Small Bedroom Makeover on a Budget — Before & After

The Starting Point — Before

When we moved into our Virginia home, this room was a bright green playroom — chalkboard wall, shelves floor to ceiling, toys everywhere. It was being used resourcefully, but it was supposed to be the primary bedroom. My job was to turn it back into exactly that, without spending a lot of money to do it. This is the full before and after of that small bedroom makeover — every product is linked and I’ll tell you exactly what I’d do again and what I wouldn’t.

All in, this room came together for well under $1,000 — most of the big pieces were Amazon finds and some Walmart nightstands I probably wouldn’t buy again (more on that below).

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Choosing the Paint: Sherwin Williams Alabaster

As usual, there was a ton of work to do before everything was ready to be painted, but I decided on Sherwinn WIlliams Alabaster in the eggshell finish for the walls and a bright white gloss for the window trim. This room is pretty small so I really wanted to use paint and light to really brighten up this space and make it feel cozy but fresh.

Before and After Small Bedroom Makeover

This was a budget bedroom makeover so for furnishings, I wanted to keep them minimal but I needed each thing to serve a specific purpose. The basket wall over the bed makes my heart sing with it’s boho vibes, and I think the neutral bedroom decor and texture really went a long way in keeping the room from feeling to cold or sparse.

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The Bed, Bedding & Soft Furnishings

The bed frame, headboard and mattress are all from Zinus. We use these beds everywhere and love them! They are so sturdy and provide loads of underbed storage. And if you need to move them, you’ll be sooooo happy that you got them- they are so easy to put up and take down- and no squeaking! We’ve long been converts of the Zinus mattresses and we’ve used them for years in multiple houses. The Green Tea Memory Foam sleeps like a dream and having it delivered right to your door (at a fraction of the cost) is the height of convenience for a mattress purchase.

The bedding is all linked. I can highly recommend all of it for quality as well as price. The 100% percale cotton sheets are 👌 and the duvet cover is cotton that looks like linen ( this is the “tannish linen grey” color)- when paired with this cotton waffle blanket it’s all so soft and comfortable. The large knit throw blanket really added the texture and extra warmth I was looking for.

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The nightstands were a Walmart purchase. While I like the look (and price)of them, they were really difficult to put together and I probably wouldn’t purchase them again. The textured bedside lamps are really beautiful and the neutral color was perfect at an affordable price for the pair.

To “soften” the room a little more I added this white rug. Highly impractical if you have pets (Winston loved it!) but it really pulled the room together and the rug itself was good quality for the price (6’7″ x 9’4″ under $100!) and I did put a rug pad under it.

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Storage Solutions for a Small Primary Bedroom

I opted for this bench at the end of the bed. I feel like you have to have something to toss a robe onto or to sit to put on shoes, etc. It’s an excellent piece and was a great price point as well. I like that we could also place a basket or 2 under it for a little more storage.

This room has a wall closet, so instead of a dresser to go in the room, I opted to put this small white dresser inside the closet. It provided us with the drawer space, without the clutter in the room itself. A few over-the-door hooks is a great way to add a little more functional space to this bedroom.

The large leaner mirror added a little more light to bounce around the room as well as being functional as a …..well, a mirror, lol. I went back and forth on adding sheer window coverings but ultimately decided against it and we just kept these bright white blinds.

As for the few decor pieces, I really love pampas grass in a tall vase to soften things in a room. I also find that small trays on our bedside are essential, as well as a diffuser to keep the room smelling nice but not overwhelming. And if you have tissue boxes you NEED these covers (they come in lots of colors).

The Basket Wall — How I Did It and Where to Find the Baskets

The basket wall is hands down the most asked-about thing in this room, and honestly it was one of the easiest and most affordable parts of the whole makeover. If you’ve been thinking about doing one, let me walk you through exactly how I approached it.

