How To Make Over Your Bedroom On A Budget

Bedrooms often get left until last when it comes to decorating our homes, because they’re seen by fewer people – generally dinner guests and friends don’t tend to visit our bedrooms when they pop in, after all! But since we spend a lot of time in our bedrooms, they should offer us a sanctuary, and be decorated beautifully to allow us to relax and recharge when we’re in there.

 

Maybe you’ve used much of your décor budget on the rest of your home, or perhaps you’re tackling your spring cleaning and have decided that a makeover for your bedroom is necessary. Maybe you just moved into a new home, or you’re swapping rooms to make use of your home a bit more effectively. Whatever the reason you’ve decided to give your home a makeover, there are some excellent quick, easy, and inexpensive ways to give your bedroom a completely new look – without it looking cheap.

 

In this post, we’ve been thinking about adult bedrooms, but if you’re doing a makeover in a child’s bedroom, you can follow some of the same advice as we’ve shared here – you just need to find the right type of accessories to suit their personality and the space they have available. The same goes for spare bedrooms; your house guests should feel comfortable in your spare rooms, as well as those spaces reflecting your taste in interior design, and your personality.

 

 

Choose Your Colour Scheme

Choosing the right colour palette for your bedroom is key to your space feeling restful. And when we’re talking about a bedroom, restful means different things to different people – there are some of us for whom a bright sunny yellow, or Barbie pink would be the ideal colour, while for others, they’d never get any rest if the walls were painted those shades!

 

For bedrooms that are on the smaller side, without much natural light, then a lighter colour scheme will help the space feel brighter and more spacious. White, light grey, beige, and shades of off-white are all ideal in smaller, darker rooms, but if you’re looking to use colour, then consider watered-down versions of your favourite colour, or pastel hues that aren’t too dark. For a neutral look that doesn’t feel plain or boring, you can play with texture, piling on blankets and other soft furnishings, and even light fittings made from rattan, metals, and even feathers to create a soft and dreamy space.

 

 

For a space that is crying out for brighter colours, then a relatively neutral background might feel boring – but you can bring in those vibrant hues on bedding, cushions, rugs, light shades, curtains, and artwork. With a paler backdrop, accessories in vivid colours such as fuchsia, teal, and brighter purples will pop. If you take this approach, there’s the added bonus that if you decide to change your colour scheme completely, you won’t need to get the paint cans out and redecorate completely, you can simply swap your accessories.

 

 

In bigger bedrooms, or where you want to make the space feel a bit more cosy, using deeper, darker shades on walls can work well. It might seem strange to think about using navy blue, charcoal grey, or even deep jewel shades such as emerald or burgundy in a bedroom, but they can bring warmth and depth to the space – as well as absorbing the light when it is time to sleep. With deeper shades, balance out the darkness with crisp, white bedding, and light fittings that help to bounce the light – metals such as chrome, brass, and gold are perfect.

 

 

Painting your space is the quickest, and least expensive way of applying colour to walls – but there are other options to consider too. Wall paper can be expensive, (depending on what type you’re looking at) but peel-and-stick vinyl murals can create stunning effects, as well as using masking tape to section areas and paint different colours.

 

Review Your Lighting

Your bedroom works hard for you – for most homes, we use them for sleep, relaxation, getting dressed, applying makeup – and in many cases, especially for younger family members, homework, and play. With so many different requirements for your bedroom, you need a range of lighting options, so that you can get the right lighting levels for whatever you’re doing at the time. Rather than relying on the ceiling light for everything, you’ll need:

 

Ambient lighting for near daytime levels of lighting – typically provided by the main ceiling light, wall lights and floor lamps.

 

 

Task lighting for specific tasks – this includes bedside table lamps for reading, functional lights such as mirror lights for applying makeup, and if any kind of work takes place in the bedroom, perhaps a desk lamp too. For a whimsical take on task lighting, add fairy lights or festoons around dressing table mirrors to give you a bit more light when you’re applying makeup.

 

 

Accent lighting that highlights areas of the room that you love – which might include a picture light over a piece of art, spotlights, or LED strips to light up areas such as behind TVs or headboards.

 

 

When you’re looking at replacing your lighting, make sure you have the right balance. If your décor is busy, then you’re likely to be looking for simpler lighting styles that allows your design choices to shine, while if you prefer a simpler style, then you might choose more decorative light fittings.

 

For your bedroom ceiling lights, consider adding a dimmer switch. It is a small change, but being able to control the brightness of the light means you can get the best levels of lighting for whatever you’re doing.

 

On either side of the bed, choose lamps for the bedside tables, or if space is short, install wall lamps instead, just above the bedside table or to either side of the headboard, to keep surfaces clear for your night time glass of water or your morning cuppa.

 

Change Out Your Soft Furnishings

Switching out soft furnishings is a quick way to make a bedroom feel quite different, very quickly, and you can rely on changing your bed linen, curtains, rugs, and throws to create a refreshed look without needing to do a complete renovation project.

 

Swap Your Bed Linen

This is perhaps one of the fastest ways to change the look and feel of your bedroom! Of course, you’ll be changing your bed linens regularly as you wash them, and perhaps also from season to season, but buying new sheets can lift even the most tired of bedroom décor.

 

 

While sleep experts advise that you buy the highest quality sheets you can afford (a better quality linen will be more comfortable, and give you a much better sleep!) you can buy good duvet sets relatively inexpensively. If you’re particular about how your sheets feel, you can always add a flat sheet to lay between you and the duvet, so you’re sleeping between high quality sheets, and you’re still getting a great new look for your space.

 

Change Your Window Dressings

Just like switching your bed linen, changing the curtains will change the way the room feels pretty quickly. Swapping dingy old curtains for ones in a different colour, or weight of fabric, means your space will feel either more light and airy, or more cosy. Of course, just like your bedding, there’s nothing to stop you changing your window dressings as the seasons change.

