Freshen Your Bedroom with Low-Cost Updates

Bring Color to the Bedroom

If you keep your bedroom's walls and furniture neutral, it's easy to add bursts of color whenever and wherever you wish. Pick one or two colors you love and then repeat the hues in vibrant artwork, bold bedding, and colorful accents.

Add Pattern

Pattern, like color, exerts an emotional pull that can jumpstart a decorating style. Whether you gravitate toward crisp stripes, bold florals, or classic toile, pattern can be used to liven up a space.

Mix and Match Furnishings

A perfectly matched bedroom--the dresser goes with the bed and the corresponding nightstand, and bedding from the same collection--can become stale if the look is too uniform. Wake up a tired bedroom with an eclectic blend of fabrics and furnishings.

 Add Architectural Detail

Used in combination or alone, trim, molding, and wainscoting offer nearly endless design options. Depending on the style of the room, the effect may be casual or formal, rustic or defined, traditional or contemporary. But in every case, millwork surface treatments can add charm and texture to a room.

Paint the Ceiling

Here's a quick and easy way to create a cozy feel in your bedroom: Paint the ceiling the same color as your walls. Without a visual break between ceiling and walls, the room feels smaller and more intimate.

 Incorporate Textures

Touch is a huge part of creating comfort. In a bedroom, texture becomes comfort you can feel. It's easy to alter a bedroom's texture with a change of linens--use a furry throw in winter and cotton throw in summer.

 Switch Out Accent Pillows

Accent pillows let you quickly alter the personality of a room and shift the balance of color. They're especially powerful used in a bedroom because the bed is a natural focal point. Pillows can update a room instantly by adding volume, pattern, texture, color, and personality.

 Update the Headboard

A dramatic headboard can add instant impact. You'll find a wide variety of new headboards available at all price points, but consider customizing your existing headboard or using an unexpected salvaged piece for a low-cost option.

Update Window Treatments

To set a mood, use draperies and classic swags for a formal look, curtains and shades for an informal look, and simple blinds for contemporary appeal. Consider lining--room-darkening or insulating--that suits the treatment and your needs.

  
Add Pattern to a Select Spot

Try paneling a single wall or one section of a wall with a favorite wallpaper or stencil. It's a sure-fire way to call attention to a seating area or to add pattern without the expense of papering an entire room or taking the time to stencil an entire room.

 Try On Bold New Bed Linens

Nothing looks and feels fresher than new bedding. If you love the idea of new bedding but are short on storage space for bulky comforters and quilts, consider a duvet, switching out the duvet cover every season.

 Bring In the Right Amount of Light

General overhead lighting is less important in bedrooms. Instead focus on bedside lamps and other sources of accent lighting to turn a bedroom into an inviting, comforting retreat. And the type of light is important, too--something as simple as replacing an old light bulb with a warm-spectrum fluorescent might provide just the freshness your bedroom needs.

Try a New Direction

To give your bedroom a decorative lift without spending a dime, angle the bed from a corner. If your present headboard looks too bulky for this arrangement, replace it with a salvaged iron gate or a shorter upholstered panel.