When you're ready to put together a wish list for your bedroom interior design, you'll get the best result when you have a plan. Not a detailed, inflexible 'tick every box' kind, but one that puts a frame around the important things that will make your bedroom the special place it should be.

Your bedroom interior design master plan

The big picture

Your bedroom will be your work of art, so start with the broad brushstrokes. Have you set your heart on a particular decor style or theme? Unashamedly shabby chic? Clean, no-clutter contemporary? Or do you prefer the eclectic approach, where the only rule is 'I love it'?

When you have sketched out your big picture, you're ready to fill in the details.

The important question

Ask yourself this: What do I really want when I'm in my bedroom?

Everyone has different priorities, but there's no prize for guessing what answers most people give: to rest and sleep; to enjoy being there; to have a place to escape to.

Let's call them the 3 Rs ­– Relaxation, Recreation, and Retreat. They'll be your starting points for putting together your interior design ideas.

Relaxation

When you started to think about bedroom interior design, the first thing you probably considered was the bed. That makes sense. What you probably want most from your bedroom is sleep, rest and relaxation. You would never keep a bed that didn't offer that. It's the same with other elements in your bedroom; say no to anything that works against your mental or physical relaxation.

When you're choosing furniture and decor items, work with colours and shapes and textures that soothe you, and avoid those that put you on edge.

Our Interiors Trend Report 2021/22confirms what you probably know: cool colours – blues and greens – are calming and healing, and green or blue-tinted light encourages relaxation. It probably explains why trips to the beach or coastal themed interior design make us feel rested and at peace.

And don't forget soft furnishings. Think about co-ordinating cushions or floor rugs to match the seasons – lighter styles for summer evenings, and snuggly ones to complement your winter-weight bedding when colder nights approach. The right choices will make a huge difference to the comfort and relaxation factor in your bedroom.

Recreation

Bedrooms are for more than just sleeping. Otherwise we'd tuck ourselves into pods, specially designed for helping us get the optimal number of hours' shut-eye.

Create a room you simply love to be in. Your plan for bedroom interior design should include spaces and places for the things you enjoy.

If you love to retire with a book, for example, you might look for huge 'prop me up' pillows for your bed, or a special reading chair, with the perfect lighting and storage shelves within easy reach.

Surround yourself with reminders of the best times you've ever had, or the fun you're planning for your future. Frame your photos, display your treasures, and enjoy everything all over again, every day.

Retreat

Of all the rooms in your home, your bedroom is just for you, and the person who might share it. It's not on show (unless you want it to be), and most of the time it's off-limits to guests. It's your private retreat. Your refuge. Your 'me-us' place.

Make the most of that.

Even if you insist on an interior design theme that flows through every room your home, or you love the harmony of matching styles in each living area, your bedroom is the place you can make an exception. Or not. Add splashes of colour. Match or mis-match to your heart's content. It's your choice.

As long as your bedroom is delivering on relaxation and recreation, there are no style rules for your retreat. Recreate a Parisian boudoir, introduce some Moroccan mystery, or slip away to your own deluxe villa. Your imagination is your escape.

By now, your bedroom interior design ideas should be taking shape. Add the finishing touches, apply the final gloss, and then step back and admire. Your masterpiece is finished.