Too often, the master bedroom is the long forgotten, undecorated, messy and cluttered space that we close the door on whenever friends or family come to visit.

It's the last thing on our decorating to-do list; and people spend years sleeping and waking in a lacklustre, cluttered, or mismatched space because tackling this project falls to the bottom of the priority list.

I totally get that we are all busy and that money is definitely not endless. But I also believe that creating a welcoming and cohesive master bedroom that you love being in does not have to be as time-consuming or expensive as you might think.

Last fall, we tackled our master bedroom and walk-in closet as part of the One Room challenge and I couldn't be happier with how it all came out. Even though it's been eight whole months since I revealed our master bedroom makeover last fall, and I have to tell you I'm still loving this space. It's even more bright, airy and beachy feeling during the summer months!

I have to admit that we have made a few tweaks to our master bedroom makeover; all of which were free changes.

The biggest one is that we finally got rid of the TV! After several weeks of not using it because the cable no longer reached it in it's new home; we realized that we really didn't need it! We moved some art around to create a full gallery wall above the dresser and keep the walls on each side of the window open; and also added a longer upholstered bench to the bottom of the bed.

So, this room is definitely always slightly fluid and changing; but overall we are super happy with the design. And, reflecting back on this makeover I realized that we did do it while sticking to a pretty reasonable budget. Today I'm sharing my best tips for creating a master bedroom you love on a budget! I hope they inspire you to jump in and give your space some updates that you'll love, as well.

Tip 1: Paint

The colour of your room does goes a long way to creating a different feel in your space; and is probably one of the least expensive and most effective ways to create a new look. Our master bedroom had been painted a nice, neutral, medium gray tone by the previous owners. But I wanted a lighter, bright and airy beachy feel so we went with white for the feature wall and then a light aqua colour called Seafoam from Benjamin Moore.

Benjamin Moore Seafoam

Tip 2: Create a feature wall

When we originally started decorating our master bedroom after moving into this house I knew that I wanted some kind of feature wall behind the bed. At that time, we had a DIY upholstered headboard that had a fair bit of pattern and colour, so we went with a white board and batten floor-to-ceiling feature wall.  I think adding some kind of paneling behind the bed helps to ground the bed and makes that wall the true focus of the room. {Bonus tip: try to place your bed on one of the walls that you immediately see when you enter the room.}

Tip 3: Go for Knock-Offs

I knew I wanted to add a bit more of a chic or glam feel to our cottage style master bedroom and the biggest change in our room was adding a new button tufted neutral headboard and two little glam side tables. Instead of going for more high end finds like this gorgeous upholstered headboard or these beautiful mirrored small dressers  from Pottery Barn, I looked at online outlet and discounts stores like Wayfair, Overstock, and Joss & Main. I found our headboard and nightstand side tables (similar to these ones) for a super reasonable price on sale online. Keep your eye out for online sales for the pieces that you do want to buy new.

Tip 4: Textiles!

I generally use white bedding (like this coverlet) and then add interest through pillows or throws. This summer I've added in a bright, cheery coverlet folded up at the bottom of the bed along with the matching shams. I got it while it was on sale, so it was super reasonably priced and adds a huge impact for a small expense.

The white square pillows are all from Ikea and are under $5 per pillow cover. You can also make some beautiful envelope pillows yourself with fabric you have or find at a good price; I shared a great tutorial on how to make your own pillow covers here. You can even sew your own long lumbar pillows for the front of the bed; I love the pillow forms from Ikea.

Tip 5: Incorporate Second Hand Finds

To give your room a whole new feel you don't have to go out and buy everything brand new. Look around at what you have and see what you might be able to makeover on-the-cheap. We kept our old hand-me-down dresser and gave it a makeover using some white chalk paint; and it fits beautifully in our new space.

Tip 6: DIY it!

I made the drapes myself to save some money as I wasn't able to find any reasonably priced blackout lined linen (or linen-look) drapery.

We also DIY-ed the upholstered bench that now sits at the end of the bed – it's actually made from an old coffee table that we cut down to size, painted, and upholstered using some fabric I love. I also took a light fixture that we had hanging around our garage and gave it a new look with some gold spray paint. Spray paint is always your friend when you are trying to create a beautiful room on a budget.

We also gave our old, basic, inexpensive floor mirror a major makeover  with some trim and metallic paint.

Tip 7: Accessorize on the cheap

My favourite accessory in the room might be the artwork. I wanted a high end look but didn't want to order pre-framed pieces at a high end price. So I ordered all of the frames from Ikea, and then ordered these extra wide mats from Amazon. The extra wide mats give the 8×10 pieces that I ordered from Minted a much more graphic and high end look at a much more reasonable price. You could even download and print your own free printable art or print your own large photographs and frame them in these extra-wide mats to create a fabulous and super thrifty art display.

Shop thrift stores, garage sales, discount decor stores (HomeSense is my favourite – like HomeGoods in the US), or sales online at places like Wayfair or Overstock for finds that fit with your look. Even better? Shop the house!! Look around your house for items that would work with your new master bedroom decor and creatively re-arrange what you already own.

Tip 8: Choose a Splurge

The one area in our room that I splurged was on the area rug – and by splurge, I mean that it retails for about $289 for a 9×12 size, so still quite reasonable. I fell completely in love with this large vintage over-dyed style rug and knew that it would be the perfect element to add a cohesive and finished feel to our space.

I think that even when you decorate most of a room makeover on a reasonable budget, that it can be nice to splurge a little bit on one key piece. That being said, these types of rugs are definitely available in all kinds of price points if you need to stick within a specific budget (like the one, here, that we recently ordered for our living room).

I hope you are inspired to create your own dream master bedroom on a budget and enjoy waking in a beautiful, fresh space every morning!

signature and quote