20 (Almost!) Free Updates for the Bedroom

Don't let a modest budget stand between you and the bedroom of your dreams. Breathe new life into your boudoir with these budget-friendly projects and ideas.

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September 15, 2023

By: Maria Conti

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Breathe New Life Into Your Bedroom

Feeling fatigued with your current bedroom design? Fret not, friend! You’re in the right place. We’re sharing our top 20 tips and tricks for transforming your tired boudoir into a revived, reimagined place you’ll look forward to waking up to each day. Bonus: You don’t need to drain your bank account to make it happen. Read on to get inspired for your boudoir makeover with our favorite almost-free bedroom projects.

Get More Ideas: 65+ Bedroom Decorating Ideas From HGTV Magazine

From: Becky Shea Design

Create a Workspace

Swap your guest bedroom’s nightstand for a small desk and cushioned armchair to provide visitors a cozy spot to check on emails, apply makeup or enjoy a quick cup of coffee before starting their day. Keep costs low by shopping your house for a long-forgotten desk and out-of-place accent chair, or snag a simple wooden console table on your go-to online marketplace. Style the workspace with fresh-cut branches from your yard and a bedside lamp.

Shop Our Favorites: The Best Desks for Every Style and Budget

From: Marie Flanigan Interiors

Pretty Up Your Curtains

Give your simple white bedroom drapes a bespoke look without the designer price tag with the help of our easy-to-follow stencil tutorial. All you need is an afternoon to spare, some budget-friendly acrylic paint, basic painting supplies and an oversized floral or damask stencil to create statement-making window treatments on the cheap.

Get the How-To: Blah to Bespoke: How to Stencil Drapery Panels for a Designer Look for Less

From: Erica Bryen Design

Hang Your Hats

Use this inviting bedroom as your muse, and make a makeshift gallery wall with your beloved hat collection. Dust off your trusty hammer, grab your stud finder and install nails in a pattern of your choice to show off your best bowlers, boaters, caps or cowboy hats. Re-create the pretty and practical display above a bench, console table or dresser outside your closet door.

Get More Ideas: 5 No-Fail Gallery Wall Looks to Try at Home

Soften Your Suite With Drapes

Unsure about what to hang above your headboard? We say skip the pricey artwork and soften your primary suite with wall-to-wall drapes, á la this dreamy design by Ashley Gilbreath. Install white, ready-made curtains on a budget-friendly rod, extending the width of your headboard and nightstands. This technique creates an airy and diffused backdrop for your bed frame and removes oddly placed windows from the equation, freeing you to create a bedroom layout that best serves your needs.

Get More Ideas: 10 Striking Bedroom Window Treatments

From: Ashley Gilbreath

Show Off Souvenirs

You know that gorgeous driftwood you brought home from vacation a few years ago? The one that’s been collecting dust on your bookcase ever since? Give that beauty a new lease on life. Scoop it up and secure it on your wall above your headboard for an unexpected, eye-catching piece of art. And, if you don’t have driftwood to spare, we’ve got you covered. Achieve a similar look by foraging branches from your yard or treasure hunting for weathered wood planks from your favorite hole-in-the-wall antique shop.

Get More Ideas: 8 Ways to Upcycle Your Collection of Driftwood

From: Ashley Gilbreath

Break Out Your Basket Collection

Create a focal point above your bed with your grandmother’s wicker basket collection. Let this coastal charmer serve as your blueprint, and arrange your baskets in a whimsical wave pattern to encourage the eye to move across the room and visually expand the space.

Get More Ideas: See Why Basket Walls Are the New Gallery Walls

From: Ashley Gilbreath

Hit the Stacks

Guest bedrooms are often the last place you want to splurge on, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make them look like a million bucks with clever styling. Follow our lead and stack a collection of (thrifted) hardcover books in a spare corner of your guest room to create a chic vignette that doubles as guest entertainment. And, yes, bonus points are up for grabs if your book covers complement the room’s existing color scheme. Pro tip: Use leftover wall paint or spray paint in your arsenal to give the books’ dust covers a cohesive look.

Get More Ideas: 20 Magazine-Worthy Bookcase Designs

Employ a Tray to Organize Your Nightstand

Use a stone, silver or lacquered serving tray from your existing decor collection to bring beauty to your bedside table and organize your nighttime necessities. This marble tray gives the aged wood table a polished look and provides a natural spot to store reading glasses, an alarm clock, coasters and more.

Get the How-To: How to Make a Stylish, Cane-Back Serving Tray

Relocate a Bench

Add a backless bench to the end of your bed to create a stylish spot to slip on your shoes or stow your throw pillows at night. You can find wood, woven or upholstered benches online for cheap, but a word to the wise: Hold on to your cash and shop your home first. Scope out your foyer, mudroom, basement or kids’ playroom for an underutilized bench that deserves a fresh start. Another idea: Ask your parents if they have one gathering dust in their attic.

From: Hyphen & Co

Take a Page Out of Our Book

Give your existing gallery frames a fresh look with a new set of prints. Our favorite almost-free way to find unexpected art prints is by taking a page (or 10!) out of our thrifted book collection. Use a box cutter to gently pry illustrated pages from old books and throw them in your frames for a high-end look without spending a fortune.

