Bedroom On a Budget
Don’t be disheartened if you only have a small budget for a bedroom makeover. For less than £200, you can transform your bedroom’s style, ambience, and comfort levels, giving you somewhere to relax and unwind.
This guide reveals how to makeover your bedroom on a budget of £200, with prices for everything you’ll do.
Let’s jump in!
The first things to do
- Empty your room and de-clutter - empty your bedroom of furniture and clutter and decide what you should keep and throw away or put into storage. This will reveal the actual size of your bedroom and give you a blank canvas for decorating.
- Clean – vacuum the floor with carpet cleaner powder and wipe down all hard surfaces, including the skirting boards, windowsill, light switches, sockets, and door. This will ensure a clean slate for all your decorating.
Makeover steps
Step #1 – Add a white basecoat
Total cost, including prep: £25.
The cheapest way to transform your bedroom is with standard white emulsion paint, which will give your walls a fresh feel and brighten them.
You can buy a 10L tub of white emulsion for around £15, but it’s worth spending a bit more (around £20) on a hardwearing 2.5L tin of flat white paint.
Fill in wall imperfections with Polyfilla (around £3.50) and a sanding block (£2) to get a smooth, perfect finish before painting.
Step #2 – Create a painted feature wall
Total cost, including prep: £20.
Once your white paint is dry, you can create a feature wall in a colour you love (the best wall for this is the one behind your bed).
You can buy a 2.5L tin of coloured paint for around £20 - B&Q GoodHome, Johnstone’s, and Wickes offer excellent value for money.
It’s worth giving the wall a light sanding with your sanding block to smooth the surface before painting so that you achieve a professional finish.
Step #3 – Dress your window
Total cost: £40 to £80
Dressing your window means installing beautiful curtains and a window blind to soften your space and introduce adjustable privacy.
Curtains are relatively expensive, but Amazon, B&M, The Range, and Wilko offer excellent value (for example, Wilko sells 167 x 137cm curtains for £20).
A blind is entirely optional but offers greater privacy during the day. We recommend getting a blind from IKEA like the one pictured below.
Step #4 – Get a fancy ceiling shade
Total cost: £10-£30
A new ceiling shade will transform your bedroom by scattering light in interesting ways. Most of us have a standard pendant light, which means you can use an ‘easy fit’ ceiling shade with prices starting from around £10.
A style in vogue right now is origami and paper ceiling shades, which provide a soft glow and interesting textures.
Up to now, we have spent £125 – if you spend an extra £30 on a new ceiling light, we come to £155 with £45 of our budget left.
Step #5 – Paint your furniture
Total cost: £20
Painting your existing furniture is cheaper than buying new, and spray paint is the easiest and fastest way.
If you have a metal bed frame, you can paint it with a canister of all-purpose spray paint (around £7). If you have a wooden bed frame and furniture, use a primer first and spray it with all-purpose furniture paint.
Remember to paint outdoors to avoid the fumes, and look for special offers on spray paint canisters to save money. Check out our post How to Paint Your Bed Frame and What to Avoid When Doing It.
Step #6 – Play with adjustable lighting
Total cost: £20.
Now that your bedroom is clean, fresh, and colourful, you can reintroduce your furniture and play with its positioning to maximise space.
Once your furniture is in place, you can look for ways to play with lighting to change how your bedroom feels.
Since we have £25 of our budget left, consider one of these extras:
- Lava lamp
- Star projector
- LED strip lights for under your bed
- Fairy lights (with wall hooks to hang them).
So, we have a complete bedroom makeover for £200. The most challenging part is sourcing curtains and blinds, but you can usually find deals online.
Good luck!