Chris Windle of Housebuilder Magazine interviews Louise Sellar, sales and marketing director at wardrobe specialist Draks.

Bedrooms may not have the wow factor of kitchens and bathrooms – their job is not to overwhelm buyers with wonderful appliances or luxurious power showers. But, in their own subtle way, they can have a very big impact on a potential home owner.

The bedroom should be a restful place, one that has a sense of warmth and comfort combined with understated style. After all, people need to be able to sleep in them. Often they are one of the last rooms seen during a viewing which means they are the final piece in the jigsaw, the last impression a home’s interior will leave with someone.

And that theme of understatement is particularly strong at the moment, partly because bedrooms are supposed to be relaxing spaces but also because the less feverish housing market has prompted people to reassess how they view a home.

“We’re trying to keep things as timeless as possible,” says Louise Sellar, sales and marketing director at wardrobe specialist Draks. “That is the trend at the moment. People don’t want to buy a property they feel they’re going to have to change in five years and we’re finding that going for the best quality product you can afford really pays off.”

As forecasts predict house prices will rise more slowly in the coming years, driven by the impact of rising interest rates and uncertainties around Brexit (when a political issue starts having an effect in the bedroom you know it really is big), buyers are more likely to stay put for longer and want an interior that will last.

That does not mean interesting details and luxury have to be left at the door. “Using textures and different materials are a way to add personality and extra luxury that is subtle and appeals to everyone. Our leather Woodstock door which we launched last year, for example, gives that sense of classics quality,” adds Sellar.

Grey is the colour

“The grey trend is never-ending,” says Louise Sellar of Draks, who thinks the colour is likely to remain a favourite in 2018. Not only does it work well with most other colours, it offers the timeless elegance that many people are looking for at the moment.

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