Master Bedroom Makeover for under $1,000

In this master bedroom makeover, budget was a primary consideration, with only $1,000 to spend! Therefore, there was no budget for new furniture so the existing furniture needed to be incorporated into the design and the furniture was a very dark walnut.

Here's a vacant before photo.

First off, an overall color scheme for the room needed to be decided on, based on the amount of light in the space, the wood tone of the existing furniture and overall architectural design of the room. We chose a sage green for the main color with navy accents to add contrast and design interest. It is a smaller space so I wanted the design to be simple yet elegant. Light colored walls with dark accents help to create contrast and will actually make a space feel larger. The dark walnut dresser was painted and distressed with Lowes Cabinet Paint in semi-gloss, color Alabaster by Sherwin Williams which is a creamy white and the small nightstands were painted with the same type of paint, color of In the Navy by Sherwin Williams. I like furniture and cabinets to have a slight sheen, rather than a chalk finish, as it's much easier to clean and less likely to show scuff marks. I would have liked to add a mirror over the dresser in lieu of a TV, but functionality won over on that one.

When it comes to choosing specific interior selections in a space (ie, flooring, paint, tile, etc.) you always want to start with the selection that has the least amount of options OR the item that you’d like to be a focal point or star of the room! So for example, if I was designing a kitchen and loved a specific tile design, I would use that tile to then guide me in my selection of countertops, flooring and then cabinet colors. For example, in this kitchen photo, the tile chosen for above the cooktop is the focal point or star of the room, all other choices are centered around the tile choice. The cabinets are a dark, navy-gray which provides contrast and the countertops and the rest of the backsplash are clean and simple so as to not detract from the decorative tile.

Although I might have a color scheme in mind, I would not select my specific paint colors until I had my other choices nailed down. You can also get design inspiration from a specific home décor accessory, painting, or beloved treasure which you can then use to hone in on the architectural style of the space as well as to pull your color scheme from it.

As far as the flooring, in this project, we had to match the master bedroom floor with the existing LVP that was installed throughout the rest of the home. The flooring that best matched, was from Lumber Liquidators. Like the remainder of the house, it is a luxury vinyl plank and the color we chose was Malted Oak, at $1.10 per sqft, which is very inexpensive, but didn't look it! So for the entire room with walk in closet, plus 10% overage, (3) transition pieces and a half gallon of glue it totaled a little under $500.

As far as the focal wall was concerned, if budget were not an issue, we probably would have chosen a peel n stick wallpaper instead of stenciling. It’s a lot less labor intensive, it’s super easy to use and if you ever sell your home and want to make it more marketable or neutral you can take it down. However it can be pricey! That said, if you are not comfortable stenciling, don't have the time to invest or are a perfectionist at heart......then spend the additional money and get wallpaper! There is a learning curve to stenciling and even if it's done professionally, when examined up close, the edges are very rarely perfect and the mistakes are what gives stenciling its' character! But if that's not you and you want perfection, than choose wallpaper!

If using wallpaper in the space then find that first, as it is more likely to be the main focal point of the room. And although there are 1,000s of choices available, finding one you like in your chosen color scheme might take some time? As a matter of fact, if you find wallpaper you love not in your color scheme, you may have to be flexible and shift gears with your chosen color pallette.

The Morrocan patterned stencil is what I chose for my accent wall and I found it on Amazon for $30. When purchasing stencils, you really do get what you pay for! There are super cheap stencils out there and you’ll want to find a fairly large size stencil, but not too large where it isn't manageable, with a thickness of at least 10mil. The trick to stenciling is to use a sponge roller with a very minimal amount of paint. You’ll want to have blank paper or cardboard near by to roll your sponge roller until there is barely any paint on the sponge before your first application. The key is to apply many layers of very thin paint, it can't be too thin! I repeat, it can't be too thin! This will require some patience on your part. If there is too much paint on your roller, it was seep out of the stencil lines and you won’t have clean, crisp lines. If you’d like more detailed instruction on how to stencil, read my Blog or watch my video “What Paint Can Do".

Check out this stencil pattern used for this guest bathroom. This is a great example of how the stencil choice, directed all of the other choices in the space, from the circle mirror to the globe vanity light. The designer chose a very simple color pallette due to the busyness of the pattern. The trick is to find your inspiration and go for it!

I chose to stencil the wall before installing the floors, that way if there were any paint drips it didn’t matter! Although, with LVP, paint comes off pretty easily with warm water and a little elbow grease! I am a Sherwin Williams girl, so I chose Sherwin Williams Infinity brand in Sea Salt #SW6204 (2 gallons at $45 each) for all walls and for the patterned part of the stencil, I chose #SW9132 Acacia Haze (same brand, but in a quart for $25). The interior door was painted to match all of the doors in the house, semi gloss, color Urban Bronze by Sherwin Williams, which also happens to be the color of the year for 2021!

Laying the LVP flooring took approximately 2 days, at about a total of 12hrs, with the majority of the work happening on the first day. We purchased non-stick panels, due to the cost savings, but it actually was more labor intensive, so not sure I would ever recommend using this type of LVP again. The glue was super sticky and difficult to work with and it got everywhere!

Below is a full list of materials with costs, as well as the decor purchased in order to bring it all together! Unfortunately the drapes that were purchased are no longer available on Wayfair, so no link is provided. However, the drapes are a solid navy, polyester, black out, since it’s a Master Bedroom. They feel substantial and not cheapy, even though they were only $66 for a set of two! The comforter was purchased at Overstock and the throw pillows at Pier One (they no longer carry that specific design, but this one is very similar- I only paid $26 for a pair, as I purchased them during a BOGO sale). The sage green lumbar pillow was only $11.25 at Pier One as well. The arched floor piece was purchased from an antique store for $90 and the rattan sunburst mirror was at Homegoods for $30. It was originally a bamboo natural color, we spray painted it bronze to create contrast and tie in with the bedframe.

Total List of Materials

· LVP Flooring at Lumber Liquidators…………………..….$500 (approximately)

· Stencil on Amazon………………………………………………….$30

· Sherwin Williams Paint…………………………….……………$115

· Painting Supplies………………………………………..………….$40

· Accessories…………………………………………………………….$314

Total……………………$999

I hope this helps make your next DIY project a little easier!

I look forward to next time and happy DIYing!