Help decorating a bedroom cheaply

[Sheilaroundthefountain]

We’re going to be selling our house quite soon, and decorating everywhere, just to freshen up.

My daughter has left home, and I want to dress her room nicely, but now I wonder if what I’m looking at is completely out of fashion.

The room will be painted white
The blind is natural wood
The carpet will be a sort of grey/beige
The bed is white and a small double
The desk is ikea white
The chest of drawers is ikea white
Bedside table is white
Theres a 5x5 white kallax but I think we’re going to put it on marketplace

What I’m thinking, is to buy maybe one of the duvet covers (hopefully the pictures will load but I’m rubbish at this)
some botanical prints I’ve seen on Amazon A&M Natural Living Botanical Prints, Set Of 4 Botanical Art Prints Unframed A4 Watercolour Green Botanical Poster Leaf Pictures Wall Art, Home Decor Bathroom Kitchen Living Room, Leaf Prints (A4) www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09BFRYKFX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_PGQKRWSBCYMGZRTRAHAS that I would put in narrow black frames, and hang about them bed, and a natural wicker light shade also from Amazon

shes got a dark green furry rug already, and a cute little lamp which has a light grey shade and three light wooden legs.

I’d love a big poster sized print above her chest of drawers but I really really need to keep costs down, and also some nice accessories

My daughter is working abroad, and won’t be home until about November, so this is down to me. Most of her stuff is still here, so there’s books, perfume bottles etc

I just really want it to look nice to sell, but it will be coming with us to our new house too

Does this sound nice, or horrible? Any advice is welcome, but please remember I don’t have much money.

Do you have any relatively plain bedding you can use?
I like bright/patterned duvets but when selling, I think they often look a bit too much in pictures (if that makes sense - you want people looking at the room, not just the bed) & a plain cover looks better & seems to make the space look bigger.

I wouldn't worry too much about buying accessories, just tidy up and arrange a few of the existing bits nicely like the perfume bottles. Minimal clutter, no big posters or overpowering prints - those botanical ones look perfect - you are aiming for spacious blank slate.

I don’t have any plain bedding, apart from the sheet. Obviously there’s a duvet cover on the bed, but it has a huge paint stain on it (as does the carpet). I’ve binned all her other bed sets for the same reason, She had a desk but did her painting wherever and wasn’t careful, so I definitely need to buy a duvet cover. I’ll look for something plainer.

Thank you! I’ve never sold a house before (this was new build and the developers bought our last house). It’s really really scary

Ive got another daughters room to do after this. She’s also moved out, but has taken a lot of her stuff. I’m not even thinking about that yet though!

Crisp white bedding would look 10 times better in the photos than a patterned duvet, I'd spend the money on that.

Those duvet covers aren’t really right at all. They look very childlike rather than the botanical trend.

If it’s to look good in pictures- then crisp white bedding. Perhaps a rug or some throw cushions to complement the green rug.

If you want botanical print bedding- here are some other choices

www.urbanoutfitters.com/en-gb/shop/raine-duvet-set-with-reusable-fabric-bag?gbraid=0AAAAAD-P_JJfpo_DgQfCHnfNRvr8-s_XQ&inventoryCountry=GB&currency=GBP&color=030&size=SINGLE&_cclid=Google_Cj0KCQjw-daUBhCIARIsALbkjSbWK9xrrO0h-sEnM_SG7e8jcU6LYMmesAGC208BdQ35VEoFowoIJdYaAq2nEALw_wcB&utm_campaign=Shopping&utm_term=Smart_Shopping_HW&utm_content=Cj0KCQjw-daUBhCIARIsALbkjSbWK9xrrO0h-sEnM_SG7e8jcU6LYMmesAGC208BdQ35VEoFowoIJdYaAq2nEALw_wcB&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-daUBhCIARIsALbkjSbWK9xrrO0h-sEnM_SG7e8jcU6LYMmesAGC208BdQ35VEoFowoIJdYaAq2nEALw_wcB&type=REGULAR&quantity=1

www.dunelm.com/product/skinny-dip-dominica-teal-duvet-cover-and-pillowcase-set-1000193493?defaultSkuId=30760528&ds_c=Bedding_Duvet+Covers-SmartShopping_%5BGOO-PLA-BEDDING-COVERS%5D&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-daUBhCIARIsALbkjSY_XWnJ0oSH1fXExsHP4eDnsX7rYCIV_E8MmKnrl8q3Di8dU-Ic_NoaAoOrEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

