How To Plan A Bedroom Makeover

*This post was made possible by Loloi. All opinions are my own.

Call me crazy, but I’ve got another bedroom makeover to share with you today! I’ve redesigned our main bedroom countless times over the past six years, and I think the reason comes down to the simple fact that I love change. I was going to blame it on the fact that I’m not a professional designer, but that’s not really a good excuse. I no longer believe that you have to be a professionally trained interior designer to create a home that you love, and one that looks well thought out, too. I think anyone can do it, but if you’re struggling to figure out how to pull it off, I’m sharing my process for planning a bedroom makeover below.

For me, it’s always absolutely essential to create a mood board. I actually started this makeover process just winging it, and it was a disaster. I rearranged the space, put new bedding (that we already owned) on the bed, and hung a bunch of random art that we had in storage. I stepped back expecting the room to look like the perfect pulled-together space that I had in my head, and was immediately disappointed. Sometimes these types of “fly by the seat of your pants” makeovers can surprise you by working out, but not in this case. I needed to begin again, and I needed to get organized.

My typical makeover process kicks off with a digital mood board, so I started over in this case by grabbing my laptop. I make these boards in Photoshop, but you can just drag product images into a new project in Canva, or even just use whatever word document software you have. I’ve also made them in Instagram Stories (without publishing them) since I can create a white background, then copy/paste product images onto the screen, and move them around with ease. Whatever program you use, just save product images online, and pop them onto a white background so you can play around with things until it feels right. You can see the one I made for this main bedroom makeover above.

When I say that I “grab product images online,” what I mean is that I scour the web looking for look-a-like products to match the foundation pieces we already have for the room that I know won’t be changing—things like our bed frame, two dressers, table lamps, plants, etc. I rarely do a full “gut job” renovation on any room since we have a meager budget, at best, so I need to start my mood board by establishing the collection we already have that we’ll be reusing.

After finding those items and putting them in the mood board, I can start considering the new pieces. Of course there are going to be some new pieces in any room redo, so this second phase is all about picking and choosing the right ones to use. By already having the board filled with your existing décor, you’re able to see almost instantly if the new things you’re considering will “go.” It makes the process so much easier from a visual standpoint, and this process also allows you to make much more informed decisions about the new items you’ll be investing in.

The first new piece that I added to my mood board was the rug. I knew that I wanted to include the Loloi II Margot MAT-03 area rug in the space, so that went on the mood board next to help inspire the rest of the new items I would pick out for the room. This rug is the perfect addition to our space because it’s not overly colorful, but has just enough personality to make the room come alive. The blush and rust colors in the pattern on the rug helped bridge the gap between the lighter wood tones in the flooring, and our darker wood furniture, while the shades of blue and gray in the rug tie back to the existing 3/4 wall color on the back wall and our table lamps (which I didn’t plan to change).

With the rug chosen, I could turn my attention to just a couple of other new accents that would make the room feel refreshed for fall. You might remember the DIY abstract art piece I shared about here on the blog the other day? Well, that was directly inspired by the colors in the rug, and helped fill the open space above John’s dresser. As for the other wall, I decided to go extra bold with wallpaper! I haven’t used wallpaper all that often in our house, especially not in a full wall application, but I decided to go for it this time. I love that the polka dot paper I bought was super affordable (the whole wall cost about $170), and although the pattern is fairly bold, the color palette isn’t, so it doesn’t overpower the room.

Resources: Area rug, wallpaper, white bedding, neutral framed art print, table lamp, curtain panels, drapery rods, bed frame, nightstands, leather pouf, floor planter (similar), faux yucca plant, DIY abstract painting, low dresser, tall dresser, ceiling fan (similar), gold table lamp, white paint color, gray/green paint color, mobile

After I had the wallpaper, new Loloi rug, and piece of abstract art added to my mood board so I could see everything together at once, I felt officially comfortable enough to start making my purchases and getting to work. I was able to hang the wallpaper on my own one Saturday evening (and one Sunday morning) last month, and then I started thinking about the rest of the walls.

One thing I hadn’t been totally sure about in the mood board was the wall color. Did I want to repaint my 3/4 feature wall back to white, or leave it as is? I decided to hang the wallpaper and then decide, and I’m glad I did. I ended up loving the way the wallpaper looked when hung right up against the gray/green wall (the color is “Day-To-Day” from Magnolia Home). The paint color, again, speaks to the tones in the area rug, and it also helps our pair of vintage bedside lamps pop.

The rug was actually the very last thing to arrive for the room, but I didn’t have to worry about it not working because I had my mood board to allay any fears. I knew it was going to come together in the end, and it really did! Oh, and the rug really is a dream, by the way. It was absolutely worth the wait. It’s part of a brand new launch that Loloi released just this month, and is the softest version yet of their printed area rugs. It feels like a chenille blanket to the touch, but is still super cleanable. It has held up really well despite our cats and our own constant foot traffic. I love sinking my toes into it every morning. Couldn’t recommend it more!

I hope it was helpful to learn a little more about my process redesigning a space! The secret comes down to the simple process of making a mood board to start. Every time I’ve tried skipping that step, I regret it, so don’t make the same mistake if you want to come away with a room that feels cohesive and cozy. Which room is next on your makeover list?

*I earn a small percentage from purchases made using the affiliate links above. Affiliate links are not sponsored. Rest assured that I never recommend products we wouldn’t use or don’t already love ourselves.