10 Apartment Bedroom Decor Ideas to Try

You stare at your apartment bedroom again, and you think — why does it look like a 90s sad little hotel room? Believe me I have been there. Why Working in Your Bedroom is a Bad Idea When a bedroom feels like a place where you doubt the validity of your life every morning, then you have your problem.

I have wasted far too many weekends doing tiny space makeovers (and I will tell you conjured bedroom in my first apartment was an understatement), and I have learned that stellar bedroom decor does not correlate to a huge budget or picture-perfect place. It is about making intelligent decisions that accommodate and represent your personality all the time maximizing every square inch you have.

Multi-Functional Furniture That Actually Works

Let’s discuss about the MVP of apartment living: multi-functional furniture. I think I know what you’re alluding too – things that do more for you than you do for yourself on a Monday morning.

Your new best friend is storage ottomans. I also got this beautiful velvet one last year that keeps all my spare bedding and also has a place to sit on when I am getting into shoes. And it also appears to be a lot more costly than it was (tell the guests, shh).

Platform beds that have a storage mechanism built-in are revolutionary. No longer will you have hidden things under your bed and smack fingers crossed that the visitors will not have a nose. Such beauties provide you with real drawers and compartments. Admittedly, they would be priced higher initially, but you will reduce costs spent on other storage options.

Multi-Functional Furniture That Actually Works

Have you ever had a floating nightstand? They don t occupy any floor space and you can fasten them at just the right height and since they fit well even in tiny spaces there is no reason to worry about this. I mounted my little higher than the conventional nightstands and it seems to give the room much spaciousness.

Statement Lighting Without Breaking the Bank

Apartment lights are awful typically – everyone knows this. Such builder-grade fixtures screams “I have given up life”, and your bedroom really does not deserve it.

Table lamps make ambiance immediately, and you need not deal with any electricians (who has time anyway?). This is an awesome brass reading lamp that I got at a thrift shop that cost me only $15, and has changed my night routine. The cozy feel of the warm glow removes the clinical feel of things.

Statement Lighting Without Breaking the Bank

Not anymore are string lights reserved in college dorms alone. You can even just drape some modern Edison bulb string lights around a headboard or up against a wall and the end result can be surprisingly sophisticated. Well, do at least have the good grace to XII- just tack them up, for heaven- no; gather your materials and think out your plan; then take five minutes to place them.

Fancy doing this? On both sides of your bed are pendant lights instead of conventional table lamps, and these save the space that the nightstand might have been eating up. They have plug-in versions that do not need to be hardwired and this is ideal to renters.

Lighting TypeBest ForPrice Range
Table LampsAmbient lighting, reading$25-$150
String LightsAccent lighting, cozy vibes$10-$50

Textile Magic: Layering Like a Pro

This is where you can truly make your area sing but not go bankrupt. Your secret weapon is also textiles to add character and comfort.

Your bed should be at least three layers in bedding, including sheets, lightweight cotton blanket or coverlet and a throw. Its not only looks (though it certainly looks more polished) it is practical. It is washable and you can temperature correct without your having to wash over your bed again.

Intentional mix of textures. Combine modern cotton by putting smooth cotton sheets with a chunky knit blanket and a velvet pillow. The juxtaposition makes everything more costly and styled. This is a trick I was taught by a friend who is a designer and this trick works every time.

Textile Magic: Layering Like a Pro

Make sure that you do not ignore the window treatments. You seriously need to do something about these rudimentary blinds. Even just the hanging of curtains can get your ceiling to look higher and windows to be bigger. TMI: put them up higher than you think is a good idea- trust me about this.

Gallery Walls That Don’t Look Like Chaos

Bedroom gallery walls can either look great, or like you chucked photos at the wall, crossed your fingers and hoped. I would spare you the latter.

Use one large piece and make this anchor. This might be a painting, mirror or a cloth. All the others are constructed to revolve around this point. One time I made the foolhardy mistake to begin with small pieces and this appeared like visual confetti – not cute.

Combine art forms: photography, prints, small mirrors perhaps even a floating shelf with small items. The trick here is to maintain a solid color scheme or scheme that is present throughout. My bedroom wall consists of mostly black and white, with some sprinkled of gold, but it is not a boring wall.

Gallery Walls That Don't Look Like Chaos

Do not nail anything into the wall without measuring and planning on how it should be done. As an initial process, cut paper templates of your frames and put these up with tape. Your security deposit will be grateful and you will not have to live with the unexpected holes where things did not go as planned.

Smart Storage Solutions That Don’t Scream “Storage”

A crammed bedroom is when you are trying to fit a puzzle with half of the pieces cut off. However, what I have learnt is this the finest storage is not the one that looks like a storage.

A gorgeous ladder shelf makes storage and a piece of decor. One may exhibit books, plants and decor as well as storing the day to day items in baskets on the rungs lower. It works, though it does not make your bedroom look like a warehouse.

