Bed makeovers don’t have to be a headache. In fact, a bedroom makeover can be a fun project that makes you proud of your creative accomplishments in the end. Simple touches can completely transform your bedroom into a beautiful oasis or modern hideaway. To pull off the perfect look, below are some simple guidelines:

Bedding

There’s collections of bedding from Macys that range in price and style, so you’re likely to find a duvet or comforter specifically for your taste, even as you shop for mattresses. For a tranquil, peaceful vibe, look for bedding in creams or a neutral color palette. Simple paper light fixtures also give the room a light and airy feel. To complete a bold look, go for a bright comforter to complement the accent colors in the room. Dress up the rest of the bed with matching pillows. For romantic ambience, opt for floral patterns and light pillow accents with soft hues that match the bedding of course.

Headboard

As the focal point of your bed, the headboard can be as simple or gaudy as you want it. Take advantage of DIY projects floating around Pinterest. Pins are taken from a variety of blog posts and websites that showcase headboards crafted with pallets, plywood or fabrics. Read on to be inspired:

• Can you believe you can make a stylish headboard from doors? Place two doors side-by-side painted in your favorite color scheme. Top with crown molding to make your bed look clean and simple. You can find inexpensive doors at hardware stores like Lowes or Home Depot.
• To install a wooden headboard, visit a lumber yard; it can actually be fairly cheap. Design the shape of the headboard and then easily distress the wood with vinegar, tea bags and steel wool pads. The finished project looks absolutely stunning and has a beachy vibe. You can also place pieces of barn wood side-by-side of varying sizes. Even simpler, hang four 1 x 6 boards on the wall with large 3M strips, which can hold up to 16 pounds each.
• Fabric, plywood, batting and two-inch foam is all you need to build an elegant headboard. Just cut the plywood into the proper shape and size, and then use spray adhesive to glue foam on top of the plywood. Staple the batting on top of the foam, and then staple the fabric to the board—voila! You’ve crafted a beautiful and inexpensive headboard that looks like a professional masterpiece.

Bed Bench

Show some love to the foot of your bed, too. If you have an extra bench lying around that you have no use for, then this project is perfect for you. (Generally, you can find benches at thrift or second-hand stores as well for $20 and less). Converting a seating bench into a bed bench is not too complex. Use two-inch thick foam, which you can find at all craft stores, and measure it to fit the top of your bench. Place the foam on top of some batting and staple in place. Next, pull fabric of your choice around the batting and foam and use a staple gun to attach the fabric around the bench tightly. Then use a drill to secure the cushioned seat to the bench. If you want a more sophisticated look to match an upscale design theme and decor, place buttons about every five inches or so.

Accents

Bold patterns, large decorative pillows and fresh flowers can decoratively take your room to that next level. Installing wall-mounted lamps will not only give your room a 5-star feel, but it will create space on your nightstands for books, flowers or picture frames. Also, make over your wall space by placing a graphic quilt or wallpaper on one wall as an accent. In a small room, hang a mirror above the bed to make the room appear larger.

Some people move their furniture around every other week. Others never do it. I actually do move my furniture around, but I don’t do it often, maybe every few years.

Have you noticed when you move things around, it feels like a brand new room? Just moving things around, without buying new furniture, can make a world of difference to your room.

I love watching those room designer shows where they have 2 ladies come in and just move things around and make the room look 100% better than it did before.

I’m in awe of the people who have the vision to be able to do that and make it look so wonderful. Alas, I wasn’t born with those skills. But being an artist, I have learned some things that can carry over in room design.

There are some words to keep in mind when designing where you want your furniture to go.

Balance

The most important word to keep in mind when you arranging your furniture is BALANCE. The room should look balanced. You don’t want it to be lopsided by having too much furniture along one wall, and hardly anything in the other parts of the room. It will look like a sinking ship. You want it to be pleasing to the eye.

Function

The second word to keep in mind is FUNCTIONALITY. Is the furniture in the best place for what it will be used for? Is it easy to maneuver around it?

Size

In the case of furniture, SIZE matters. If you have over sized pieces in a small room, it’s going to feel crowded and uncomfortable.

