Our “Before” and “After” Bedroom Makeover!

It’s been a bit since I had a room makeover to share, but I’ve got a complete “before” and “after” bedroom makeover for you today! I’ll start with a little bit of background about this space, and then we’ll dive into all the details. Let’s get to it… (post includes affiliate links; for more information, see my disclosure statement {here})

When we bought our home in 2019, our second bedroom looked like this:

At the time, we were living in Connecticut and using this as our second home. When we drove down for our getaways, Jeff and I stayed in the primary bedroom, our two girls stayed in this second bedroom, and Jeff’s dad (who would come visit) stayed in the third bedroom.

I initially updated this space by painting the walls Simply White, replacing the old ceiling fan with {this globe light ceiling fan}, swapping out the wood blinds and too-short drapes for Lutron’s Serena shades, and adding peel and stick wallpaper to the bed wall. Since our girls were sharing a bedroom, I furnished their room with two twin beds:

Fast forward to today, when we now live in this house full-time, both of our girls are out of the house (one in college and one a recent college grad), and sadly, Jeff’s dad is no longer with us. Now, it makes the most sense for each of our daughters to have their own room to stay in when they’re home, with one of the rooms doing double duty as a guest room. This is when project update-this-bedroom-and-swap-to-a-king-bed was born!

I sold the twin beds and white chest, removed the peel and stick wallpaper on the bed wall, and started over with a blank slate:

Here’s that same room today with its new look:

Let’s dive into all the details, starting with…

Newly Wallpapered Accent Wall

The peel and stick wallpaper that we had in this bedroom for several years served its purpose well, but I wanted to swap it out for something with a higher-end look. I love the wallpaper I recently used for our Jack and Jill bathroom and ended up choosing {this Turini pattern} in light beige from the same brand:

The wallpaper rolls are super wide, so you really don’t see the repeat pattern, which makes it look more like a mural than wallpaper. The light coming in the room washes it out a bit in photos, but in person you can see the undulating curved pattern and dashed white “scribble” really clearly.

Bed and Mattress

The upholstered bed was the first piece of furniture that I chose for this space. I plan to have this bed for many years to come, so wanted something that was high quality, neutral (so it would work with any bedding/room colors), and durable. I ended up choosing {this upholstered bed} (tall, no nailheads) with the Sunbrella performance slub tweed white fabric:

Performance fabrics like these are great for headboards because they’re super durable, stain resistant, and easy to clean. And I love the tall headboard height because with so many beds, you can hardly see the headboard once you add pillows. I paired the bed with {this box spring} that’s the perfect height for this bed (it’s low enough that it doesn’t stick up above the side panels).

Love the look of this bed, but want something at a lower price point? See my post on the Tilly Upholstered Bed for a less expensive alternative

We needed a new mattress too and went with {this Saatva mattress} in the luxury firm option:

It’s received numerous awards, including Good Morning America’s best overall mattress of 2024, was delivered for free, and has a one-year in-home trial (if you decide to return it anytime in the first year, you pay only $99). One of our daughters was just home for a visit, and gave it a thumbs up for being super comfy.

Layered Bedding

My jumping off point for the design of this room was {these 22″ pillow covers} that had colors and a pattern that I absolutely love. There are two different shades of blue, so I thought it would be easy to find shams and a duvet cover in a similar shade, but it ended up taking a bit of trial and error. I ended up with {this linen duvet cover} in the blue frost color:

It’s the prettiest shade of blue and works beautifully with my patterned pillows! I filled it with {this duvet insert} in the oversized king option to give it a fuller look. I also have {this linen/cotton blend cloud quilt} layered under the duvet:

I’m a huge fan of Pottery Barn quilts and have them on all of our beds.

For pillows, I used {this set of 3 Euro shams} in the same blue frost color as the duvet. Then I layered my pair of 22″ patterned pillows in front of the Euros and then {this 22″ white & blue textured pillow cover} in the sky color:

I used {these ComfyDown inserts} for all of my decorative pillow covers. I size up by 2″ with my inserts (for example, choosing 24″ inserts for 22″ pillow covers).

Nightstands, Lamps, & Accessories

I chose {these nightstands} in the antique taupe color and was so excited to receive them after months of being backordered:

Their design is super similar to that of {these nightstands} that are four times the price. Here’s a close-up view of the finish:

I topped both nightstands with {these concrete lamps}, which are the perfect size and shape for bedside lamps:

I accessorized the nightstand on the left side of the bed with {this wicker scalloped frame} holding {this wifi printable} that I customized with my room colors,

{this marble lotus tray} with a candle, a stack of design books, and a shallow bowl with {these aqua glass beads}.

The other nightstand has a piece of faux coral similar to {this one}, {this black and white pinstripe box}, and a small, round basket similar to {this one}:

The Rest of the Room

The rest of the room stayed pretty much the same! I kept {this favorite ceiling fan}:

and {this chest of drawers} on the wall across from the bed with {this large rattan lamp} and {this framed art print}:

We are officially guest-ready! Now it’s on to the next makeover… our kitchen! We’re about ready to order our cabinets and appliances, so plan to have our renovation in full swing later this summer. Stay tuned for more on that (and more on our 2025 new build that we’re currently working on plans for – I’m so excited about how it’s shaping up!).