Smart Storage Solutions That Don't Scream "Storage"

The unders of bed storage boxes are a no-brainer, but this is where you twist it; buy ones that are good looking. Often woven baskets or boxes covered with linen can be stored under your bed yet, they will not make you shudder in case someone glimpses it.

Wall-hanging shelves are magic, but, please, don\t hang them around indiscriminately. Choose purposeful vignettes by books, plants and small decorative items. Violent each shelf, a little work of art.

Color Schemes That Actually Work in Real Life

Forget what Pinterest is saying about all- white bedrooms. The coffee is spilled by real people and the life occurs in bedrooms. Select the colors you really will live with, and not just take pictures of once.

The accents of colour on neutral bases allow you a free choice. It is just seasonally, you can change out pillows and throws, and artwork but not redesign your entire room. I decided to go soft gray walls and white bedding, so that I could add personality through colorful artwork and a gorgeous mustard yellow throw.

The schemes in monochromatic schemes are sophisticatedly surprising. Select a single family of colors and follow a variety of shades and textures. Light blue details and white accents in navy bedroom combine relaxing effects with lack of dullness.

Color Schemes That Actually Work in Real Life

Small spaces should not be afraid of the darker color. And this is the opposite of everything you have likely been told, but a rich color can make a small bedroom feel warm and purposeful instead of tight. I have one accent wall in my small bedroom painted in very beautiful forest green, and it was doing wonders in the room as a backdrop to all the other pieces.

Plants That Won’t Die (Probably)

Come on, how honest you have been about your care for your plant? You want that lush, envy-it-on-Instagram bedroom jungle but you do also want plants that could live with your lifestyle.

Snake plants are pretty much unkillable and they are modern and architectural. They are suckers at low light and inconsistent watering. And, they are meant to also purportedly make the air better during sleep (a win-win).

The pothos is is your trailing plant fix. Use it on a top shelf or hanging basket and allow it to cascade. They are also quick-growing, forgiving of neglect, and even the cuttings allow you to fill other spaces in your room.

Plants That Won't Die (Probably)

But if you’re totally driven, a fiddle leaf fig is all kinds of statement. Warning: they’re diva’s and will tell you if they’re upset. But when they are happy they are simply stunning.

Mirrors: Your Space-Expanding Best Friend

Not to you-check your outfit by the mirror (which also matters)! Having mirrors in strategic areas will literally give you the impression that your bedroom is twice its normal size.

When facing windows, a large mirror will reflect natural light and the visuals outside by keeping your space light and airier. I also have a giant old mirror opposite my bedroom window and this is virtually a second window.

Your Space-Expanding Best Friend

Mirrored cabinet doors may seem old fashioned, however, when designed the findings modern, they can appear trim and svelte. In case you have a nightmare of mirrored doors that recalls the 80s-and you cannot do anything about them, cover them up with decorative film or high powered light direction.

It can also be multiple smaller mirrors but keep them the same family all round, all rectangular or vintage style. Haphazard shapes of mirrors simply do not look orderly.

Personal Touches That Matter

And here is where your bedroom turns into your own rather than a room in a hotel. It does not require any big or costly personal touches but maybe something that means something to you.

Put out publicly the books that you do read, on floating bookshelves or a nightstand. Books provide narrative of one character and they inject life and color effortlessly. Do not stow them back in the corner because they are not decorative.]

Personal Touches That Matter

Souvenirs and souvenirs should have a place in the bedroom. The pottery you created when you took a weekend course or an old camera you got as an inheritance of your grandfather – those objects make your space yours.

Any day beautiful pictures framed are better than generic art. Combine the family pictures with trip or other occasion that you want to keep in mind. Any frame styles and colors, please just be the same.

Scent and Ambiance: The Finishing Touch

You can have the nicest bedroom in the world but if it smells like a gym bag, no one in the world is going to wanna hang out in there (including you).

Well worth investing in good candles. Not the cheap ones that smell as though artificial flowers and cleaning supplies had gotten into a fight. Find them smells that can literally make you glad to be in the spot.

Important oil diffusers give you more control and won’t involve having to tell yourself to blow out candles before heading to bed. Lavender is nothing new, but it actually REALLY helps with sleep quality.

Scent and Ambiance: The Finishing Touch

Fresh Air is more than anything. Open your windows a lot, wash your bedding once a week, and you don’t wanna let dirty clothes clutter up the corner. Nothing can make up for a space that is stale and unclean.


Are you looking to change your apartment bedroom? Well, that does not necessarily mean you will need a humongous budget or completely renovate. Minor, deliberate tweaks cumulatively create a place which truly feels like you. Begin by simply picking one or two ideas that are motivating you the most, and go forward with that.

It should not make you unhappy every time you enter you bedroom. And when it is not already doing that, then choose one of these ideas and try it. Believe me, future you will be glad the effort was made 😀

Note that your bedroom never has to be the way a magazine thinks you should design it, it is your life. Personalize it, performance/functionality, and above all make it a space you want to enjoy doing it.

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