Looking to update your bedroom? These budget friendly bedroom refresh ideas will breathe new life into your space with minimal cost and effort.
My bedroom is my retreat from the world, not just a place to sleep. It’s where I like to read in a sunny armchair, write at my little wooden desk, and sneak away for afternoon naps.
It’s a well-used space, and I like to keep it fresh and comfortable. If you feel your bedroom is snore-worthy, what are some simple ways to refresh it?
Home bedroom refresh ideas include decluttering, repositioning furniture, repainting or papering the walls and ceiling, gallery wall, houseplants, updating lighting, and replacing the headboard. Add color, pattern, and texture through new drapes, bed linen, throw pillows, and rugs.
House renovations are a massive undertaking that happens in years rather than monthly. But in between, it’s fun (and often necessary) to update your bedroom to make it the most appealing, comfortable, and dreamy space in your home.
Let’s look at some simple, affordable changes you can make to your bedroom.
How to Update Your Bedroom on a Budget – 15 Bedroom Refresh Ideas & Tips
Current bedroom trends are about layering and blending these elements, creating a pleasing effect ideal for a restful, serene environment that is as perfect for dreaming as for sleeping.
#1. Declutter Your Bedroom
A cluttered room can lead to a cluttered mind, making it difficult to relax and unwind. Start your bedroom refresh by decluttering your space.
Remove any unnecessary items, organize your belongings, and create a clean, serene environment.
Use storage solutions like under-bed boxes, shelves, and baskets to keep everything in its place. A tidy room can instantly make your bedroom feel more spacious and inviting.
#2. Keep it Simple
Keeping your bedroom decor simple can create a serene and clutter-free environment, perfect for relaxation. Opt for a minimalist approach by choosing a neutral color palette and sleek, functional furniture.
Limit decorative items to a few meaningful pieces, like a favorite artwork or a couple of well-chosen accessories.
This simplicity makes the room feel bigger. It also ensures that each element has a purpose, contributing to a calm, harmonious atmosphere, perfect for unwinding at the end of the day.
#3. Reposition Furniture
Let’s start with a pocket-friendly update — in fact, it won’t cost you a cent. Repositioning the furniture or moving the room around is an easy way to refresh your space.
If nothing else, you’ll get a new perspective when you wake up. My favorite change is to position the bed so that you face the window and enjoy the feel of the sun on your face each day.
#4. Shop Your Home for Swaps
Another cost effective and easy way to update your bedroom is to shop your other rooms for items to update your bedroom.
For example, do you keep the best bedding and towels for your guest bedroom? Treat yourself as you deserve to be treated, and make up your bedroom with these linens.
Swap drapes with those from the dining room, repurpose console tables as your side tables and bring your favorite rug from the living room. Hang your favorite artwork above your bed — as the famous advert says, you’re worth it.
#5. A Splash of Paint
Adding color to a room is straightforward if you’re handy with a paintbrush. Refresh your bedroom by repainting it in one of this season’s colors — bearing in mind that a bedroom needs to be a calm sanctuary.
Repainting your bedroom is a relatively budget-friendly fix. Many of 2024’s Color of the Year candidates are blue, the most popular bedroom color.
For example, my favorite brand, Sherwin-Williams chose Upward, the softest denim blue, while Valspar put forward Renew Blue, a gorgeous, muted blue-green.
#6. The Wallpaper Option
Wallpaper is trending once again, with large, even gigantic prints. Many wallpapers cover a single accent wall and are mural-like, depicting Japanese mountains, whimsical forests, and cloudy skies.
I’ve seen one custom paper that was a close-up of the lady of the house’s face. That is the stuff of nightmares to me, or perhaps I just don’t have enough self-esteem.
If you don’t want the commitment of either paint or wallpaper, go for a peel-and-stick option or fun wall decals. These temporary options can refresh a space while you’re waiting for a more serious upgrade.
#7. Create a Gallery Wall with Family Photos
Creating a gallery wall with family photos is a wonderful way to personalize your bedroom and make it feel more intimate.
Choose a selection of your favorite photos, frame them in a cohesive style, and arrange them on a wall.
This gallery can be a focal point in your room, bringing warmth and cherished memories into your daily life. Mix and match different sizes and orientations for a dynamic, visually appealing display.
#8. Decorate with Mirrors
I love decorating with mirrors! And they can do wonders for a bedroom, making it look bigger and brighter. Decorative mirrors come in various shapes and styles, from vintage to modern.
