this will actually make it seem bigger.

It also creates a cocoon effect, enclosing the bedside table and allowing it to seem more cohesive with the bed. There is less to break the flow of the room, and more to make it seem harmonious.

As a room to hunker down in, to feel held by and looked after in, there is no better choice than a dark colour for the walls.

Anything with red tones in it, like a warm brown, a burnt orange, or a deep and golden shade of yellow.

Always take it up and over the ceiling - it heightens the sense of being swaddled - and always match the woodwork to avoid the stark contrast of a dash of white. It will create a truly restful scheme.