Falling asleep under a star-filled sky is no longer an exclusivity reserved for those warm midsummer nights, when so many of us like to stay awake deep into the night to lie at the back of our garden and stargaze.
With technologies (and this interior design trend) advancing, you can easily replicate whole galaxies in your bedroom at a price that suits your wallet, ranging from just a couple of bucks to several hundreds for a more deluxe effect. Here are the five most common choices:
1) Glow-in-the-Dark Stars (from $2)
If you’re looking for the cheapest and least painful of solutions (especially if you aren’t sure if you want to commit to staring into the Galaxy for the rest of your days), phosphorescent wall decals of stars, planets, saucers and crescent moons are probably your best bet.
Easily applicable and removable, they come as stickers or plastic glow-in-the-dark shapes with sticky pads. They vary in style and colour and will have zero effect on your energy bill. You won’t have to worry about switching the lights off either – kids love them, especially those who can’t sleep without a nightlight!
2) Glow-in-the-Dark Ceiling Paint (from $3)
If you find glow-in-the-dark stickers too childish for your age but you’re quite confident about your artistic abilities, you may as well make a custom pattern for your bedroom’s nocturnal sky with glow-in-the-dark ceiling paint.
It’s used just like normal acrylic, although spray paint is also available for those who prefer stencilling to replicate the whole universe right above your bed.
3) Hire an Artist (variable)
Believe it or not, because nocturnal sky replicas are so much in demand these days there are a bunch of artists making their living painting galaxy murals on people’s bedrooms ceilings! They use glow in the dark paint too, but if you art skills aren’t all that it might be worth paying out for someone else to do the work for you.
4) Night Sky Projectors ($10 to over $100)
Night sky projectors are also quite varied in price, depending on how realistic you want the whole stargazing experience to be. While the cheapest options come in the tackiest pinks and neon greens, if you’re happy to invest a little more you may as well find a projector that matches your chrome wall lights, too.
Besides being prettier to look at, the more advanced ones offer a number of exciting features, such as several speed settings, shooting star functions, changeable slides and even Northern and Southern hemisphere perspectives. Some of them can even be programmed to switch themselves off, making sure no energy is wasted after you’ve finally drifted off to sleep.
5) Fibre Optics Star Ceiling Kits (From $300)
The most expensive yet probably the most aesthetically pleasing, optical fibre is a great way to bring the night sky into your bedroom. Slightly thicker than a human hair, the fibres concentrate the light into tiny spots at the end of each strand, giving the “stars” more of a natural twinkle and glow.
Using fibre with bare ends will make the stars appear sharper and brighter; however, the light they emit can also be diffused through lenses, giving a larger star effect.
As they’re becoming increasingly popular, sets of these are widely available online, however they do also require a lot of DIY and you have to have access to space above the ceiling. A popular complement to these is National Geographic’s “Moon in My Room” – a 3D model of the Moon, designed to be mounted on a bedroom wall. It can be switched between the twelve phases for a truly realistic night sky!
Would you ever install any of these in your bedroom?
Estelle Page is a blogger and an interior designer who decided not all presents should go under a tree, and surprised her younger offspring this Christmas with a newly refurbished bedroom – complete with indoor night sky!
