Rooms, and beds

I've finally settled down in my new room. I left the wiring in a mess though, because I'll only be staying here for 3 months. (I originally planned to rig the walls with a surround sound system and LED backlights, but it's better to leave that for my college dorm. There's a remote LED chandelier outside though.) Nonetheless, I realized that I can't drift off to sleep in front of the computer anymore, because the lighting is rather glaring as a result of the blinds behind the screens.

Above: Screens. The thing under my left monitor is my organizer/phone.
I mount my other phone on the right of my keyboard (can't see it in the dark).
Below: LEDs on my RAM and router.

LEFT: Blue LEDs on my mouse, Alcatel wireless phone receiver and monitors
RIGHT: LEDs on my keyboard's backlit keys; and my modem, carefully snuck
behind a speaker. (The keyboard's screen is a crystal display.)

From bed height.

While fully lit with high exposure.

While fully lit. The device attached to my laptop is the bluetooth transmitter for my headphones... (it lights up with an LED too, just that it's switched off for now.)

I like this part. Left to right: Remote controller for all the lights in my room; remote controller for the speakers; and transmitter for my wireless mouse (I usually use the razer, which has a wicked blue glow too, but this is convenient when I'm reading from my bed.) I charge my phone from the same USB port behind my keyboard.

On an unrelated topic, I learned recently that many people spend $3000++++ for the bed, frame etc., but only about a sixth of that on the bedding. Personally, I think that the total budget should be divided 2:1 between matress+frame and bedding.

Westin Hotels and Resorts' "heavenly bed" concept gives a pretty good guideline of basic bedding:

- 2 down pillows (firm)

- 2 microfiber pillows (medium firm)

- 1 bolster

- 2 decorative pillows, or cushions

- 1 duvet insert

- 1 fitted sheet, with matching duvet cover, sheets and cases

- 1 bed skirt

- 1 blanket (optional)

- mattress pad (optional) 

The key is to give your bed as much "volume" and "layers" as possible.

One thing to add... sheets are usually described by thread count (threads per 10 square centimeters), but there are many other factors which give the final quality of the bedsheet. For instance, there are 2-ply and 1-ply threads. A 800 thread count sheet could be 2x400 or 1x800. Single ply threads feel softer - meaning that one should pick 1x800 over 2x400. The material matters too: Egyptian cotton, in general, is smoother. At the end of the day, it really boils down to feel - a 320 thread count bedsheet could feel more luxurious than a 600 thread count bed sheet. I know that there are people who contend that silk feels the best: I disagree. It does have excellent temperature properties, but a good cotton sheet has a much softer texture in my opinion. It's also MUCH easier to wash cotton and microfiber bedding than silk and pure down.

And, prints are the work of graffiti artists. If you want your bedroom to look like a deserted alley after spending all that money on interior design, by all means, get printed sheets. Otherwise, a plain two-tone or one-tone set of sheets is the way to go. The colors should either complement or contrast your room's furniture and walls.