The Key Characteristics of a Scottish Style Bedroom

Anyone who’s ever paid the highlands a visit is guaranteed to have fallen in love with its stunning landscapes, hospitable natives, intriguing local traditions, and fabulous coastline (although the less said about the food and the weather, the better). If Scotland has taken up residence in your heart, you may want to consider paying homage to the country by adding a touch of Scottish flair to your home… and where better place to start than in the bedroom? Here, we take a look at some of the key elements you’ll need to consider along the way to achieving your dream Scottish style bedroom.

A Natural Color-Scape

Imagine the Scottish landscape and what do you see? Bottomless blue lochs, misty grey skies, hills dusted with purple heather, rolling green hills… take those same colors and apply them to your interior, and you’ll be halfway to creating a Scottish style bedroom in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. As Amor Cashmere Tweeds notes, while the neutral, muted shades of the Scottish landscape should form the foundations of your color scheme, there’s no harm in adding a few flourishes of vibrant hues here and there. If you keep your walls neutral, don’t be frightened of getting a little adventurous with your accents. A bold rug in a vibrant checkered pattern (blues and greens are particularly evocative of traditional Scottish interiors, but have fun with your choices and don’t be scared of adding a little of your own personality where you can); a quilt cover in a bold patchwork of blues, reds, greens and navy, or a curtain in a vivid green will look great against the otherwise neutral backdrop. If you want to dial up the drama, try adding a single feature wall to draw the eye: a tartan wallpaper makes a great choice, and will again allow you to introduce some pattern and color while keeping firmly on point with the overall theme.

Wood is King

At the center of your Scottish style bedroom should be a bed. A large, formidable, and, most importantly of all, wooden bed. As you’ll know if you’ve ever visited the country, the only thing Scotland has in greater abundance than fried Mars bars and Irn-Bru is trees. So profligate are they in number, the Scottish are doing all they can to keep them in check- if the opportunity arises to chop one down and make a nice piece of furniture out of it, you can bet your bottom dollar they’ll be doing it. Wooden furniture is so central to Scottish interiors, you’re unlikely to see very many rooms that don’t feature at least a few pieces of it in their layouts. Along with the bed, add a few wooden side tables, a wooden chest, and even an upholstered wooden seat of some kind if you have space. Don’t worry if the wood is a little battered and bruised; the old is just as valuable as the new in Scottish homes, and a few marks here and there will add that little touch of timelessness that can make a room feel truly special.

Tantalizing Textiles

Textiles are where you can really have some fun in your bedroom. Whether it’s with a sheepskin rug made of the softest lambswool to warm your tootsies, a woven tartan throw to keep you snug at night, decorative cushions in an array of colors spread across your sheets, or a pair of patterned curtains tarting up your windows, textiles are where you can really bring your own sense of style into play. If you like to keep things simple, choose just a few patterns and colors to showcase your fabrics. If you want to go all out, introduce as many colors and patterns as you like (providing, of course, they fit within the wider framework of Scottish style). Multiple woolen throws in all the shades of the Scottish hills can look wonderful, as can a clutch of cushions all made from slight variations of the same tartan theme.

Turn Up the Tartan

Seeing as we’re mentioned tartan in our previous section, let’s elaborate on it a little further here. As Oka notes, it may sound a stereotype, but you really will need to embrace it if you want to truly showcase the Scottish style in your bedroom. Tartan may have been around for donkeys’ years, but its place in Scottish history and folklore means that unlike some passing phases, this one is here to stay. Fortunately, it comes in a sufficient variety of forms, styles, patterns, and colors for you to customize its end effect as much as you like. If you want to keep things simple, keep to just a few pieces in matching tartan. A pair of cushions, a small throw, a writing set, or even just a tartan bound fabric notebook set on your bedside table will add the required touch of tartan without making you feel like you’ve accidentally wandered onto the set of Braveheart. If you want to embrace the theme for all its worth, then do so- just make sure to keep on the right side of tacky (unless you want to risk spoiling the whole effect, that is. Remember, a piece of plastic kitsch doesn’t deserve a place in your room just because it’s wrapped in tartan).

Keep Things Simple

Regardless of whether you go for a Scandinavian design, a Brazilian theme, or a Caribbean style, the bedroom is always going to be a place of calm, restfulness, and tranquility. The Scottish style is no different. Key to achieving a Zen-like oasis without sacrificing the Scottish influence is to keep things simple. Avoid adding unnecessary furniture, and make sure that the furniture you do add is the height of simplicity; avoid anything overly ornate, or that features too many intricate carvings and details. A few decorative touches and a dash of color later, and voila… a bedroom that is both relaxing, calming, and utterly and profoundly Scottish.

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