Last Updated on June 11, 2021

It was time. Long overdue actually. Our master bedroom was in desperate need of a refresh. Our comforter had gotten pretty ratty, our sheets were thread-bare and the headboard was feeling too busy. I’m a big believer in colour, I know it’s not for everyone, but I actually loved all the patterns I had going on in the old bedroom. But. My health has been struggling lately and I need to do everything in my power to encourage quality sleep. Including making my bedroom as comfy cozy as possible. So for my DIY bedroom update, I opted to stick with greys and pinks and keep things as soft and un-busy as possible. Here’s what I came up with! All on a budget of course. 🙂

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I’ve been planning this master bedroom update for a while now. The flip side of not having a lot of money to accomplish projects is that you usually have to do a LOT of advanced planning and waiting. 🙂

Maybe some day I’ll be able to just walk into IKEA and buy an entire bedroom, furniture, decor and the works as is. But today is not that day. So that means being a little creative instead.

All in all, I spent about $85 (cad) of my own cash on this master mini-makover. But in the interest of full disclosure, if I had paid for everything outright it would have cost about $300. Which is still not a bad price for such a cozy bedroom!

Before

Here’s a brief breakdown of our master bedroom:

Our headboard was a DIY project from a few years ago.

The art above the bed was $14 at Homesense. It says “Bonjour Mon Amour” 😀

Our bed frame is just one of those standard horrible metal frames you get when you buy a bed. I dream of owning a proper bed frame, but they are $$$!

The side tables I got at Target a couple of years ago, I love them.

The lamps were freebies from someone who was moving.

Our light fixture was $50 on clearance at a building supply store! It was a great find! A huge pain to put together since there are about 200 pieces, but totally gorgeous and worth it!

The bed skirt I found at Value Village for like $10 a few years ago. It’s not my favourite, but it does the trick. You don’t want to know how much crap is stored under the bed!

I DIY’ed the throw cushions and I think I got the comforter at a fabric store, but I can’t quite remember. Clearly we’ve had it too long!

The curtains are actually tablecloths that I found at Target for $16/piece/panel. I just added some tabs at the top and boom they turned into curtains! They have a great weight to them and all the birds are facing the right way. Pre-made curtain panels are stupid-expensive and usually not very pretty. I still love my DIY version. 🙂 You probably can’t tell from the picture, but the blue ceiling matches the blue in the wings of the birds.

We added the crown moulding when we painted the room a few years ago and I would add it to every room in the house if I could! Only problem is that it sometimes buckles when it gets super humid in the summer. Lol

The sheets you can’t really see but I’m so disappointed with them. I got them at Homesense less than a year ago, and they are practically worn to nothing. It was a big deal for me to spring $50 on new sheets, so I’m super unhappy that they turned out to be so crappy, they basically started to pill the first night we slept on them.

 

DIY Bedroom Update

Step 1 in the DIY bedroom update was getting new sheets! And I couldn’t be happier with our choice from California Design Den!

Friends, these sheets are the real deal. They are 100% cotton and have some anti-pilling miracle magic woven into them! They have a glorious sateen finish, you should have heard our sighs of joy when we slipped into them for the first time. Haha! When did I turn into this old lady who gets so super excited about sheets?!

Then these little goobers shoved us right out bed so they could enjoy the sheets too! I will not be surprised at all when I climb into bed tonight only to find at least 11 different lego pieces in there too.

California Design Den has a number of different colours, sizes and thread counts available. They even have organic cotton sheets! And in all honesty, the price ($40) is INSANELY reasonable considering the excellent quality of the product!

We’ve been using them for about 2 weeks and couldn’t be happier!

 

Bedding

Step 2 in the mini-makeover was finding new bedding.

We decided to upgrade from a comforter to a duvet. I thought it would increase the cozy factor and I kinda love the way they make a crinkly noise when you roll over!

I opted for a duvet from Ikea. And I cleverly acquired it by asking for it for Christmas from my in-laws. Now I know it’s a little tacky to be asking for Christmas gifts when you’re not 7. But the thing is, they WANT to get us something, it makes them happy. And it makes them happier to know it was something we really wanted. So I swallowed my dignity and asked for what we really wanted. And got it 2 months before Christmas! I call that a major win!

Then I shopped and shopped and shopped around some more looking for the perfect duvet cover. I wanted something very simple and neutral so it would go with all the other fabrics in the room. And I’m trying to avoid going pattern-crazy to encourage  restful sleep.

I literally checked every store in the universe till I settled on this Bedsure cover that I found on Amazon. It’s a lovely ‘washed’ grey with wooden button details and is 100% cotton. Perfection.

Throw Cushions

Step 3 was re-making the throw cushions. I re-used the pillow inserts and went fabric shopping. Which is my happy place. I chose solids for the pinks and a white on white dandelion print for the rest.

I’ve been on a quilting kick lately so I wanted to try quilted pillow covers with an ombre look. I’ll write up the tutorial for them in a separate post soon.

(For now you can check out this Quilted Laptop Bag tutorial)

The little pillow is backed with the same pink as the headboard and is totally reversible. 🙂

Headboard

Step 4 was recovering the headboard.

I really didn’t feel like taking out all the staples from the original fabric, so I just cut it off and left the staples behind. #lazy

The headboard is simply a piece of plywood that my husband cut some detailing into. But you could also just use a rectangular piece of plywood and call it done.

It’s covered with a thick layer of fluffy batting which you can typically purchase at your local fabric store. Make sure the batting wraps around all the corners to soften them up.

Then it’s wrapped with fabric and staple-gunned in place. Make sure everything is pulled taut and even before you staple.

Next was simply putting it all together!

Oh and the bench at the end of the bed is actually the Lack tv bench from Ikea. It’s just the right size for our small space. And at $15, it’s the right price too.

After

I love it! So cozy!

Who doesn’t love a great before and after picture?!

I really wanted to replace the lamps too, but it wasn’t in the budget. I found some simple cream-coloured shades at Ikea for $6/piece but it turns out they don’t fit! Darn those weird Ikea sizes!  I won’t find shades that cheap anywhere else, so that idea is scrapped for now.

My other idea was to spray paint the bases, (they’ve already been painted twice before!) but I don’t have a garage to do it in. So that’ll have to wait til the spring when I can go outside.

 

Cost Break Down

Sheets: Were a gift from California Design Den 
Duvet: Was a Christmas gift 🙂
Duvet Cover: Paid for with a gift card I’ve been saving, cost me about $20 in shipping and taxes
Bench: $15
Headboard Fabric: $30
Throw Cushion Fabrics: $20

I pulled it off! A DIY bedroom update for under $100… I’m a little proud of myself! There are so many more things I would have done if money wasn’t a consideration, but I’m still REALLY happy with my master mini-makeover!

 

What do you think? 🙂