10 Ways to Transform a Boring Bedroom

Show Your Artistic Side

Are your walls empty stretches of white? Although few people forget to hang artwork in the living room, its decorating impact is often overlooked when it comes to the bedroom. Go ahead and hang your favorite painting, print, poster, quilt, or collection of family photos on the wall over your headboard, or on whichever bedroom wall has the most open space. You’ll get an immediate dose of interest. Feeling ambitious? Combine multiple pieces to create a stunning gallery wall. 

Highlight a Great Headboard

A great looking headboard turns even the most plain-Jane bedroom into something special. Just look at the example shown here—an attractive, but ho-hum neutral bedroom gets a huge style lift from the gorgeous upholstered headboard. In an otherwise neutral bedroom, a striking headboard can add just the touch of interest and contrast that's needed.

One of the easiest ways to show off your creativity and personality in the bedroom with a repurposed or DIY headboard.

Add Metallic Elements

A little bit of bling adds excitement to your favorite outfit, and it’s no different in the bedroom. A few touches of shine, whether from glass, metallic surfaces, or reflective embellishments, such as the sequins on the throw pillow shown here, go a long way to dispelling the doldrums. Warm metallics, particularly gold, are riding especially high on the style charts right now, but if you prefer the cool tones of silver or chrome, go right ahead and add a touch to your bedroom. Take care, however, because a little bit of shine is a good thing but too much metal can be overwhelming.

Choose Colorful Throw Pillows

Neutrals are soothing, but a bedroom without any contrast is boring. Not to fear— you can add a touch of color just by adding a few bright throw pillows to your bed. The dazzling beauties shown here are perfect for an Indian-inspired bedroom, but whatever your decorating style, you’ll find colorful throw pillows to match at HomeGoods, Target, or bed and bath shops. As a general rule, your bed will look best with three throw pillows that coordinate (they don’t have to match perfectly) in color, style or design.

Update Your Lighting

Is your bedroom ceiling adorned with nothing more spectacular than a lightbulb encased in a frosted glass bowl? Boring! Swap out your dull ceiling fixture for something spectacular. Even if you change nothing else in your bedroom, a bold ceiling fixture gives the space immediate panache. And there are nearly endless styles to choose from, or you can even make your own pendant light, so you are sure to find something you love.

Start an Indoor Garden

When it’s time to liven up the bedroom, you can’t go wrong with something alive. Houseplants not only add color, contrast, and natural appeal, they also help to purify your bedroom air. Even if your thumb isn’t green, you can grow easy plants like pothos, Chinese evergreen, or dracaena.

Create an Accent Wall

Pow! An accent wall at the head of your bed is a surefire cure for the bedroom blahs. There are many ways to create an accent wall. When painting, go bright, go dark, go strong—just choose a color that you love, and tie the look together with a throw pillow or two in the same hue. For even more impact, add a stenciled design to the wall or removable wallpaper. 

Update Your Bedding

Your bedding is one of the most important factors in setting your bedroom’s mood and style, so if you’ve been making do with nothing more than a boring blanket, it’s time to switch things up. Take a walk on the wild side with an animal print comforter to spice up an otherwise traditional room. If that’s a little too wild for your tastes, choose bedding in whatever style you love, whether it’s rustic country, sleek contemporary or something in between. Remember, though, to look for a strong pattern or color if you want to bring your bedroom to life.

Find a Pretty Bedside Lamp

Every bed needs a bedside lamp, so why not choose one that’s something special? You can find lamps relatively inexpensively, which offers a great way to add a quick touch of interest to your bedroom without breaking your budget. You can find high-impact, wake-up-a-boring-bedroom choices in most furniture shops, discount department stores, or even at second-hand stores such as Goodwill, if you’re lucky.

Swap Out Your Rug

Floors are frequently forgotten when it comes to decorating. Covered with neutral carpeting or wood, your bedroom floor is merely utilitarian, not a decorating asset. But add a strongly patterned or colored area rug, and suddenly your bedroom floor says “This room is anything but boring.” For proof, check out the striped black-and-white rug shown here, and imagine the bedroom without it.