Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, and some pieces Jennie has shared came from brand partnerships, including gifted products or paid collaborations. Our full disclosure.
To refresh a bedroom in a weekend, work in order of impact: clear and reset the room, change the bedding's color story, warm up the lighting, make sure the rug is big enough, then hang art at the right height. The bed is the largest surface in the room, so changing what's on it does the most with the least effort.
A bedroom refresh doesn't have to mean new furniture or a new paint color. Most bedrooms that feel tired are missing a few basics, not a whole new look. The five changes below are ordered so the first ones make the biggest difference, which means you can stop at any point and still see a real change.
1. Clear the room and reset
Before you change anything, take things away. Clear the nightstands down to what you actually use, clear the top of the dresser, and take everything off the bed except the sheets.
Then put things back with a little structure:
- Nightstands: a lamp, one or two books, and one small object or a plant. Leave space to set down a glass of water.
- Dresser: group objects in odd numbers and vary the heights, such as a stack of books, a vase, and a framed photo.
- Under the bed and in corners: clear anything that's visible from the door. A clear floor makes a room feel larger and calmer.
This step is free and often makes the biggest difference of all.
2. Change the color story on the bed
Because the bed takes up so much visual space, the bedding sets the color story for the whole room. Changing the top layer, usually the duvet cover, quilt, or coverlet, is the fastest way to make a bedroom feel new.
The two photos below show the same bed, wall, sconces, and nightstands with two different colorways. Nothing else changed, but the room reads very differently: cooler and calmer in navy, warmer and richer in burgundy.
A few things make a color change work:
- Keep one constant. In both photos, the pillows in front stay in the same family of patterns. Keeping some pieces the same makes a swap look intentional.
- Pull a color from the room. Choose a bedding color that already appears somewhere nearby, such as in a rug, art, or wood tones.
- Match the season if you like. Deeper colors like burgundy, rust, and forest green feel cozy in fall and winter. Lighter colors, linen-like textures, and whites feel fresh in spring and summer.
- Add texture, not just color. A quilted layer, a knit throw, or a mix of pillow patterns adds depth that a single flat color can't.
If you'd rather not commit to a color, a neutral palette like the one above relies on texture instead: layered cream and taupe, a chunky knit, and soft pillows in a few different weaves.
In a paid Quince partnership post, Jennie described the approach this way: “My favorite bedding formula is mixing different textures, layering fluffy duvets and quilts, and adding oversized pillows to get that cozy, luxury hotel bed look without spending a fortune.” For color ideas for the colder months, see Warm Winter Bedding Colors.
Quince
Swapping the duvet cover is the fastest color change. This Quince linen duvet cover appears in 50 of Jennie's looks.
Quince
A quilted layer adds the texture a flat color can't. Her most-linked Quince quilt, in 60 looks.
3. Warm up the lighting
Lighting changes how every other part of the room looks, and it's one of the easiest things to update.
- Use warm bulbs. For bedrooms, bulbs labeled around 2700K give a warm, soft light. Cooler bulbs, 4000K and up, feel more like an office.
- Add light at bed level. A bedroom lit only from the ceiling feels flat. Bedside lamps or wall sconces add light where you actually use it.
- Check the lamp height. A common guideline is for the bottom of the lamp shade to sit around shoulder height when you're sitting up in bed, so the light falls on your book and not in your eyes.
- Use dimmers where you can. Plug-in dimmers and smart bulbs make it easy to lower the light in the evening.
Wall sconces, like the swing-arm ones shown above, free up nightstand space. Plug-in versions are an option when there's no wiring in the wall.
Wayfair
The wall sconce Jennie links most, in 135 of her looks. Check the product page for mounting and wiring details before you buy.
4. Make sure the rug is big enough
A rug that's too small makes a bed look like it's floating. The standard rule is a rug that extends 18 to 24 inches past each side of the bed, which usually means an 8 x 10 under a queen and a 9 x 12 under a king. Most people start the rug a few inches in front of the nightstands.
Our Rug Size Guide covers every bed size in more detail.
Wayfair
From the Amber Lewis x Loloi Morgan collection, the rug family Jennie links most.
If your rug is too small and a new one isn't in the plan, try moving the rug toward the foot of the bed, or add a runner on each side instead.
5. Hang art at the right height
Art above the bed finishes the wall, but it needs to be the right size and height.
- Width: a common guideline is art that is about two-thirds the width of the headboard or bed.
- Height: hang it so the bottom of the frame is about 6 to 10 inches above the top of the headboard.
- Pairs and groups: treat a pair or a group of frames as one piece and use the same measurements for the whole arrangement.
If you don't have the right piece yet, leaving the wall empty is better than hanging something too small. A tall headboard can carry the wall on its own.
Shop this look
The bedding, lighting and rugs from this guide, all from Jennie's LTK. Current prices and sizes are on each retailer's page.
Frequently asked questions
What's the cheapest way to refresh a bedroom? Clear and reset the room, then change the bulbs. Both cost little or nothing, and together they change how the whole room feels.
What should I change first, the bedding or the paint? Start with the bedding. It's faster, easier to undo, and it sets the color story for the room. If you still want to paint afterward, the bedding will help you choose the color.
How can I change my bedding without buying a whole new set? Change only the top layer and the front pillows. Keep the sheets and the back pillows neutral so they work with any color you add.
What color bulbs are best for a bedroom? Warm white, around 2700K, is the usual choice for a bedroom because it feels softer and more relaxing than cooler light.
The short version
Start by taking things away, then let the bed do the heavy lifting with a new color story. Warm up the lighting, check that the rug is big enough, and hang art at the right height. A weekend is plenty of time to make a bedroom feel new.
For a seasonal version of this room, see A Christmas Bedroom With Wreaths, Garland and Green Velvet, or browse real rooms on Shop the Look and every linked piece in the Shop.
Have a room question or a topic you would like us to cover? Get in touch through our contact page.