Amount

Another word to keep in mind is AMOUNT. Have you ever been in a room that just had too many pieces in it? How did you feel? I feel claustrophobic in rooms like that.

Look at your room objectively. What pieces do you absolutely need? For a living room, it would probably be a couch, an entertainment center or television, one or two chairs, maybe a few small end tables and possibly a coffee table. If your room is small, you really don’t need a coffee table. Specially if you have end tables. If you have more furniture than this, unless it’s a huge room, it’s probably too much and unnecessary.

from apocketfulofblue.blogspot.com

Remove a few pieces that are not really needed and notice how much more open and bigger your room looks.

When designing your room, your largest piece of furniture is the anchor. It’s the piece that other pieces will be arranged around. This piece is usually the sofa or possibly the entertainment center. If you have 2 large pieces such as a large entertainment center, or shelving unit, and a sofa, they should be opposite of each other to balance each other out.

If you don’t want the room to look too boxy, and the room is big enough, pull a few pieces away from the wall. If your sofa is against the wall, have a chair angled across from the sofa, but not against the wall. This will add some interest to the room and help the balance of it too.

After you have your furniture in it’s new positions, walk around it and see if you are knocking into anything. Think about how your kids run through the room. Are there accidents waiting to happen? Think about the flow of the room. Imagine your family walking through this room and into the room itself. Is anything blocked? Are they going to feel like they went through a maze just to get where they are going? Adjust as needed.

If you are lucky enough to have a large living room, you can actually have separate sections. Maybe one for watching television, and a corner reading area.

After you have everything the way you want it, live with it a few days and see how it feels. You may need to make a few adjustments before you get it exactly the way you want it.

Happy decorating!

Delight in the freedom of design by adding personality to your home. The power of attraction begins with charm so scatter it throughout your world. Want some original ways to create a charming living environment for you and your loved ones?

Trim the Curtains

Love a fabric and/or pattern but can’t afford to do all of your house’s window treatments or window blinds in it? House Beautiful suggests making it a trim and sewing it to neutral curtains (or having someone do this for you). You’ve got this totally unique faded burnt orange that blends perfectly with your couch trim, but the fabric is Harlequin (fancy and expensive). What do you do? Make a two to four inch wide border and voila, you’ve got fancy and expensive curtains (*wink*).

Charmed, I’m Sure

Do not be shy to incorporate actual charms into your home. And by charms I mean any of the unique decorations you’ve picked up along your life’s journey. Hang your Chinese long-life wall plaque proudly in your kitchen as a reminder that eating better leads to living a longer life. Put up your New York City Ballet wall poster in the music room as a tribute to the graceful dancers that enlighten your holidays every year. Hang your crystal collection in front of a window so the light can shine through to create little rainbows across your wall and ceiling as the sun sets. Add a plant to soften any look.

Create an Indoor Garden

There couldn’t be much more charming than adding natural elements into your home. Humans are about 70 percent water so it’s only fitting to bring the earth, water, air and fire inside. Plants help purify the air. Apartmenttherapy suggests you bring in a garden by filling pots with plants and flowers. Mix shapes, colors and textures of both plant and pot to make any space your own little sanctuary. Use salvaged wood or fill wine crates with dirt for a weathered garden container. A window nook is an ideal spot for your plants to thrive in the sunlight and sleep during the night.

Some suggestions:

• Spruce and groom your little guys. By keeping them healthy and clean, they’ll be shiny and luxurious.
• Use a mirror to reflect light if you’ve placed your plants in a darker space.
• If you are known to forget about your plants, consider ivy or cacti as these live with little water and maintenance.
• If you are known to over-water plants, tlc.com suggests you try parlor palms or tropical flowers and plants.

Stack Books and Old-World Luggage

So many books, so little time. What to do with all the books? Stack them and create a side table. Stack them on a weathered-wood vintage chair that sits against a wall as a decoration. They can add height and width, unique color and texture. And, if you are in “relax and read” mode, they are kept handy and accessible. Stack ‘em high and stack ‘em proud.

