Take a look in the flowerbeds to see some pretty little snowdrops nodding their heads.

Learn something new; take a course in pottery or learning a language boosting your brainpower will raise your spirits. 

Act happy by faking it until you really feel it.  Smiling is contagious and if you walk around with a big grin it won’t be long before the beams are coming back at you.

Buy a hula hoop, space hopper or jump on the trampoline – exercise cheers you up and these are fun, nostalgic ways of getting fit. 

Do something kind for someone else – a sure way of getting that fuzzy warm feeling!  You could have a declutter and give away your unwanted stuff to a charity. 

Cherish the small things in life and scientists report that those who say thank you more often are generally happier people. 

Get more sleep

If your bedroom is not conducive to spending more time in it, then take a look at AKKA Furniture.   AKKA bedroom furniture comes in a variety of styles, made out of warm American Oak or elegant Walnut.  To help you get more sleep, AKKA’s mattress supplier Dreamworks, have a vast array of products, ranging from cage sprung, pocket sprung and memory foam mattress.  These mattresses have a spring count ranging from 1000 to 1700 springs to suit every need and they come in sizes ranging from 3ft up to 6’ft.

Of course, it’s not just beds that AKKA offer but a range of wooden bedroom furniture, including tallboys, wardrobes, drawers, bedside cabinets, dressing tables and a variety of storage accessories including underbed drawers and blanket boxes.  Every piece is hand crafted, created with attentive, loving care, to ensure you have wooden bedroom furniture that will last a lifetime.

At this time of year, most of us are desperately trying to keep their new year resolutions, be it cutting out unhealthy elements in our life or doing more good things, like increasing our exercise regime. One very healthy resolution that often gets overlooked is ensuring that you get a good night’s sleep which has a massively beneficial impact on well being.

Healthy adults should get between 7 – 9 hours sleep a night. Not getting enough sleep can lead to a number of health problems including an increased risk of depression, obesity, diabetes as well as a decrease in the ability to concentrate. 

Here are some tips to aid a good night sleep.

Establish a regular sleeping and waking pattern, even on weekends

Create a regular, relaxing bedtime routine 

Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows

Avoid watching TV, using a computer or reading in bed

Finish eating at least 2-3 hours before your regular bedtime

AKKA bedroom furniture comes in a variety of styles , made out of warm American Oak or elegant Walnut.  To make sure the beds help you sleep as well as enhance your bedroom, AKKA’s mattress supplier Dreamworks, have a vast array of products, ranging from cage sprung, pocket sprung and memory foam mattress. These mattresses have a spring count ranging from 1000 to 1700 springs to suit every need and they come in sizes ranging from 3ft up to 6’0ft.

Of course, it’s not just beds that AKKA offer but a range of wooden bedroom furniture, including tallboys, wardrobes, drawers, bedside cabinets, dressing tables and a variety of storage accessories including underbed drawers and blanket boxes.

AKKA beds are about comfort and style.  These two elements are completely intertwined in the creating of all AKKA bedroom furniture.

AKKA beds come in a variety of styles including the classic Toulouse and the contemporary Milan range, made out of warm American Oak or elegant Walnut.  To make sure the beds enhance your sleep as well as your bedroom, AKKA’s mattress supplier Dreamworks, have a vast array of products, ranging from cage sprung, pocket sprung and memory foam mattress. These mattresses have a spring count ranging from 1000 to 1700 springs to suit every need and they come in sizes ranging from 3ft up to 6’0ft.

It’s not just beds that AKKA offer but a range of wooden bedroom furniture, including tallboys, wardrobes, drawers, bedside cabinets, dressing tables and a variety of storage accessories including underbed drawers and blanket boxes.

AKKA bedroom furniture is hand crafted with care from quality wood, with style and comfort in mind to make sure your bedroom encourages a good night’s sleep. Full moon or not!

AKKA furniture can bring these styles to your bedroom.  The Toulouse bed comes in solid oak brings Louis Phillipe classic feel to your bedroom.  You can accessorise with a Toulouse bedside and solid two chest drawer.  For a more contemporary French feel, take a look at Paris The combination of oak and walnut on the solid veneer headboard of this bed is an enchanting mix, but we also offer the opportunity to own a bed with a beautifully upholstered, plush leather headboard.  This high quality pull-up leather has been lightly brushed with the addition of beeswax to give a pleasant matt appearance and a sense of hotel chic to your bedroom.  The leather comes from the Selvaggio range of our partner, JMT Leather.

The Milan bedroom range is made from solid oak and has a modernist style, perfect for a more minimalist feel to your bedroom.

If you have been inspired by your travels this summer and want to recreate a whole new look in your bedroom, then please take a look at all the AKKA ranges.  The beautifully handcrafted bedroom furniture we offer are all made with loving care from solid oak or walnut. We create wardrobes, chests, tallboys, dressing tables, mirrors, blanket boxes and underbed drawers.

AKKA bedroom furniture is designed to make your bedroom work for you to aid relaxation.   Whether you chose a Milan Oak bed or a Prague Walnut bed we offer the combination of style and comfort that will ensure you are truly happy to be in your bedroom. For extra well being, Dreamworks, our mattress suppliers, pay the same attention to detail as we do to guarantee the best quality. They have a vast array of products ranging from cage sprung, pocket sprung and Memory foam mattresses to ensure you get the best sleep.