www.debenhams.com/product/furn-exclusive-parlour-palm-double-duvet-set_hdd06378?istCompanyId=76f7277d-6e78-4dc2-aaff-1eb77fae16b0&istFeedId=258a4886-8f3c-47ef-9369-d1eda8d84501&istItemId=plqttpmxm&istBid=t&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-daUBhCIARIsALbkjSaUBp5ks6OCGQJZDGuQJSN759PQ0K8V1jqqNMNaYXHMGetEpLezJRAaAkGJEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Plain bedding. Patterned bedding is a distraction and can look 'cheap'.

Keep
Everything neutral and calm looking and avoid busy patterns.

Thank you all so much!

I guess I was imagining it as a teenagers room! Old habits die hard.

I wasn’t looking at white bedding as the room will already be so white (walls and furniture - this is non negotiable as the furnitures there, and my husbands up a ladder paining right now). It’s quite a large, light room, so I thought colour would be good but like I say, I’m completely useless at this, so happy to be advised.

yes it’s just for the photos, and viewings, but will come with us to the next house.

I'd go for pale green on the walls to give it a bit of colour. For bedding either plain or a much larger pattern (like the PPs suggestions) but with white you can go cheap and nobody will notice.

You can get some cheap prints from Etsy and for large frames I haven't found anywhere cheaper than Wilkos (not even Amazon).

I'll see if I can find a photo of the prints we had for the spare room that needed brightening up after years of being brown. (I mostly just have photos of my cat 🤣)

You could do wheat, beige or ‘natural’ bedding instead. It will look less stark than white but not as in your face as the others you were looking at.

That should be in-your-face, really.

It sounds like a pale blue duvet cover would work well. It would give the room a beach feel.

I realised the other prints might be outing as they're the background for all my Zoom calls but this one was around £10 from Etsy and was available in 4 different sizes. I think the A1 was around £25. If you create an account and save some to your favourites the sellers often send a discount code within a couple of day (but not always). I bought 2 prints from the person selling the giraffe and they included a third A3 one for free.

Sorry, just realised you said you couldn't paint any of the walls. Ignore that part!

We currently have an interior designer in and one of her top tips is to get a sample or off-cut of feature wallpaper to frame, instead of buying print.

I love that print @starlingdarling! it’s not that we can’t paint the walls it’s just my husband has literally just finished painting them white - some job as my daughter had them battleship grey!

i like the idea of wallpaper samples! I’m not going to get chased for shoplifting though am I? My knees are no good for running 😀

Much as I like the idea of a grown woman running with an armful of wallpaper samples... no you won't get done. You can even order samples from some of the fancier brands online.

Buy plain white bed linen and get a small throw which you can lay across the bottom of the bed. It creates rexture and interest without heing overpowering and also makes the room look bigger whilst still capturing the vibe. You only need a single throw as it can go on sideways. Of uou can stretch yo it get a coule if patterened cushions to go with the throw. Get possibly a plain green throw in a texture like a woven cotton and cushions which have more white like the posters ypu have shown. A couple of tropical textured plants in white pots will work very well. Id avoid going too patterned as without huge investment into an eccentric scheme it doesnt necessecarily work, you often have to go all in and in photos for selling a hint of a theme done well looks better, allows more people to see through it for themselves and means you can move on without having spent a fortune

The advice with selling is always to depersonalise so I think buying stuff to add character to the room won't actually be helpful for your goal. Can you repurpose things that are elsewhere in the house if it all feels a bit too white box? A plant that is currently in the lounge or a print from the dining room for eg.

Agree. Make it as bland as possible. Clean and neat. All surfaces free of clutter. (Shoved into drawers)

How about white bedding - with two plain green cushions and two botanical ones?

Yeah cheap white bedding and a couple of cheap cushions from dunelm will look better

Make it as bland as possible. Clean and neat. All surfaces free of clutter. (Shoved into drawers)

I disagree. Bland houses make them look unloved. Obviously I wouldn't suggest painting the walls bright pink but pops of colour make photos stand out. I watched way too much Selling Houses with Amanda Lamb and even the rooms that weren't to my taste made the houses look more appealing than before.

Pinterest has loads of free prints.