Place a large mirror opposite a window to reflect natural light. Or use smaller mirrors as accents to enhance the room’s aesthetic. Mirrors can also serve as stunning focal points, adding a touch of elegance and depth to your bedroom decor.
#9. Introduce Houseplants
Plants can help refresh your bedroom by adding a touch of nature and improving air quality. Low-maintenance options like snake plants, pothos, or succulents thrive indoors and require minimal care.
Strategically place them on your windowsill, bedside table, or in hanging planters to infuse your room with greenery and life.
This simple addition can create a calming, refreshing atmosphere that enhances your overall well-being and connects you with nature.
#10. Highlight the Lighting
Lighting is a highly underrated design feature in a bedroom. The simple step of switching out your bright white bulbs for warmer, softer alternatives can change the ambiance of a room entirely.
In bedrooms, your lighting focus should be less on the overhead light as the primary source of brightness and more on secondary and accent lighting, which provides a welcoming glow.
Add new light fixtures next to your bed, whether they are low-hanging pendants, wall sconces, or lamps, so that you can read and relax in bed without a glaring overhead bulb.
Remember that you can also repurpose lighting, moving lamps from one room to another. Simply replace lampshades if you want a pocket-friendly approach.
#11. Update the Drapes
Drapes play a vital role in the bedroom, keeping the room dark for sleeping, warm in the winter, and framing your garden view.
Upgrading your drapes can immediately change the feel of a room — blinds or shades give a modern, minimalist look, for instance.
At the same time, curtains are softer and more romantic. Draperies and classic swags are formal and traditional, adding a layer of texture to your bedroom.
If you don’t want to replace your drapes, another option is simply to move your window treatment higher up, letting your drapes add height and drama to the room.
#12. Go for a New Headboard
If you’re not in the market for a new bed, consider swapping out your headboard with a more creative option. A dramatic headboard provides a focal point for the room and can inspire a whole new design.
One of this year’s trends is super-sized headboards with matt color, often in unusual curved and freeform shapes. You’ll need to approach a professional for this style to ensure the upholstery is on point.
Another headboard trend is to replace it with something untraditional. In Boho bedrooms, I love using a rug or tapestry hung from a curtain rod.
Repurpose a screen as a headboard, salvage pallets, an iron gate, or wooden flooring, and create your own unique headboard.
#13. Beautiful Bed Linens
New bed linens must be one of the most cost-effective bedroom upgrades. No matter how much I spend, the delight of slipping under fresh, crisp covers is worth every cent.
For me, antique and heritage bedding, especially quilts, are particularly precious, and I love unfurling them onto my bed. They infuse the room with old-fashioned charm and the dreams of previous owners.
If you’ve kept your walls and drapes neutral, fresh sheets, pillowcases, and duvet covers can add a much-needed shot of color and pattern to your bedroom.
Swapping out your bedlinen seasonally is a painless refresh. Replace brushed cotton sheets and a woolen throw with the lightest Egyptian cotton and linen throws for summer.
#14. Throw Pillow Delight
Look, I know most husbands loathe throw pillows and don’t see the point (certainly not all of them). But layering accent pillows and cozy throws add essential color and textural interest to a bedroom.
This season, replace your neat row of identical pillows with various shapes, sizes, and patterns. Mix up prints — layer stripes, polka dots, and florals for an on-trend impact.
The pillow colors and textures you choose will depend on the aesthetic you’ve chosen for your bedroom refresh.
Signal a Boho touch to your bedroom with earthy shades, tapestry, and tassels. Or go glamorous with faux fur, silk, and gold fringing against a black-and-white palette.
#15. The Floor Show
Many of our bedrooms have carpets for additional warmth and comfort, but that doesn’t mean you can’t add an area rug to your bedroom.
Your rug can also play a role in creating an interior style or aesthetic in your bedroom.
For example, if you have a traditional bedroom with gilded picture frames, polished wooden floors, and crystal on your dressing table, go for woven woolen and hand-tufted rugs.
A country-style bedroom will suit braided rugs, a romantic bedroom, hand-hooked rugs, and a coastal bedroom, jute, seagrass, or Berber.
Final Thoughts
Refreshing your bedroom can be an affordable, fun upgrade project. Whether you want to repaint, or simply shop your home for different soft furnishings, updating your bedroom will add to your daily comfort and pleasure. It is, after all, where you frame your day, beginning and ending in a peaceful sanctuary.
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