Categories: Decorating-Published On: January 9, 2020-

Simple farmhouse bedroom makeover

simple farmhouse bedroom makeover

Simple farmhouse bedroom makeover

If you’re like me, you enjoy the home makeover shows where they have a big reveal for the family. It’s so moving to watch their reaction and see how overwhelmed and happy they are. I have to admit that I’ve even been moved to tears many times. I have recently had the opportunity to complete a simple farmhouse bedroom makeover for my awesome family.

simple farmhouse bedroom makeover

My husband’s brother, his wife, and their five children are stateside missionaries (who sometimes go abroad to serve as well). The home they live in is on loan to them while they remodel it and fix it up. They not only have to remodel this fixer-upper home, but as I mentioned, they have five children, ages from 17 to 9! Raising five kids is a lot of work, AND they serve to help train and equip other missionaries, they have additional responsibilities and commitments for the nearby missionary campus, our sister-in-law creates beautiful hand-thrown pottery in her ‘spare time’, and she is in her final stages of midwifery training and certification. Not to mention their athletic children’s crazy schedules and other commitments! I don’t know how they do it! Needless to say, it was so exciting and fun to do something special for them and help them to enjoy their room of rest. Heaven knows they need and deserve some rest now and then.

Simple farmhouse bedroom makeover

Their bedroom started with a mattress, long dresser, tall dresser, green chair, two mismatched side tables, one small lamp, a floor lamp, and a mirror. The existing furnishings were a great foundation to work from! Here is a candid ‘BEFORE’ shot of the bedroom – there was no prep for this quick shot.

I know my sis-in-law’s style pretty well and I think I know what she doesn’t like, so I felt fairly confident in selecting all the new decor. She graciously allowed me to make all the decisions and to come in and completely set up their room while they were out of the house. She had no idea what kind of room she’d be coming home to. Her trust in me filled my spirit and motivated me to be extremely thoughtful in my choices for this makeover.

As an independent introvert it was like ‘the best day ever’ to come into someone’s home, move their stuff around, add new stuff, and then situate everything. I got to makeover their bedroom without distraction or noise, and it was so exciting to know that in a few hours they would get to experience their newly decorated room. It would be a dream come true to do this every day. I have a passion for design, and I love helping others enjoy the spaces they live in.


How to make a shiplap headboard

The biggest project by far was building the shiplap headboard. My original thought was to use a free six-foot pallet as the base and then add shiplap boards. Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong, according to my intelligent and analytical husband. I guess the wide shiplap boards would have been too heavy for the flimsy and shredded pallet so he suggested that I just build a pallet myself. So I did!

how to make a shiplap headboard

In hindsight, I could have used different boards or fewer of them to make it weigh less, but at least I know it’s sturdy. If you’re curious about my steps in building this headboard, just sign-up for my updates so you can check out that post – it’s coming soon! I also painted it using a sprayer, which made the finishing go fast and it was easy. It has a smooth finish, but if you like the look of brush strokes, you could always brush the second coat.


Where to add décor to bedroom walls

Their bed is against the main wall of the room, a natural focal point, but a lot of wall. I personally don’t like a lot of décor on the walls in a bedroom because it has the opposite of a calming effect for me. So, I just added this wreath centered above the bed to go with the simple farmhouse style. Instructions for creating this wreath are here.

DIY farmhouse wreath

Tip: However, if my sis-in-law wants to add more to the walls, there are now some obvious places to do that and still maintain the aesthetics of the room. She could stack several frames or floating shelves to the left-side of the bed – closer to the dresser. Or install three smaller items to the left-side of the mirror. She could add symmetrical items on each side of the wreath or a narrow long framed piece below it. And there’s some wall next to the TV that can handle a large piece of art or a small collection.

This bedding is reversible!