 

If you need complete darkness to sleep well (especially important during the summer months!) but love the look of light, gauzy curtains, then simply add a blackout blind behind whichever curtains you’ve chosen.

 

Upcycle Existing Furniture

Changing your bedroom furniture completely might not be within your budget – and of course, if you already love the furniture you have then you might not want to swap it anyway. But if you’re looking to make a change without buying new bedroom furniture, then see how you can repurpose, refresh, or otherwise upcycle furniture that you already own, or that you have bought from thrift stores or second-hand.

 

 

If this is something you’re interested in doing, there are millions of upcycling projects that people have shared online on websites such as Pinterest that can inspire you. Be certain you know what the piece is made from, and the right type of finish you can use on that material – whether it is paint, a wood stain, or a wax finish. An upcycling project doesn’t need to be big or difficult either though, and simply changing the handles, or replacing doors might be enough to get a new look for the piece.

 

When you’ve made the changes, think about whether you can make changes that will elevate the piece further. Adding LED strips to shelves, behind the headboard on the bed, or at the foot of a piece of furniture can help to contribute to ambient lighting levels, as well as making the piece look great. And of course, because LED strips don’t need much power, and they’re easy to apply and install, they’re an easy way to upcycle a piece.

 

Refresh Your Bedside Tables

This might be one of the quickest ways to change the look and feel of your bedroom! Start by clearing your bedside tables of the usual bits and pieces that normally sit there. Put your night creams and lip balms, and books away in the drawer, or find a basket so that you have easy access to those bits, but it looks much tidier.

 

 

Find a great bedside lamp, or a matching set. Depending on the style of décor you prefer, you might go with super simple bedside lamps, or you might pick a sculptural style that provides visual interest as well as being functional such as the Edit Dish. To prevent the need for fumbling for the switch, touch lamps are ideal – but don’t forget that with smart speakers and smart plugs, you can use your voice to switch your lights on and off too.

 

If the bedroom is small, and your bedside tables don’t have much space, then (as we already mentioned) you might use wall lights, or floor lamps to provide the bedside light that you need when you’re turning in for the night.

 

Change Artwork

Unlike your living room, the number of visitors to your bedroom tend to be fewer, so when it comes to artwork in bedrooms, it is all down to personal preference. If it is just you that is sleeping in there, then pick something you love, rather than what is on trend, or displays your knowledge of fine art – save your investment pieces for your living room or dining room. You can choose artwork that suits your colour scheme, a photo that you have printed on canvas, or a gallery wall of prints and photos you love. Remember, it is your bedroom – so simply choose what you love.

 

If you’ve already got photos, or a print that you want to continue to use, consider switching the frames for a quick and relatively inexpensive way to update the look of your space.

 

 

When you’ve picked the right artwork for your space, don’t forget to add picture lighting, so that you can get the full effect of the piece. Picture lights are available in different finishes, including chrome, bronze, and brass – and if you’re not a fan of complete darkness, a picture light is a great way to have a nightlight, without anyone needing to know that you have a nightlight.

 

Add House Plants

House plants make a great addition to bedrooms – and not only do they look fantastic, but they’re also great for both our physical health and our mental health. They’ve been known to improve mood, lower stress levels and blood pressure, amongst other health benefits – although if you have allergies, you’ll need to make sure you choose house plants carefully.

 

If you’re at all concerned about the air quality in your bedroom (and considering how much time we spend sleeping, it is a good thing to be concerned about!) then adding house plants can help to clean the air. The great thing about many plants that can help to clean the air is that they are pretty hardy – so you won’t have to worry about watering them too often. Spider plants, peace lilies, and bamboo palms are all relatively easy to take care of, and they look great too.

 

For bedroom makeovers on a real budget, spider plants are perfect, since they put out runners with new plants on prolifically, meaning you can grow a new one from an existing plant you already own. The same applies to many other types of plants though, and you may be able to take cuttings, or split another plant to put into your bedroom at very little cost at all – especially if you already have pots and compost.

 

Curate Your Shelves

Changing the way that your shelves look can be a super simple way to do a quick little makeover in your bedroom – and if you ‘shop your home’, you might not need to spend anything at all. Think about adding plants or silk flowers, artwork or photos, books, or items like vases to create a whole new look. By playing around with proportions – whether you go for a symmetrical effect or not – rearranging your shelves is a great way to refresh the look and feel of your bedroom.

 

If your shelves are more functional than decorative, then find storage options that are decorative. You don’t have to spend a huge amount of money on decorative storage – glass jars, woven baskets or wooden boxes, vintage jewellery boxes, even cardboard gift boxes can be put into service for storing makeup and jewellery. Depending on what you’re storing, even large bowls and decorative plant pots can be put into service for storage on shelves, and can look fantastic.

 

 

If you have a collection of things you love, then your bedroom shelves are a great place to show some of them off, and if you have a big collection, you can change the way your shelves look regularly. It might be movie paraphernalia, vintage toys, or even books – arranging your collection by colour, size, or placing them at different levels – use your imagination to create a new and interesting effect.

 

Our Final Thoughts

When doing a complete renovation project isn’t possible due to budget constraints, doing an inexpensive makeover can give you a whole new look in your bedroom. You might decide to take all of our suggestions and change each thing, or you might decide to just change one or two aspects, such as lighting and soft furnishings.

 

 

Starting out by changing lighting options is an ideal place to tackle a bedroom makeover, and if you’re going to be doing that, then head to our range – we’ve got beautiful options to suit all tastes. When you’re done, don’t forget to tag us (@online_lighting) in your Instagram posts so we can share your gorgeous new space with our followers too!