Learn how to create a relaxing bedroom retreat with Nate Berkus

Nate Berkus is an American interior designer, author, TV host and television personality. He runs the Chicago interior design firm Nate Berkus Associates and has been a regularly featured guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, offering design advice to viewers, as well as coordinating surprise make-overs for people’s homes. He has released numerous lines of products, and authored several books.

Decorating Tips from Nate Berkus

Whether it concerns television stardom or his cult home collections, Nate Berkus has been on a mission to make high design accessible to the masses, and it’s one idea we can get behind. His mantra, “Live beautifully,” emphasizes the little things people can do to feel better in their homes — most of which cost next to nothing to achieve.

Of course we want to show you some home design ideas and solutions created by Nate Berkus, so today we bring you a selection of images of projects designed by him. They can be amazing home design ideas. But more that this, today we want to share with you a video where Nate Berkus teaches how to create a relaxing bedroom retreat.

Nate Berkus Home Design Tips

The designer has some other tips and advices for all the rooms of your house that you definitely can take concerning your own home design ideas. Take a look:

Add Drama With Paint

Nate admitted he isn’t the biggest fan of accent walls — especially in new construction rooms without a lot of architectural details — but thought there are ways to work around that. “Painting a wall or a room black can be really effective: the walls start to recede, and it feels really sexy and very elegant,” he said. He recommends experimenting with niches, e.g. using shelves.

Turn an Eyesore Into an Opportunity

Nate believes you can tell a lot by the kind of container someone keeps their toothbrush in. “I use an old, beautiful cut-glass tumbler that I bought for like $5 at a flea market. I like the idea of using something beautiful in the everyday, kind of mundane way,” said Nate. His other go-to tip? Ditch the egg carton, and place eggs in a beautiful bowl in the fridge.

Avoid Small Space Clichés

Nate reasoned that it’s more important to have comfortable, quality pieces that you really love. One of the biggest small-space culprits? The studio-size sofa. “If you don’t put four chairs in the room or two huge chairs, you can get a proper 84-inch-size sofa in the space, and you’re going to have more comfortable seating than if you had lots of small pieces that were ‘designed’ to fit in the apartment or small space. I would rather have graciousness than quantity,” said Nate. His advice? Take measurements.

Take Risks

Nate believes that people are happiest with their space when they take risks and are honest with themselves about what they really love. He said he likes when people decide, “I’m going to use this room in this way. Even though it’s a formal dining room, I’m going to put two sofas facing each other in it, and I want to hang out in here in a different way than the home builder intended or how my neighbor next door has it set up.”

Invest in Handmade and Vintage Pieces

“If something is made by hand or vintage or unique, chances are, it’s going to feel like your home has been assembled over time,” Nate said. His Kryptonite? Nineteenth-century gold-framed mirrors, baskets, and Peruvian textiles.