Makeover Your Bedroom
If your bedroom feels bland and you think it could use some major upgrading, you may want to give it a makeover! You can make your bedroom look its best simply by tidying up and giving it some beautifying flair.
Steps
- Start by getting rid of trash. Take a can or trash bag and go over everyplace in the room, throwing away all you see fit. Old crumpled papers, food wrappers, broken things all belong in the trash.
- Next, put all the clothes away. Maybe take this time to clean out your closet (weave link) and get rid of unused clothing. Some of the things in your closet will be trash, like clothes with holes: that goes in the trash bag. Others just don't fit you or are no longer in style; those go in a donation bag or box. Lastly, things you can save with some work go in a repair pile in the corner, like shirts with missing buttons. The good stuff goes back inside the closet but don't get too caught up in it. We'll return to it later. Take your notebook and note any closet supplies you may need like new hangers, door pull or shoe racks.
- Go through your desk and bookshelf. Grab your trash and donation containers. Donate books you no longer read, binders in good shape you don't use and unused but unloved office supplies. Trash old papers, pens that don't write and torn or badly beaten school supplies. Write down on your notebook anything new you may need (new notebooks? magazine racks? Bookends?) Put things back in their place loosely: books in the shelves, pens in their containers, etc.
- Take your notebook and get drawing. Try drawing a top view, and shuffle furniture around for different looks. If you can, try to draw and paint several new looks for your room and choose your favorite. Keep in mind any rules you may have, such as not being allowed to paint walls.
- Think about whether you need new furniture or if you can make do with what you have. Even after tidying up, you may have too many books for your bookshelf and need a bigger one or want a desk to do homework in. Maybe a new light fixture could make your room much better! Before writing down your need as shopping needs, try to surf the web and you'll probably be able to DIY most of it. A new coat of paint can do wonders for old furniture, or tie a thrift shop find into your decor.
- Rearrange the room. According to your drawings, put furniture in its new places. This is when you'll be glad you put everything away before getting started because your room will be a mess until you put all in its new places. Keep your cleaning equipment at the ready because you'll find lots of hidden dirt when moving furniture.
- Look at your walls. New artwork is very inexpensive to make and DIY works are often the best. Customize your art to the look you want your room to have to make it perfect. Search online for help on how to make your own wall art. If you aren't exactly artistic, you could try wall decals.
- Look at the windows. Does the window treatment look old and dull? You may want to replace blinds, curtains, or valances with something more colorful, or just different. This can be a fairly inexpensive item, particularly if you have someone close to you who is able to help you make your own.
- Look at your bed. The bed is the central piece of the bedroom and can be spruced up at low cost. Take this chance to change the sheets and flip the mattress. See if you can buy a new duvet or cover for your bed, and even some decorative pillows if you like it. Dyeing a duvet cover or pillow covers can be even cheaper. Adding or painting a headboard can also have a very powerful effect in the room. If you keep things under the bed in boxes, buy a simple bed skirt to make everything look more tidy.
- After a break or days later, organize smaller things. This will really give your room the finishing touch. After you've bought the new organizing supplies, put them to use. This is when you can organize your closet (weave link), organize your bookshelf, desk and home office (weave links) and other small things like office supplies (simple sort them in pretty containers), electronics like chargers and such, accessories and anything that look out of place.
- Take a step back. Compare with your pictures. Do you have a perfect bedroom or what? Reward yourself with something that smells nice like flowers or incense or another final touch for the room like a framed picture of your friends.
Tips
- Sometimes all a room needs is a good tidying up. Before starting, organize and tidy everything then think if it still needs a makeover.
- Have cleaning equipment at the ready because you'll find lots of dirt when moving furniture around.
- Often you won't need a full makeover. Try new wall art or bedding to change up the look of your room before deciding whether you need a full makeover.
- Try your new decorating style on paper, drawing and painting your ideal room before you make any changes
- Use cabinets and shelves to organize and decorate instead of spreading it on your work space, etc.
Warnings
- Don't mess with the electrical of your house or any other potentially dangerous tasks. If you'd like new lighting or to hang a picture, ask for help.
- Draw your intended room and try to move furniture around in a drawing before you actually start pushing things around. When you do get to the actual furniture moving, get help, as most things are heavy.
Things You'll Need
- Notebook, writing and coloring tools
- Bags or boxes, labeled trash, donations, repairs or anything you like
- Office supplies containers of choice (cans, pencil cases)
- Closet accessories (extra shelves, hooks, hamper
- Paint (regular or aerosol)
- DIY supplies
- New window treatment
- Fabric dyes (optional)
- Bed decorating accessories (duvet, pillows, bed skirt)
