DIY Cozy Cottage Inspired Main Bedroom Makeover

A beautiful DIY cottagecore inspired bedroom transformation.

I gave our dark bedroom a beautiful, cottage decor inspired makeover with a bunch of fun DIY projects!

When I first started working on our bedroom years ago, I kept the dark tray ceiling "mood" we created going and continued the gray down to the walls:

We loved how cozy it was, but I quickly realized the dark gray was hindering my decor choices. I wanted to brighten and neutralize the space, but didn't want to remove the wallpaper in the process.

For one, we still really like the gray grasscloth wallpaper, and two...well it would have been a HUGE project to remove all of that and/or replace it. Nope, not today. :)

So I wanted to work with what I had -- the wallpaper and chair rail I installed a few years back. I love all of our furniture and the rug, so I knew those would stay.

Almost everything got new DIY/decor touches and oh my...this turned out to be one of my favorite makeovers ever!

I'll share a list of all of the products in this space at the bottom of the post.

Tongue and groove shiplap walls

I started out by covering up the dark color (Westchester Gray by Sherwin-Williams) on the bottom portion of the walls. I used a tongue and groove shiplap, installed vertically:

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I've slowly been replacing the baseboards around the house, so I installed new ones in here while I was at it.

I felt like the chair rail still needed something, so I later added a strip of the backband trim (that I used on our windowsills in here) to the top of the railing:

It was the perfect finishing touch! Check out that linked tongue and groove project post to see pics and more details of that trim.

Here's that same spot now:

grasscloth wallpaper with vertical shiplap

New neutral/lighter drapes

Next up was replacing the dark drapes. I have to have absolute DARKNESS when I sleep, so they had to be blackout curtains.

I found these blackout linen looking drapes online and did my pleat tape trick to make the curtains look more custom and professional. I also added a "leading edge" to one side of the drapes with some striped ribbon:

This is a little detail I remembered from my decorating days...it adds a little bit of a custom touch to store- bought drapes.

The drapes made a HUGE difference in here! Let there be light! :)

I only used one curtain on each window by the bed, instead of two like before. This definitely "lightened" the room -- all of that dark fabric before was really weighing it down.

Painting furniture

Next up was the dresser makeover that I had been thinking about for years. I adore the lines of this vintage dresser, but it had an orangish tone that I didn't care for:

So I transformed it with some paint! I shared how to paint furniture without sanding here:

I also shared how I cleaned that brass hardware and made it shine again. I love that beautiful green (Jasper by Sherwin-Williams) with the brass:

Small DIY updates

With the big projects out of the way, I could focus on the smaller ones. I shared how I recovered this bench with a rug last year:

The color was blending in too much for my liking (and one of our cats LOVED this fabric and destroyed it with her claws), so I found a scrap of this cute checked fabric at Calico Corners and recovered it again:

I also built a wood frame around the TV for a decorative touch:

It's such a small thing, but it adds so much character to this space!

I painted our IKEA dressers-turned-nightstands a couple years ago, and they work perfectly with the room redo:

New cozy bedding

The only new "decor" was the new bedding, and most of it was from Target. I LOVE the neutral floral sheets with the green duvet cover:

The euro covers were online finds -- these are my favorite pillow covers I've found on Amazon! They are so pretty.

All of the DIYs took about five weeks to complete. The tongue and groove treatment on the wall took the longest and was the biggest expense, but made the biggest impact for sure.

Here's a look at the room with the dark gray accents before:

And here's that view now:

Another before and after of this dresser and TV wall:

I tried to add some color to this room before, but it never felt right:

The room now, with the Loloi rug that I brought up from the basement:

It has green and a little bit of blue in it and is SO lovely.

I added a white frame around that artwork above the bed to beef it up a little bit...it looks so much better:

As you can see...the cats LOVE this room. 😊 They've always napped in here, but do so more than ever now:

Here are a few more random pics of the space:

We love love LOVE how it turned out. It's still as cozy as ever (so pretty with the lights dimmed at night!), but also fresh and pretty.

It turned out even better than I imagined. I find myself spending more of my day in here...folding laundry or whatever. It's such a lovely room.

I hope some of these DIY ideas inspire you to try one in your home!

Here's a source list of the items in our bedroom. Let me know if I forgot anything:

Rug
Bamboo light fixture
Tissue box cover
Euro pillow covers
Wavy rattan tray
Brass light sconce by mirror
Black out curtains
Similar floor lamp (mine is no longer available)
Rattan wall sconces
Knit blanket on chair
Lumbar pillow on bed
Duvet cover
Floral sheet set
Basket with plant
Floor mirror
Upholstered bed headboard and frame

See more of our home and shop items in each room here.

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Comments

JennibellMarch 28, 2024 at 6:34 AM
It’s funny that this would be one of the first posts I read this morning… When I woke up and looked around, I thought, “a goal for me this spring is to refresh the space”.
So many good ideas here! If I do it (big “if” - you know, best laid plans and all) THIS will be my inspiration :)
willowbird35March 28, 2024 at 9:14 AM
It looks so bright now, Sarah. I love it! I have considered going with green for spring this year in bedding in our master bedroom. I love yours! My cats also love napping in our room during the day - and the dogs! I have to keep that in mind when I pick out bedding. No whites or creams. The dogs ruin it the first time it rains and gets muddy outside! Great to see new content on your blog too! I miss all your DIY's!
AnonymousMarch 28, 2024 at 6:51 PM
You've worked hard and it shows; a lovely master suite.
AnonymousMarch 29, 2024 at 12:17 AM
Can you please link the source for that cute little projecting light on the wicker tray on the dresser?
AnonymousMarch 30, 2024 at 5:36 AM
Love your refresh. Your wall vertical shiplap have my wheels spinning for a space around my house. Thanks for that 😜

If you have a specific question I will do my best to answer you back here!

You can find our paint colors and links to items at the "Our Home" tab at the top of my site.

THANKS so much for reading!

Thrifty Decor Chick | Thrifty DIY, Decor and Organizing

DIY Cozy Cottage Inspired Main Bedroom Makeover