Old-World luggage can give a vintage yet industrial look to your room, as well. Antique suitcases add classic charm to any space. Stack them as a coffee table or simply beside the arm of your couch and use them as a side table. Much like books, utilize them to add height and character.

Mix Design Elements

Open your front door to a pleasing, eclectic den of mixed details. Try vintage-modern by marrying weathered retro with polished geometry. Mix romanticism with steel or integrate a touch of cubism into your traditional decor.

Tiffany Graham

Tiffany is a writer who is passionate about sustainable living. She is a design consultant who helps homeowners incorporate “green” living into their daily lives.

It is surprisingly easy to find yourself with a super packed schedule. If you are a parent, this basically goes without saying: there is almost always something that you should be doing. Whether you are picking up your children from soccer practice, getting a hot and healthy dinner on the table, or being productive at your office, you probably find yourself with little time to spare. That often means that the things you would like to be doing, but do not necessarily need to be doing, fall to the wayside. Home décor can often be one of these things. But having an updated, comfortable, and clean home can seriously improve your quality of life. So if you like decorating your home, find the time to do it! And if you only have a very small amount of time, consider starting with your bedroom. Your bedroom is where you sleep, where you get most comfortable, where you go for total relaxation. So indulge yourself and make your bedroom beautiful. Below are some popular bedroom décor trends for 2013.

Décor Tip #1 – Finally try some feng-shui!

You have probably heard of feng-shui before, but maybe you never tried it. 2013 is a great time to start, especially if you have been feeling a little bit stressed lately. Feng-shui is the practice of putting the furniture and other objects in a room in a way that creates a positive energy, also known as a “chi” in the room. The idea is to bring in the following elements: earth, water, wood, metal and fire. Try incorporating some natural elements like plants, which actually remove toxins from the air, thereby purifying it for your health, or adding some wood, which is known to bring out your creativity, flexibility, and strength. Mirrors work well too because they reflect light into shady areas, improving the room’s energy.

Décor Tip #2 – Create your own private relaxation retreat.

If you have the opportunity to do a complete remodel of your bedroom, consider making the space reminiscent of a relaxing retreat. One leading designer and builder from the Hamptons, Jeffrey Collé, said “More than ever, homeowners are seeking open, spacious bedrooms with cathedral ceilings, large his-and-hers walk-in closets and bigger master bathrooms, complete with double sinks, vanity televisions (for him) and televisions near the bathtub (for her).” A colleague of his, Elizabeth Noack of Faulkner Design Group, echoed Collé’s sentiments.  “Lighting is key in bedrooms,” said Noack. “Life is so busy for everyone now and even at home the chaos ensues. The bedroom has become a retreat for people to come home to. It’s a place to feel quiet, serene and peaceful. Of all the rooms in your home, the bedroom is usually the biggest reflection of yourself. It’s where you want to feel the most safe and peaceful.”

Décor Tip #3 – Go green – in more ways than one!

People care about the environment more than ever and there is no reason not to incorporate that eco-friendly consciousness into your bedroom décor. There are a lot of ways to do this. If you’re repainting (more on that in a minute), choose environmentally friendly paint that is free of chemicals and other pollutants and toxins. If you are updating your bedding, choose something made of organic materials. These are also free of dangerous chemicals that you can breathe in. On top of “going green” in the environmental sense, 2013 is also the year for the color green. Look for cool greens, not “granny apple greens.” Emerald greens and dark forest greens are great options on the other side of the green color spectrum.

Décor Tip #4 – Go modern and sleek, like a hotel.

If you have been to a fancy hotel lately (lucky you!) then you may have noticed the minimalist, sleek décor in the bedroom. Try to think of this as inspiration for your bedroom. Get rid of the wall-to-wall carpeting if you can and replace it with hardwood floors. It might sound crazy, but a lot of people are even adding mini-bars to their bedrooms. You don’t need to stock it with alcohol – just your favorite snacks and drinks! Add some sleek lamps to your matching, modern bedside tables.

About the writer: Michelle Lim writes about modern décor and bedroom décor ideas for Chicago Luxury Beds. Michelle enjoys relaxing at home working on home décor projects for her home when she’s not writing.