Get More Ideas: 5 No-Fail Gallery Wall Looks to Try at Home

From: Ashley Gilbreath

Upcycle Old Footstools

No nightstands? No problem. Pull out a pair of old wooden footstools from your garage or attic to create makeshift bedside tables. This duo provides plenty of space to store nighttime reads and mugs of tea. Plus, the imperfect finish adds a cozy, storied charm to the contemporary design.

From: Allison Lind

Paint Your Floors

Who says you need to splurge on a pricey area rug to cover your timeworn (read: scuffed beyond repair) hardwood floors? Our advice: Hide all the evidence and cover your bedroom floors with a fresh coat of paint. Choose a neutral color like black, espresso or white for a timeless look, or opt for a lively tone, like this one, for playful appeal (Ewing Blue by Benjamin Moore).

Get More Ideas: Add Pizzazz to Plain Hardwood Floors With Paint

Install Floating Shelves

Revive lackluster walls and create open-air storage for books, artwork and sculptural accessories in one fell swoop by installing floating shelves. Use the leftover planks in your garage or shed from a previous home project to follow our DIY floating shelves tutorial, or relocate the floating shelves from your pantry, office or closet.

Get Inspired: 66 Ways to Decorate With Floating Shelves

From: Pinnacle Estate Properties

Paint Your Trim

Want to dial up the drama in your bedroom on a dime? Paint your bedroom trim and doors a contrasting color using paint you already have. Make this moody bedroom by Urbanology Design your muse and coat your framework in an inky paint for contemporary flair. If you're running low on black, here's a tip: Take your leftover wall paint to the hardware store and ask them to lighten or darken the existing shade by a few tones. Trust us — even the subtlest shade adjustment will make a striking impact on your design.

Get Inspired: 30 Black-and-White Bedrooms

From: Urbanology Designs

Hang Art in Unexpected Locales

Here’s your sign to think outside the proverbial box and hang your bedroom artwork in unexpected locales. Windows naturally draw the eye within a design, making them a natural spot to showcase your favorite painting or print. Another designer trick to keep in your back pocket is hanging art directly on the front of a built-in wardrobe or bookcase.

Get More Ideas: The Makings of a Modern Traditional Home

From: Urbanology Designs

Revisit a Roll of Leftover Wallpaper

Take your bedroom design to new heights by installing leftover (or peel-and-stick) wallpaper onto the ceiling. Play with pattern and pack panache overhead like this primary suite that boasts a black-and-white buffalo-checked ceiling. Or, opt for a neutral, textural paper for a more understated approach.

Get the How-To: How to Hang Wallpaper on the Ceiling

Paint Your Own Headboard

Resist the urge to splurge on a new headboard and paint one instead! Take cues from this color-blocked contemporary spot and install a painted, paneled accent wall on the lower three-quarters of the wall behind your bed. This technique emphasizes the horizontal lines within a room, creating an optical illusion of a larger space. Find our easy, step-by-step tutorial on installing a board-and-batten accent wall in the link below.

From: Urbanology Designs

Or, Hang One Instead

Infuse your bedroom with Old World charm using an antique rug or oversized tapestry. These woven textile focal points are swoon-worthy substitutes for traditional headboards, over-the-bed artwork and patterned wallpaper alike. Bonus: Tapestries and rugs are easy to find online or in thrift stores and are easily removed when you want to change things up again.

Get the How-To: How to Turn a Rug Into a Wall Art Tapestry

From: Crystal Sinclair

Repurpose Your Pendant Lights

Elevate your primary suite by installing some unexpected bedside lighting. Swap out your table lamp set for ceiling-suspended pendant lights. You can repurpose pendants from your kitchen or grab a secondhand set online for a stellar price.

Get More Ideas: Bedroom Pendant Lights

From: Kirsten Holmstedt

Bust Out Your Blue-and-Whites

Friends don’t let friends take their enviable blue-and-white collection for granted. Bust open your dining room cabinet and display your sentimental family serveware or prized antique finds above your headboard. Love the look but don’t have any Delftware to your name? Hit up your local antique shops and estate sales to start your collection this weekend.

Get the How-To: How to Create the Ultimate Plate Wall

From: Shannon Rae Interiors

20 (Almost!) Free Updates for the Bedroom

Related To:

Shop This Look

Breathe New Life Into Your Bedroom

Create a Workspace

Pretty Up Your Curtains

Hang Your Hats

Soften Your Suite With Drapes

Show Off Souvenirs

Break Out Your Basket Collection

Hit the Stacks

Employ a Tray to Organize Your Nightstand

Relocate a Bench

Take a Page Out of Our Book

Upcycle Old Footstools

Paint Your Floors

Install Floating Shelves

Paint Your Trim

Hang Art in Unexpected Locales

Revisit a Roll of Leftover Wallpaper

Paint Your Own Headboard

Or, Hang One Instead

Repurpose Your Pendant Lights

Bust Out Your Blue-and-Whites

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