Of course a comforting bedroom is not just about the bed but the rest of the bedroom furniture that you choose also has a very important role to play.  AKKA Furniture has personality with classic looks and character to compliment your own style.   Do you yearn for a bedroom, which embraces French flair? Then take a look at AKKA’s new Toulouse range. Crafted in warm oak it provides Louis Phillipe style and practical storage including a stunning oak wardrobe, 2 and 6 drawer chests, bedside and dressing tables.  

It might be that you spend less time in your bedroom during these lovely long summer days but AKKA wooden bedroom furniture will ensure you love every single moment that you do.

If the mattress is too soft the spine will be out of alignment causing slouching.  Too hard and the body and your spine will not be relaxed.  The way to tell if the mattress is the right one is when your spine is fully supported and aligned.  Facts prove that 80% of buyers spend  just 2 minutes laying on mattresses.  We sleep on them for up to 2,900 hours if you sleep 8 hours per night!

Akka Furniture’s mattress supplier Dreamworks Beds manufacture all of their products in the UK.  Some of the most popular are:

Open coil

The most common type of mattress on the market and the cheapest.  The mattress has an outer rod which strengthens the edges of the mattress.  Inside this are springs which lay in rows and are connected at the top and bottom by a helical wire.

Continuous spring

As the name suggests this is a single length of wire knitted into interwoven springs which run up and down the bed vertically.  This mattress is priced mid-range because generally it has a hight spring count.

Pocket sprung

The mattress houses small pockets of springs which support the body individually.  You do not get any roll because of this.  Mid-range pricing.

There are normally tell tale signs when your bed and mattress need changing. Do you wake up in the night with an aching back or keep rolling into your partner? Have you ‘turned’ the mattress and now fall into a hollow part of the mattress formed by your body posture?  When you lay towards the edge of your bed, does the mattress not support your weight and is showing signs or wear?

Research done by sleep expert Dr Chis Idzikowski found that people with uncomfortable beds and mattresses sleep one hour  less than people who have comfortable beds!  The Furniture Industry Research Association shows that beds and mattresses can deteriorate by as much as 70% over 10 years!

If you are one of those people who need to change a bed or mattress why don’t you have a look at AKKA furniture?  We stock eight different styles of wooden beds ranging from 3ft to 6ft in size, in either American white oak or American black walnut.  To complement our beds there is an extensive range of wooden chests, wardrobes and accessories.  Our mattress supplier has chosen to accompany us on our journey is dreamworks beds.  They have a strong passion like us to provide a comprehensive well designed product.

The elaborately carved back of the four poster bed was sometimes fastened to the panelling of the wall behind and its low heavy ceiling was supported by the carved posts that stood away from the bed.  The tudor four post was enormous, with huge pillars which were adorned with rich carvings towering to the ceiling with a huge weight of valances and hangings casting shadows over the bed.  The top of each post was often adorned with cupids or the family coat of arms.  The bed itself had a wooden board or rope mesh foundation with the mattress on top.

This gives us an idea of the splendour of medieval bedding.  The wealthiest households had a feather bed placed onto the mattress of straw, with a layer of canvas inbetween.

The Romans often decorated their beds in precious metals such as gold and silver.  Mattresses in those days featured materials such as wool, feathers, hay and reeds.

The 18th Century saw a big jump in terms of  sleeping because cotton was used for the mattresses.  This meant that the vermin would not cohabitate your bed!  Iron bedframes became quite popular at this time.

In the 1940’s the Futon bed started to make an appearance in North America, whilst in the 1960’s water beds came to the market.  The 1970’s saw the bunkbed become popular with children and the 1980’s saw the introduction of air beds.

The bed has been seen by many people as the most important piece of furniture in the household.  Everyone feels more revived after a good nights’ sleep. 

Nowadays beds are available in all shapes and sizes and can be constructed from numerous different materials, i.e. wood, metal, plastic, upholstered fabric or painted.  Standard sizes range from 3ft, 4ft 6″, 5ft and 6ft, however many local companies can make beds and mattresses to any required size.  Todays market is competitive and customers will often try to haggle on price whether the item is on sale or not!

You need to consider the size of your bedroom when deciding on bed size. You need enough room to walk around the bed, and don’t forget the rest of your bedroom furniture needs to fit in too. Leave plenty of space for bedroom and wardrobe doors to open if space is tight.

Take into account that most sleep experts (including the Sleep Council) agree the bigger the bed, the better the sleep.

The width of the bed is particularly important if you sleep with a partner. A standard double bed (135cm) gives each person just 69cm of space which is much narrower than a single bed. Also, the average person tosses and turns up to 70 times a night, therefore a wider bed ensures you are both more likely to get a good night’s sleep.

The length of the bed is also important. We recommend that your bed should be 10 – 15cm longer than the tallest partner. As a guide if you are over 6ft tall we recommend a kingsize bed to ensure that you don’t end up sleeping diagonally across the bed which is uncomfortable for you and your partner, as well as bad for you back.

Choosing the correct mattress is extremely important to ensure comfort. In 1988, sleep expert Dr Chris Idzikowski conducted a study which found that swapping an uncomfortable old bed for a comfortable new one could account for an average of 42 minutes extra sleep per night – four times that achieved by over the counter sleep aids.

We can supply Dreamworks matresses at AKKA Furniture, delivery time is normally two weeks.