The concept

The idea behind a basket wall is simple — you’re essentially creating a gallery wall, but with woven baskets and decorative plates instead of frames. The organic shapes and natural textures add warmth to a room in a way that art prints just don’t, and the neutral tones work in almost any colour palette. It’s also very forgiving — there’s really no wrong arrangement.

How to arrange it

Start with your largest basket or plate in the centre and work outward. Lay everything out on the floor first and photograph it before you put a single nail in the wall — this saves so much frustration. You’re looking for a mix of sizes, shapes and textures rather than matching pieces. The variation is what makes it look collected and intentional rather than bought-as-a-set.

A good rule of thumb: odd numbers of pieces look more natural than even. Mine has a mix of woven baskets, decorative plates and a few rattan pieces in varying sizes. I kept the palette in natural tones — beige, tan, dark brown, black — which kept it cohesive without being matchy.

What to look for when buying

You don’t need to spend a lot. My exact wall was from Etsy. Here are some other sources as well:

• Amazon has a surprisingly good selection —This one is affordable and very similar to mine. Look for sets that give you multiple sizes so you have flexibility in your arrangement.
• I love this one on Wayfair. Type “Basket Wall Decor” into the search and there are some for every budget and wall size.
• World Market and HomeGoods are worth checking in person if you have one nearby — you can feel the quality and see the actual colour
• Thrift stores and TJ Maxx can be gold for this if you have the time.

Look for variation in weave pattern and texture within the same neutral colour family. Mixing a tightly woven basket with a more open rattan piece and a decorative plate creates visual depth.

The whole wall cost me under $100 and it genuinely makes the room. Of everything in this bedroom makeover, the basket wall gets the most comments — and it’s probably the thing I’d do again first.

Tips for Making a Small Bedroom Feel Bigger

Small bedrooms are actually one of my favourite decorating challenges — the constraints force you to be intentional about every single choice, and that usually leads to a better result than a room where you can just keep adding things.

Here’s what genuinely made a difference in this room:

*Use paint and light before you buy a single thing

This is the one I’d tell everyone first. Before any furniture went into this room, the paint alone transformed it. I used Sherwin Williams Alabaster in eggshell on the walls and bright white gloss on the window trim — and the room immediately felt twice as large. If you’re working with a small bedroom, start here. It costs a fraction of what furniture costs and does more work than almost anything else.

*Keep furniture minimal and purposeful

Every piece in a small bedroom needs to earn its place. I chose a bed frame with significant under-bed storage, skipped a dresser in the room entirely (it lives inside the wall closet instead), and only added a bench and two nightstands. Resist the urge to fill corners — negative space in a small room reads as breathing room, not emptiness.

*Use a mirror to bounce light

The leaner mirror opposite the window was one of the best decisions in this room. It reflects both natural light and the view, which effectively doubles the sense of space. In a small bedroom, a large mirror does more visual work than almost any other single piece.

*Choose a light, neutral rug

A white or light rug that runs under the bed and extends out on both sides visually expands the floor space and grounds the room without making it feel heavy. I went with a 6’7″ x 9’4″ — larger than I initially thought I needed — and it was the right call. Bigger rugs almost always make a room feel larger, not smaller.

*Add texture instead of color

In a small room, too many colours compete and visually shrink the space. Instead of adding colour I added texture — the waffle blanket, the knit throw, the basket wall, the pampas grass. Layering textures in a neutral palette gives the room warmth and visual interest without the chaos that multiple colours create in a tight space.

*Let the walls do the decorating

The basket wall above the bed is my favorite thing in this room — it adds significant visual impact without taking up any floor space at all. In a small bedroom, vertical wall space is your best friend. Go up, not out.

How do you like this small bedroom makeover? I enjoyed this project a lot and really love the end result.I love seeing decor ideas and different ways to freshen up a space that doesn’t cost a lot of $$. Thanks so much for reading and let me know what you think about this decor style and this small bedroom makeover.

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