What’s the matter? Just moved into your first apartment? Your little kid’s dino sheets aren’t cutting it anymore? Just bought an ottoman and now your color scheme is all outta wack?
Whatever your reason is for needing a little remodeling in your life, we’ve got you covered. Here are some ideas for how to make your room feel brand-new and give your space that extra umph.
Did you know? Moving stuff around is free! Why not put your bed against a different wall? You’d be surprised just how much a change in your room’s layout can affect its aesthetic.
For example, if you pull your bed to one wall, it can help a vertical piece like a bookshelf can become a bigger focus. Plus, it can also clear up some floor space for a desk, or that neon ottoman that you just bought.
For a focal point with some more light, you could also try putting your bed underneath the window. It’s a great light source, and it can help the room feel a lot brighter. Plus, it’ll help you save that precious, precious wall space for must-haves like mirrors, bookshelves, picture frames, and tall plants.
While you’re lifting and moving, one design technique you can try out is sectioning. By arranging certain areas and corners to be a bit more isolated, you can make the room feel a bit bigger. For example, you might try putting a curtain around the bed, or putting down an area rug.
Sectioning will also help a lot if you’re in a small apartment. If you’ve got roommates, or your entire place is a studio, it’ll be much easier to relax if you allow everything to have its place. For a desk, really give it its due space, and decorate it. For your bed, move it away from the desk or other areas, and really make it feel cozy.
Sectioning can especially help you if you’re a student in a dorm, or you need to work from home. Through sectioning, you can keep all of your room activities separate. That way you’ll be able to focus more on work when it's time to work, and get to bed easier at night. It’s a brain thing- we’re better at relaxing when we can compartmentalise and “leave work” (even if you’re still technically in the same room).
We all have a lot of crap, and nowhere to put it. Small bedrooms are the worst for this- there’s never that much closet space, and the room is small enough as it is without giant dressers. So, where are you gonna put all that crap?
Well, you could Marie-Kondo it away, or you could invest in new storage options. Any small bedroom actually has more space than you think, and that’s because no one really remembers vertical space. Not to worry- you can buy stuff that uses that vertical space to your advantage.
For example, if you’re running out of surface space, you can try vertical shelves. That way, you can make your knick-knacks look less cluttered, and still have room for your candle collection. Swapping out your current furniture for multi-purpose pieces can help, too. You could use a dresser or a short bookshelf as a nightstand instead of a bedside table. Or, you could get a basket or shelving system that sits under your current nightstand.
Don’t forget about other storage spaces, too. You can get nice-looking drawers that go under your bed. You can use floating shelves. In your closet, you can use a closet organizer. The sky’s the limit! By using your vertical storage to your advantage, your room is gonna feel brand-new.
If your room has been feeling a little gloomy, you could opt in for some new sheets. After all, lighter colors make a room feel brighter. You might want to repaint as well, but a sheet swap is an easy start to make your room feel a bit more vibrant.
If you want even more light, you can play with string lights for a more trendy look. They’re cute and functional- the long cords help you spread light further than a lamp because you can drape them across the room.
You can also mess with curtains! They’re pretty easy to install, cheap to buy, and they can either eliminate or emphasize the light (depending on what your vibe is). For a better night’s sleep, you can even try blackout curtains.
No room is complete without decorations. Whether it’s trinkets on the bedside table or art on the wall, don’t let your room be barren. Adding some more color and décor will make your room feel infinitely more like home.
If you want to change up your colors in general, why not pick a new color palette? You can coordinate your bed sheets, decorations, and pillows to be notes on a theme. Notice that we said “notes.” For your room to really pop, you don’t want to make everything the same shade of blue. Instead, what you’re gonna do is use notes of blue.
Maybe your sheets are dark blue, your décor is light blue, and your pillow cases feature a blue pattern. The key is to pick shades that’ll all go together- trust us, it’ll really make the room feel put-together. And hey, if it’s a color you like, it’ll probably make you enjoy spending time in your room that much more!
If you want to get really fancy with color, you could even pick one color as a base, and another as an accent. Make sure to pick two colors that go together here, too. For example, if you’re attached to the blue idea, blue and gold is always a classic pairing.
Your bed will look fancier with more pillows. Trust us- take a look at any home catalog. The beds have at least three pillows, and a bunch of them are throw pillows. Not only will pillows make your bed look nicer, it’ll also up your room’s coziness factor by a million. We cannot promote this hack enough.
Just make sure you coordinate your pillows- you’ll want them to descend in size. Try getting a couple little ones for the front, two or three medium ones, and then hide the two pillows you actually use in the back.
We can give you design tips, but remember- at the end of the day, it’s your room.
You don’t need a cow-hide rug to have a nice room, or even to be an adult. If you want to have a Pokémon shelf, have a Pokémon shelf. If you want to display your collection of funko pops, go for it. It’s your space. The goal is that it feels like a room that you’ll enjoy spending time in, not that it’ll end up in a magazine.
Stick to your guns. After all, remodeling doesn’t mean you have to turn boring. If all-black minimalism isn’t your thing, don’t do it just because you think you should. Enjoy your rainbow decorations, or your succulents, or whatever your thing is.
