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Although our master bedroom is nowhere done being furnished yet, I thought it was a good time to share an update on its current state vs. what it looked like previously. We still have a few items that need to be replaced with more suitable furniture (like my plastic sock drawer hiding behind the leaning mirror, 2 bedside tables and the unpictured mismatched dressers), but I’m really content with the way it looks now!

I’m sure you can relate to how exciting it is to finally have your own “master bedroom,” am I right? I’d been living with my parents up until 4 years ago and moved into Jun’s parent’s home where we shared a tiny bedroom with a huge king bed for 2 years, so I really wanted our master bedroom to have a polished and “we’re grown-ups now!” vibe.

Don’t forget – this was what this bedroom looked like before we moved in. Some paint and thoughtful planning can really open up and brighten a space!

Window Treatments

This room has a narrow window and a wide sliding glass door to the backyard, both with old vertical blinds that were missing and falling off. We decided to take those down and install 2 pairs of full-length curtains to give the illusion that they were both equal in width. With the way the sheer curtains diffuse the light, you can’t even tell that the window is significantly smaller than the sliding doors.

Our windows are also really old, thin double-pane windows and the argon gas in-between the panels has leaked out a long time ago, so this room gets a lot of sunlight and heat coming through in the mornings. They face east, so we desperately needed some blackout curtains to stop the room from heating up so early in the morning – nothing is worse than waking up to an uncomfortably warm room and intense sunshine. As you might already know, window treatments can be super expensive, and although curtains are usually the cheapest option it’s still hard to find great quality ones for a cheap price. But I gave these AmazonBasics blackout curtains a chance, and they did not fail me! It’s about $24 per pair, which is an absolute steal for blackout curtains. They really do a great job at blocking out the light!

I think we’d definitely see zero light spill if I got room-darkening curtain rods that curl around the ends, but I wanted to keep costs low and get simple double curtain rods that could accommodate both the blackout curtains and the $12 sheer curtains behind them. Another Amazon score: $25 double curtain rods! The finials at the ends are plastic, but these rods do not bow and hold these heavier curtains just fine, so color me impressed.

Paint Color

Like the rest of the house, this room’s walls and ceilings were painted with a flat white. Just like for our living room and the majority of our house, we stuck with Benjamin Moore’s Barren Plain but had it color-matched using Behr’s Premium Plus Ultra paint to save a generous amount of money. If you follow me on Instagram you may remember how I felt about this color in my living room showing a little purple during cloudier days, but it looks like a true grey in this room because of the ample window light. I find that it’s a really calming color that ties in all of my neutral furnishings and decor.

Wall Decor

I originally wanted a total of 4 picture frames above the bed, but since I was shopping at Homegoods I was only able to find 3 matching white picture frames. I am thinking of eventually getting larger ones, but for now I think these still look great. I don’t have the exact link to these Mikasa picture frames, but you can get a similar pack of 4 on Amazon for much less (I bought mine at $8.99 each for 3).

I also wanted a larger bedside mirrors, but I found these $23 over-the-door mirrors while casually strolling through Walmart and couldn’t say no. The frame is made of a faux grey wood and has a texture resembling real wood grain!

Bedside Decor

Our bedside tables are actually living room end tables I inherited from my mom, and I haven’t prioritized replacing them with better ones yet. I want bedside tables with drawers to put books, journals, medications etc. away instead of having everything sprawled out on display, so I’m waiting for the perfect pair to pop up. However, I have gotten a lot of questions about mine, so here’s a link to the exact ones currently in my room.

For the bedside lamps, I wanted to go simple on the design (and price). I really didn’t want any “loud” bedside lamps, and seeing that they can be priced heavily, I just couldn’t justify paying that much for them. These $15 lamps are simple but utilize my black accent color perfectly, and they also have an outlet so you can plug your phone charger in.

Bedframe, Mattress & Ottoman

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about my bedframe, and I have to say that this is probably my favorite buy out of my entire bedroom. It was only $277 for a king, and it’s not just the headboard, but for the entire bedframe and slats. I think my only gripe is that the headboard looks a little lower than my preference, but that’s only because our mattress is really thick! On a thinner mattress, it would rise higher. It’s definitely not a cheap quality bedframe, so I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a tufted headboard!

