Help me make my bedroom relaxing on a budget

[carriewintermeadow]

I live in a small terraced house, 2 bedrooms. My bedroom is quite small, fairly square. All I have in there is a white double bed, a pine chest of drawers, a pine bedside table, rattan laundry basket and a cane (white and pink) small chair. The floor is beech laminate, the walls magnolia, the curtains cream. My bedding is lilac or red and white. All I have on the walls is a collage of family photos on one wall.

I can't paint or decorate. I just don't know what to do to make it cosy. Money is very limited unfortunately and there is no space for anything else furniture wise.

What do you do to make your bedroom cosy? Any ideas for decor, prints/posters, lights (I have a white paper round shade, cheap and boring)?

I've attached a photo of the bed.

I don't like the pine chest of drawers being a different colour but I've no room to paint it here.

[carriewintermeadow]

Chest of drawers and bedside table are like these.

[teaiseverything]

Fairy lights always make a room feel lovely. Pop on Etsy and you'll find some lovely quirky greeting cards that you can buy for £2-£3 and put them in a cheap frame. If you don't have any room to paint the furniture you don't like, perhaps get some nice little trinket type things to hang off the handles? Also, tealights. You can get massive bags of them for a fiver and little glass holders for £1 in Tesco/Ikea/Sainsbury's etc.

[teaiseverything]

Oh! Also, flowers make a room feel lovely and don't have to be expensive. Daffs, tulips, that sort of thing.

[OutyMcOutface]

A dim lamp and crisp white bedding does it for me. Maybe cut some flowers from your garden as well.

[Someaddedsugar]

Have you had a look on Pinterest for the type of look you’d like to achieve? You could make a mood board and then perhaps make one change to your room each month to make things affordable.

[carriewintermeadow]

I really struggle to find things on Pinterest Dont know what to search for and then it's all expensive or unachievable...

I can't even get nails in the wall! I'll have to look for stick on hooks.

I love fairy lights! I had some from the curtain rail to a hook on the ceiling but they didn't really look good, I never know how to drape them ...

I'll get some daffodils next time I'm out, good idea. Not much of a garden unfortunately ...just a little yard.

[Aftershock15]

Can you not take the bedside cabinet to another room and paint it? You could also remove the drawers and take them somewhere and paint just the fronts maybe?

A rug of some sort would make it feel more cosy I think. Laminate always looks a bit clinical in bedrooms I think.

[JellyTeapot]

Was also going to suggest just painting the drawer fronts. You could also change the handles to something a bit more luxe looking - eBay is quite a good source of not too expensive handles. A cosy throw on the bed (Ikea is great for this if you have one near you) and a few cushions, definitely a rug or two. If you can't put nails in the walls have a look at Command Strips, I hang everything I can with them!

[NotMeNoNo]

We painted our bedroom pale green and grey and I've repeated the colour scheme after an extension and house move because it's so relaxing.

I'd recommend - a cosy blanket on the bed, a few pretty pictures or ornaments (TKMaxx or Dunelm great for these). Pick out some things with the same colours. Also you could consider painting your pine furniture and putting little china knobs on (ebay). Chalk paint dries really quickly, I painted a bookcase recently just by putting a plastic tablecloth under it on the floor for an afternoon.

Stick on hooks, I discovered amazing removable ones from 3M that you can get in B&Q. The transparent ones are hardly visible.

[carriewintermeadow]

Thanks! Great idea, painting the drawer fronts. I'll look for some white paint ...

I'd like a rug, may look for a rag one on eBay, they're not expensive.

Any ideas for getting blutak marks off the wall?

I'll look for nice prints .. I guess I frame posters?

[carriewintermeadow]

Is there an app for doing mood boards?

[SandysMam]

I had a bed like that and wound fairy lights in and out the bedpost slats. Good use of extension leads needed but looked lovely when on!

[carriewintermeadow]

Ooh thanks I'll try that. I've got fairy lights and that sounds really nice

[Ochre37]

Pick up scatter cushions whenever you can - supermarkets / charity shops etc and get a nice collection going for the bed. Look inviting and comforting.

Yes to fairy lights- pop some in a coloured glass jar next to your bed too!

A soft throw for the end of your bed

Charity shop for cute ornaments for the windowsill- go for height and interest and cluster rather than space out

Candles

Large floor lamp with dimmer switch instead of using the main light

Throw & cushion for the chair to dress it

Framed posters are a great way to add colour- and also beautiful wrapping paper can be framed- inexpensive but effective.

[AnneWiddecombesHandbag]

Gently rubbing a piece of bluetak over bluetak marks usually removes them.

[carriewintermeadow]

Thanks, I tried that. There is no blutak left, but it left a greasy mark on the paint that I can't get off.

No windowsill to put things on in the bedroom.

I've found a transparent crystal lamp shade:

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00G9H9XLU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_uVkFAb8X5JGBK?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

Which I think will look nice.

[BuffBourguignon]

Take the laundry basket out if you can. Nothing worse trying to relax and thinking you should have put a load on!

[FaithHopeCharityDesperation]

I can't even get nails in the wall! I'll have to look for stick on hooks.

If you're handing pictures/mirrors/canvases etc then I'd thoroughly recommend 'command strips' - they're like a heavy duty Velcro strip.

If you follow the instructions exactly (leave for over an hour before hanging item etc) then they don't fail - I've used them for all my pics & a v heavy mirror.


I would also paint the pine tbh - chalk paint is v easy & doesn't need priming or an undercoat, and gives a smooth finish if you seal with thin layer of satin varnish rather than wax.

[Samewitches]

I'm shit at draping fairy lights too so I use battery powered light up things, stars, hearts, letters etc are all available cheaply. Ikea is your friend here, they have rugs and throws for very reasonable prices. If your bed is white as the one in the picture is I'd go for white paint on the pine and then choose a colour scheme for accessories. So say grey- grey rug and throw over bed, Ikea do silver windproof tealight holders and you can get battery tealights to go in, a couple of grey/ silver frames with pictures that remind you of a happy memory in etc. Declutter also, have nothing out unless you're displaying it because you like it and it makes you happy to see it.

[carriewintermeadow]

I can't really take the laundry basket out as there is nowhere rise to put it but I'm quite tidy and usually up to date with washing so it doesn't bother me.

I like the idea of battery tea lights, I'll get some and some holders.

[Samewitches]

If you like the idea of battery tea lights you can also get battery pillar candles, I have them on a bookshelf type thing where my old pillar candles were in a set of 3 varying sizes but they can't be lit. They'd look a bit odd openly displayed in a space where a candle could be lit and you can see at first glance they're fake but they do the job perfectly in my enclosed, high up bridging shelf.

[carriewintermeadow]

Thanks.

I'm going to make a start next week. Starting with fairy lights round the bed head I'm trying to find a chandelier style light I like that isn't too tacky but cheap

[FabulouslyGlamorousFerret]

I get all sorts off the Facebook selling sites, look out for some white drawers and a bedside cabinet. The IKEA malm range is lovely and I'm always seeing it for sale on Facebook. A fleecy throw and some scatter cushions will liven up your bed and if you can get a coordinating rug it will look lovely 😊

[Ollivander84]

I quite like primark for home stuff that's cheap. I got a Harry Potter light, some candles and photo frames etc there. They do good cushions and throws too, worth a look

[Ollivander84]

This is my little reading nook and my main bedroom, none of it was mega expensive (apart from the giant mirror and chandelier!)
The unicorn blanket is ikea and the Marilyn screen has Audrey Hepburn on the other side and was a tenner. I find candles, soft lighting and different textures really help things look cosy and inviting