A sound night's sleep at Old Saint Michaels in Braintree
As the Mental Health Foundation’s recent Great British Sleep Survey has revealed that over 60% of Britons suffer from sleeping problems, making them four times more likely to develop relationship troubles and three times more likely to suffer from depression*, the nation’s slumber habits are becoming a major health concern.
With this in mind, award-winning conservation and restoration experts City & Country Group, who are responsible for the Old Saint Michaels development in Braintree, is turning its attention to the bedroom, with its own Interior Designer offering homebuyers tips on how to create the ideal environment to get a quality night’s sleep in.
With last week’s official launch of the Action for Happiness Movement, an organisation dedicated to spreading happiness, coming as some UK households are being asked a series of happiness-based questions in a ‘wellbeing index’ to assess the nation’s emotional welfare, the need to get a good night’s sleep has been upgraded to a public priority, as the amount of sleep received is recognised for correlating with happiness levels. City & Country Group hopes to aid the national quest for a full night’s rest by providing their top tips for creating a relaxing bedroom environment that will help those suffering get more than just 40 winks.
Liz Freeman, Interior Designer for City & Country Group explains: “The key to getting a good night’s sleep is comfort and tranquillity, so the bedroom should always be decorated to promote a calming, neutral environment where all the stresses of everyday life are left at the door. Our tips emphasise the need for peace and quiet, and lay the groundwork for a satisfying night’s sleep to revive the mind, body and soul.”
City & Country Group’s top tips to help create the ideal sleeping environment, as demonstrated at Old Saint Michaels and their other developments, are:
1. Use a neutral colour scheme. Pastel shades demand less attention and thus enable your mind to relax, whilst pale blues, greens and cream reflect the calmness of nature and encourage a feeling of peace and tranquillity. Surrounded by beautiful green parkland included on the English Heritage Register of Historic Parks and Gardens, the homes at Balls Park have been decorated to a superior standard, incorporating a neutral colour palette that reflects the natural surroundings and creates a calm environment all ready for residents to move in.
2. De-clutter! A few photographs of family and friends trigger the relaxed warmth of happy memories and help your body wind-down at the end of the day, but excess clutter creates a sense of disorder that will keep you awake. Good storage space is essential and can be made into a feature, such as the chic bedside tables and mirrored wardrobes used at many of the properties at The Galleries, promoting the harmony needed to sleep without compromising on style.
3. Shut out the world; use good quality blinds or curtains to block out external noise, light and activity that will distract you from your slumber. Similarly, ensure your property is secure overnight so you can sleep easy. As a gated community, Old St Michaels provides an extra level of security, and all the properties benefit from a community atmosphere where neighbours are always nearby, allowing you to feel particularly safe at night. Nestled amidst pretty greenery and landscaped courtyard gardens, the Old Saint Michaels homes also enjoy peace and quiet and create a calm environment that is particularly conducive to getting a full night’s sleep.
4. Create the right mood. As demonstrated in the City & Country properties, scented candles, warm lighting and quality mattresses generate a sense of luxury and comfort. Subtle interior touches like these relieve feelings of tension or stress, and enable you to fully relax and drift off to sleep.
5. Avoid claustrophobic spaces. When creating a snug environment for nighttime it is very easy to overcrowd areas with fabrics and furnishings to promote cosiness and comfort. Small spaces can however have a detrimental effect on the mind, making you feel hemmed in and trapped, and too on-edge to fall asleep. Though decorated with comforting furnishings, the homes at The Galleries boast clean lines and structured areas that create an airy atmosphere, and the high honeycomb ceilings generate a feeling of space and freedom that is far more suited to encourage the gradual wind down into slumber.
David Walker, Head of Sales and Marketing at City & Country Group, comments: ”When we restore the historic buildings at our developments into stylish, newly converted homes, we thought carefully about the design and layout of the bedrooms to maximise space and natural light, with careful attention paid to every detail of the interior finishes. We want to encourage homebuyers to think carefully about how to make their bedroom a sanctuary, which is why we ensure all of our bedrooms are a good size and include effective storage space. Our interior designers decorate all of our bedrooms using a palette of neutral coloured materials which blend perfectly with the historic features of the properties, and they are more than happy to provide professional suggestions of how purchasers at Old Saint Michaels and all of our developments can decorate and furnish their room to produce the peaceful outcome that they seek.”
Old Saint Michaels is located on Rayne Road, close to the local amenities that Braintree town centre has to offer and the town’s railway station. Old Saint Michaels combines the superb location of a stylish home set in a quiet haven, with the benefits and convenience of being on the doorstep of a thriving town with its shops, restaurants, bars and theatre.
Prices at old Saint Michaels start at £125,000 for a one bedroom apartment, £167,500 for a one bedroom Mews House, £195,000 for a two bedroom apartment, £265,000 for a two bedroom duplex and £270,000 for a two bedroom Mews House. For further information, visit: oldsaintmichaels.co.uk
* breakingnewsonline.net
** Office for National Statistics telegraph.co.uk