Our mattress is from Zinus and I received it in exchange for this sponsored review, but we’ve had it for almost 10 months now and it’s probably the best mattress I’ve ever had – no joke. The Cooling Gel Memory Foam Mattress is an absolute must if you live in hot weather or get too warm when you sleep. It feels like sleeping on an ice cube and does not get hot the way other memory foam mattresses do! I got the 14″ king, priced at $467, but thinking back on it I probably could’ve gotten a 12″. Regardless of size or thickness, this is probably going to be one of the best mattresses you’ll ever buy. Don’t regret it – you can even return it if you don’t like it within 100 days.

I got our ottoman from Homegoods, so unfortunately I don’t have a direct link – however, there are some gorgeous ones available online that are similar in both style and price! Check my picks 1, 2 and 3.

If you’re a dog owner, you probably know what those stairs are for! We have a miniature dachshund and no matter what we do, he will always jump off the bed when we sleep. These stairs have certainly stopped that habit. I bought it in brown at Homegoods many years ago, but bought some grey fabric and stitched up a matching cover. I’ll do anything for my pup 🙂

Bedding

Bedding can be so incredibly expensive, so I tried to minimize costs where I could with this. I was able to go cheaper on a thinner down alternative comforter since we live in the desert, but because it’s so hot here I know I needed to get some cotton sheets. You may have heard that the higher the thread count, the better – but honestly, anything over 300-400 TC in hot weather is really impractical and won’t allow for air to circulate through the weave. I did a lot of research on affordable quality cotton sheets and found this 300 TC sheet set for $55.99 at JC Penney, and after a coupon, the price went down to $51.71 with taxes included. Trust me, if you need to change your sheets for the summer, these ones are it! They’re not only 100% cotton, but they’re percale cotton, which is the same crisp bedding that you’ll see at hotels. They wrinkle more than sateen cotton sheets, but it’s only because of the weave – this type of weave actually allows air to circulate through the weave much more than sateen. So while sateen feels silkier and doesn’t wrinkle as much, percale is what you want if you really want to keep cool at night. And it’s increasingly hard to find 100% cotton percale sheets for such a low price, so definitely snag these ones!

For the white duvet cover and pillow shams, I got this set. It’s not 100% cotton nor percale, but I figured since we don’t really use the white pillows nor the duvet during summertime, that wasn’t really necessary. Additionally, I got this grey quilt and sham set to add some grey into the bedding.

Once this bedroom is finished, I’ll publish another blog post with an update! I hope that our master bedroom progress will inspire you guys to revamp your own bedroom on a budget. If you liked this post, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and subscribe to my newsletter below for more budget-friendly decor and home improvement tips.

Shop This Post:

AmazonBasics Room Darkening Blackout Window Curtains: $32.99
White Sheer Curtains: $11.99
Kenney Ball Double Curtain Rod: $25.21
Behr Ultra Pure White Eggshell Enamel Low Odor Interior Paint and Primer in One: $27.98
4-Pack 8×10 Picture Frames: $29.25
Mainstays Full Length Mirror: $22.96
Ashley Furniture Signature Design – Paintsville Occasional Table Set: $169.97
Limelights LT2024-BLK Brushed Steel Lamp with Charging Outlet and Fabric Shade: $15.99
Life Home Premiere Classics Cloth Linen 51″ Tall Headboard Platform Bed with Slats: $284.44 (King)
JCPenney Home 300tc 100% Cotton Percale Sheet Set: $59.99 (King)
LinenTown 600-Thread-Count Egyptian Cotton Duvet Cover Set: $39.99 (King)
Exclusivo Mezcla 3-Piece King Size Quilt Set with Pillow Shams: $37.99 (King)
KingLinen Down Alternative Comforter Duvet Insert: $39.99 (King)
Grey Tufted Storage Ottoman: Options 1 2 3

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• Master Bedroom Update: Budget-Friendly Decor & Furniture
• Hallway Bathroom Update: How Is Our DIY Bathroom Renovation Holding Up After 1 Year?
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