How to Make Your Bedroom Look Nice: We all want a gorgeous bedroom like the ones you see in catalogs and magazines; but, for most of us, our bedroom is the last room to be decorated (it was at least for us!) Well, it doesn’t need to be that way!
In this post, I am sharing my top decorating tips for how to make your bedroom look nice and feel more expensive–even if you are on a budget! We redid our entire master bedroom for under 1K–that meant curtains for four windows, new bedding, new decor accessories, new paint, lamps, and artwork! So it’s entirely possible!
HOW TO MAKE YOUR BEDROOM LOOK NICE
Here are a few decorating tips that will upgrade your bedroom–and most cost little to no money! First, let’s talk about how to make your bedroom look bigger–because that’s what most of us want right? These tips will help make your bedroom feel spacious and serene!
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1.) SIMPLIFY YOUR BEDSIDE TABLE
Does your bedstand feel cluttered and messy? It’s often the first thing we see when we wake up in the mornings and the last thing we see at night. So, let’s take some time to make everything on your bedside table useful and beautiful.
- How many books are on your bedside table? Chances are, you can only read one at a time. Keep one out and put the rest away.
- Clear a dedicated space for your phone that allows it to charge. A decorative tray is a great way to do this, plus it makes it look pretty! I use my decorative tray to corral my wedding ring, apple watch, and iPhone. I also like to display the birth announcements of my children or my wedding (but it may be too cluttered, so relocate them to the top of your dresser!)
- Store other necessities in your drawers. I keep the books I am reading in the top drawer, along with an eye mask, hand lotion, and my Lavender roller which helps me go to sleep.
2.) UPGRADE YOUR BEDDING
Are you still using the same bedding you got in college, or for your wedding? Now, I am all for classics but chances are your bedding needs an upgrade! We spend 1/3 of our lives in bed, we may as well make it as comfy as possible! Whether it’s buying a pair of new sheets from HomeGoods or TJMaxx (they have the most affordable bedding), or throwing some new accent pillows on in front of your euro pillows (2 for queens, 3 for kings), spruce up your bedding!
It’s amazing the effect a couple of new pillows and a duvet can make. See our same bed with two different mock-ups in the pictures above and below.
3.) MOUNT CURTAINS AND/ OR WINDOW TREATMENTS
Curtains and window treatments don’t need to be expensive but they are necessary (no one wants to be that close to their neighbor!) We use a combination of faux wood blinds and inexpensive Ikea curtains that we upgraded in our master bedroom.
The faux wooden blinds block the light and provide privacy, and the curtains make our room feel luxurious and bigger. See my best tips on DIY Curtains here and how you can save a ton of money! We’ve saved thousands of dollars over the course of decorating our house by DIYing them!
And don’t forget to mount those curtains at the right height! See the exact guidelines in my Decorator’s Cheat Sheet–DOWNLOAD it by clicking the button below!
4.) USE MIRRORS TO REFLECT LIGHT & ARTWORK
Your bedroom should be beautiful and it should feel nice! We decorated our master bedroom to remind us of all the best things in our lives–pictures of our children, our wedding, and we even framed photographs from our travels on the wall in an inexpensive Ikea gallery wall. Artwork doesn’t have to be expensive–see my post on DIY art projects here!
Additionally, each room should have a mirror. Mirrors trick the eye and magnify light, which makes your room seem larger and lighter! Whether it’s a full-length mirror or a decorative wall mirror like ours–your bedroom needs one! And spend the extra money on making it a quality one!
HomeGoods and TJMaxx are great places to save a little money while getting a large mirror. You can expect to pay anywhere from $20-80 for a large mirror. With cheaper mirrors (like a $12 one from Target, you will find that they are significantly smaller and the have distorted reflections.)
5.) ADD AMBIENT LIGHTING
Your bedroom lighting should be soft and gentle. Although we have an overhead light, we seldom turn it on. Instead, we have two bedside table lamps and have even installed salt lamps instead of candles and a diffuser to make our room feel like a spa.
Looking for a warm glow? Avoid bluish- lightbulbs and buy the “soft white’ instead. Consider adding twinkle lights or salt lamps to add some warm soft light accents to your bedroom. It gives the same type of glow of a Christmas tree (but is more socially acceptable to have up year round:) We have this salt lamp in our master bedroom and have it on a timer. It gives the warm glow of a candle but is fire safe and helps purify the air!
For specific recommendations of wattage and temperature of lights download my Decorator’s Cheat Sheet below!
6.) BRING IN LIVE OR FAUX GREENERY
Do you know what is in every single magazine shoot but not the majority of real bedrooms? FLOWERS! Take a look, you will see a variety of fresh flowers or greenery in most magazine shoots (and heck, even blog photos!) While fresh tulips are nice (what I have pictured below) they aren’t available year round. Nor do I have bedside service with fresh flowers on my bed ever! People, it’s all about the pictures 😉
Instead, I like to bring in some faux plants. If you have a green thumb, go for it and bring in real plants–I don’t! Here are some of my favorite faux greenery picks to bring into any room even your bedroom! We have this exact faux fiddle leaf fig in our bedroom and it feels nice to have something living (even if it is made of plastic!)
TIPS TO MAKE YOUR BEDROOM LOOK NICE
To conclude, there are five things you need to do to make your bedroom look and feel nice! By doing these 6 things, your bedroom will feel more spacious, serene, and restful!
- Simplify and beautify your bedside table
- Upgrade your bedding with throw pillows or a new duvet
- Mount curtains and window treatments
- Use mirrors and artwork
- Add ambient lighting
- Add greenery or fresh flowers
Want to get the look of our bedroom? Here are all the bedroom sources for everything pictured above! And don’t forget to download my Decorator’s Cheat Sheet! It has everything you need to make your bedroom look fabulous–including what type of light wattage and temperature you should have, and how high to hang those curtains! PLUS tips on matching patterns–useful for picking out throw pillows for your bed!
BEDROOM SOURCES
Wall color: Benjamin Moore Classic Gray
Trim color: Benjamin Moore Simply White
Platform Bed: DIY
Headboard: DIY Upholstered HeadboardDIY Roman Shade
Curtains: DIY Roman Shade and DIY Curtains