We spend around a third of our lives in bed. Sure, some spend less and some sloths a lot more but essentially our bodies need sleep to survive and for most of us, it’s the bedroom where we do it. Our beds and the environment we choose to put them in are therefore incredibly important both from a healthy perspective as well as an aesthetic one.

Living in Southern Spain also dictates the layout of our bedroom, bright light and the heat are two aspects of life here in Andalusia that we try to avoid in our bedrooms thus window coverings and coolness become important things to consider when deciding on our bedroom full of Eastern promise.

The most important piece of bedroom furniture is obviously our bed and there is an ever increasing choice of wonderful styles to choose from. Bamboo, that long time emblem of the east now features in a wide range of beds, either constructed entirely of this versatile shoot or combined with other earthy woods to create a dual tone and texture bed. At Bamboo in Marbella, four poster beds made entirely from bamboo are the top of their range and they stock a huge range of other beds and complementary bedroom furniture and accessories all from bamboo.

Casa Natura in Marbella’s poligono specialises in furniture from Indonesia. Cracked bamboo combines with teak to create a contemporary style from traditional materials and the shop will also order beds to your exact requirements and size. Other bedroom furniture is also available to enable you to complement your new bed in the same style. Simon Hatt who owns Casa Natura believes that “beds are by far the most important piece of furniture that we own as we spend so much time in them compared to other pieces of furniture. I realise that the quality of the mattress and often the base take on more importance than the bed frame or headboard and for that reason I can make beds to order depending on the client’s specifications. All our beds are hand made so design aspects from different beds can be combined into one tailor made bed for a client if they so wish”.

Imperial, long established on the Costa del Sol and now open at the La Cañada shopping centre stocks a wide range of beds including eastern style beds and classic hard wood beds with luxurious head rests. They also stock a wide range of complementary furniture.

Your bed doesn’t necessarily have to come from the Far East for you to create an oriental paradise from your bedroom. Bed linen, accessories, fabrics and objet d’art can soon transform a bedroom to a seductive boudoir or temple-sytled resting place in no time at all. Beautiful Chinese cabinets, exquisitely lacquered add a touch of the forbidden city to your bedroom as well as creating handy storage – Tao in San Pedro’s poligono stocks a wide range of these and other items of furniture all imported directly from China. For wonderful Indian artefacts, fabrics and furniture, India Exotica with premises both in Marbella’s poligono and in San Pedro is the place to head for. Claudia Peralta, co-owner of India Exotica tells us “we now import a huge range of things from silk slippers to wooden furniture and from doorknobs to jewellery. Something for everyone at affordable prices and things that you would be hard pushed to find anywhere else – that’s what we aim for”. You can even transform an old piece of furniture into a Chinese work of art yourself with the aid of some black paint and gold stencil paint for a fraction of the cost of the real thing.

Even high street stores have now jumped on the exotic bandwagon with shops such as Casa now stocking delicious fabrics, rattan and bamboo occasional furniture and lovely bedding. El Corte Inglés has even joined in with some sumptuous options for bedroom linen. To create a really unique effect, narrow lengths of silk from the orient combine well with other fabrics and can be sewn onto plainer throws to add that special touch of colour and class to a neutral bedroom. Even an entire Indian sari can create a faux four-poster by hanging it from the ceiling or by simply draping it over other furniture to show off the rich colours and embroidery of the fabric.

Laquerwork from China and Vietnam, serene Buddhas from Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, exquisitely carved wooden picture frames from Indonesia and delicately painted chests from India, the list of things to add that special finishing touch to your bedroom is endless. With so much choice, you should be sleeping like a Maharaja in no time at all!