Their original bed set up only had one bedside lamp and that just wasn’t going to work for me! I like symmetry and the room doesn’t have a ceiling light, so they needed some additional lighting. I found adorable round side tables at IKEA, and the trays just lift out if you need to clean them or I guess you could even use one while sitting in bed. These side tables were easily assembled in minutes and just pull together the whole farmhouse vibe I was going for. IKEA also had these simple lamps that I ended up actually loving in this room. I wasn’t sure about the basket-weave shades, but my oldest daughter said they were cute. Now I agree, and love how the shades add texture (and they’re easy to clean/dust). They even have this little lever that allows you to turn the portion with the switch to any place you want it. So I imagined where I’d reach for the switch on each side of the bed and adjusted the location for each lamp. Pretty awesome and clever of IKEA – I love it!


How to select bedding

There are a few considerations when selecting bedding. Your budget, the season, and longevity. If you need bedding to last many years, you’ll want to buy something that washes well and is durable enough to last (some people go for duvet covers to get more use from their comforter and to easily change looks). I would like to change our bedding style every month – wouldn’t that be fun?! But the budget won’t allow, so I like to have one style for the spring/summer months, and a second style for fall/winter. This way I get to enjoy different colors and textures, there’s less wear and tear this way, and I can refresh the look with pillows or blankets if I want a change.

I selected a light-weight IKEA comforter and covered it with a light grey and white pinstripe reversible duvet cover. It came with coordinating king size pillow cases and it’s simply beautiful.

Tip: Sticking with neutral bedding makes it easy to style with pillows and blankets to create new looks without buying another whole new set.


Decorating a dresser

I left the long dresser where it was because it not only looked good, but it was the only wall it would fit on. I added their mirror above it and now it looks like a set. I originally wanted to arrange the mirror horizontally, but my brother-in-law is over six feet tall so the mirror would have needed to be installed too far up above the dresser. I added the cute faux plants in their galvanized buckets to add some life and color. They also add to the farmhouse style and don’t require light or water!

decorating a dresser

Tip: Don’t stress when hanging a mirror or artwork above a dresser. If your installation is off-center, just shift the dresser to get it right.


Create a sitting area in the bedroom

Sometimes the bedroom is the only quiet place you can retreat to, so I love it when there’s a natural space to create a cozy seating corner. This green chair has great lines, and I love the vintage upholstery. Chartreuse green isn’t exactly farmhouse style, but I like the pop of color and it sits in front of a huge window that faces a gorgeous view of mossy Oregon trees and landscape. It just works! But to break up the color, I added this adorable Rae Dunn feather-down pillow. It’s so cute and reshapes perfectly. I found it for just $17 at Home Goods! I also added one of my own rugs, gently used, which really helps to separate the area a bit, add texture and pattern, and add to the whole farmhouse vibe.

create a sitting area in the bedroom

This side of the room is another natural focal point. It would be a perfect place to have a storage built-in bench if the window didn’t practically reach the floor. So, it’s still a perfect niche for sitting, but the tall window needed some blackout curtains for sure. I found these at IKEA and they work great. I had several color options, but opted with a darker grey to help block out light and keep with their simple farmhouse look. They pull back nicely allowing in natural light and a beautiful view. It’s such a serene corner of the room. I was even treated with a deer sighting. When I saw them, I literally said ‘oh dear’ – no kidding, I’m that cheesy.

Create a sitting area in the bedroom

When they’re sitting in their chair or laying in bed, they are looking toward the TV or their ensuite bathroom doorway. This little wall is the perfect spot to hang some wall art. I found these simple frames at TJ Maxx and printed some free printables as placeholders until they add their own artwork.

Create a sitting area in the bedroom

Tip: I think large plant on a stool, a small tree, or a simple chair with a lightweight throw blanket would look great in this corner as well.


My family blesses me daily with their love and support, and it was my honor and truly a blessing to create a master bedroom that this couple can use as a retreat to recharge and relax before slaying a new day. I hope this post inspired you to take a look at your bedroom and think of ways to make it your retreat and relaxing space at the end of each day.

As always, thank you so much for reading. I love hearing your comments (scroll down) and seeing your follows on Facebook and Instagram. And thank you for spreading the word – sharing is caring!

804 Sycamore blog

POSTED IN:  Decorating

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