MANILA, Philippines ? It?s quite understandable for certain individuals to play it safe when it comes to open areas such as the living room. But inside bedrooms, not a few interior designers encourage their clients to get more ?personal.?

?The bedroom is your personal space,? says educator and interior designer Jie Pambid, director of external affairs of the Philippine School of Interior Design (PSID). ?You use it everyday. Don?t be afraid to go for colors and pieces that suit you.?

And since the use of colors and prints is very much a trend nowadays, Pambid dares clients to go for as many as four colors that can either contrast or complement each other in the bedroom.

?I don?t see any reason why you should limit yourself to neutrals,? he says. ?But no matter what family of colors you choose, every shade must be anchored on the bed.?

Curtains and area rugs, for instance, should either echo or set off colors found on the bed. The same rule applies to your choice of accent chairs, throw pillows, beanbags and wall décor.

Should you decide to stick to neutrals, Pambid stresses the importance of adding a bit of contrasting sheen and texture to give the arrangement more depth.

Contrasting or complementary trims, embroideries, and piping on pillowcases, comforters and blankets can also instantly liven up an otherwise boring bedroom showcase.

Contest

By adopting a number of these principles, four graduating students of PSID edged out their peers in a recent contest organized by the school and sponsored by Boutique Bed Linens and Our Home (SM Megamall branch).

Dubbed as ?Sleep in Style,? the contest, which also doubled as the students? practicum, coincided with the 50th anniversary of Canadian Manufacturing, one of the country?s leading producers of quality bed and bath products.

A total of 16 students divided into four groups vied for the top prize. It was a unanimous decision as judges Frederick Peralta, Adele Cordova and Ferdinand van de Spool picked the work of Group 3 composed of Kate Ablaza, Bob Cotaco, Raymon Lee and Pao Ortañez.

It wasn?t as simple as it seemed, since each group was assigned to work with a specific client. Not only were the students asked to design for these clients using products from Boutique Bed Linens, they were also required to address their specific needs and concerns.

What?s more, the students had to replicate the look they did at Our Home showroom. They were free to jazz up their respective displays using furniture and accent pieces available in the store.

?It?s no different from doing a makeover,? says Cordova, an interior designer. ?In the end, we chose a look that?s different yet doable.?

Defying convention

Group 3 caught the judges? eye for a number of reasons. For one, the students made good use of the small, irregular space they had picked after drawing lots with their classmates.

Their client, a doctor, has a college-age son who shares his bedroom with a friend. Rather than place the pair of single beds side by side, the group positioned it in such a way that they form a right angle.

While the other groups decided to stick to neutral shades in keeping with their clients? demands, Group 3 defied conventions by going for printed bed sheets, pillow cases and blankets in red, white, black and gray.

A pair of beanbags, curtains and an area rug echoed the colors found on the bed. They then balanced the look by incorporating two small identical tables.

?Their decision to go for colors, especially red, was quite tricky,? says Cordova. ?But they were able to pull it off quite seamlessly without making the bedroom look any less masculine for its two male occupants.?

Cordova understands the other groups? dilemma, but as future interior designers, it?s also part of their job to ?change mind-sets? by introducing something new or untried, no matter how small, into the mix.

?If fashion designers have Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter collections, I don?t see why interior designers shouldn?t have theirs,? she adds. ?And since it?s now summer in the Philippines, we could use a bit of color to reflect the season?s mood.?

And with such a wealth of materials for the bedroom to choose from (Canadian and several of its competitors export their products abroad), there simply is no excuse to keep on staying on the safe, often boring, side of the interior design spectrum.