Budget Friendly Master Bedroom Updates

Friends…..I've got a post for you today that is long over due.

You've probably noticed that I haven't shared a lot about our master bedroom in the past four years.

Simply……I've been uninspired by our master. It's a gorgeous room…..it really is.

It's just tired and due for a change. The thought of doing that just sends shivers down my spine. It's not the work or effort involved, but the expense for me. I love transforming spaces whether in our home, one of our flip houses or for staged homes.

I know you are probably looking at the above photograph and thinking what?

Except for Christmas and a few years during the fall, the mantel pretty much looks like this. B-O-R-I-N-G!!! No wonder I feel so uninspired. The other spaces in the rooms are decorated, but some how the mantel missed out.

We spend so much time in this room watching TV as a family. It really is a cozy space, and the surround sound is great in here.

With activities starting to center more indoors with the change in season, I figured it was high time that poor mantel got a much needed update.

I thought about what I wanted to do first. When shopping for a space make a game plan. Don't just randomly buy items. You'll save money if you plan and shop in the right places.

This is what I did to plan:

Take a photographs of the spaces to decorate on your phone so you have them with you.
I measured the mantel depth. This is important when selecting items. You don't want them hanging on the ledge for dear life if they are too deep.
I measured the amount of wall space on either side of the TV for wall art.
Think of your colors and take paint samples and fabrics if needed.

Armed with my above list and tape measure, I excitedly headed to my local At Home, The Home Decor Superstore for a shopping adventure. I had a mission, but I'll admit that I'm easily distracted when I shop for the home. AT HOME has so much to completely decorate you home. I saw things that I wanted for the master bath, screened porch, kitchen and more. I had to focus! I had a set budget before I left the house. Yes, I used my calculator on my phone to stick to it. I did go like $14 over, but that's pretty good!

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Televisions can be very difficult to decorate around. I like to keep things fairly simple around a TV. You don't want to distract from its main purpose…..viewing.

I didn't want anything across the top or below the TV.

Like I said, the rest of the room is decorated. We've been in our current home that we built for 12 years now. All of the bedding and window treatments are 15 years old. See why I had grown uninterested in our bedroom space. I still love it all, I'm just bored and ready for change. I'll share my big plans a bit later. I knew that if I could find a pair of neutral pillows, it would help to instantly update the dark look. Two new pillows were on the shopping list.

My hubby is very against me painting any of this master bedroom furniture, so I've got to brighten the space in other ways. The green candles here blend in too much with the walls. They look drab and disfigured. They are going!

So you can see, that these updates that I am doing are pretty minor to start.

I am a huge believer throughout our entire house that you can mix high end with budget friendly items to get a fabulous look. I love mixing antiques, thrift store, boutique and budget friendly store items. You get a nice rounded eclectic look that I adore.

Here are the items that I came with from my afternoon at AT HOME. With all of the dark going on in the room, I wanted to go more neutral with the accessories that I purchased.

It was such fun playing with the items on the mantel in different ways until I got the look that I loved!

I love it! What a change. It doesn't over power the TV. It accents it and makes the fireplace feel inviting and cozy.

I added my new accessories with a few things that I already had to give it that eclectic feel. It's that mix of old and new that gives it character.

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The galvanized metal art is exactly what I'd been looking for. It doesn't complete with the TV. It fills the space and looks very neutral. I really like the metallic gold on top of the galvanized metal for a rustic elegance look. The lantern adds mood lighting to the mantel area. I borrowed the books from the library shelf. Without the books, the lantern just didn't have enough height beside the antique looking Paris vase. I already had the faux lavender as well. It gives some softness and slight pop of color to the mantel.

A touch of black is always nice in a space. It just seems to ground everything. A little black in the lantern works well with the black in the vase. The lantern is sporting a great distressed look.

Nice vintage details in the Paris vase for that French Country look I treasure.

Can you tell what is mine and what came from At Home? It's kind of hard to tell. They have items for every style of decorating. The wall hanging is duplicated on this side. The pitcher was perfect to balance the white vase on the other side. More lavender ties the look together. The vintage oil that I've had adds a small pop of color. It helped to balance at the color in the books from the other side. The little cast cricket has been sitting on the hearth area for a while.

A wicker basket from At Home adds texture and warmth to the hearth. It's also great for corralling blankets and extra pillows. The blanket was pulled from another room. The faux fur pillow is from At Home. Faux fur is a great look for fall and winter. Our teens like to watch TV in the floor sometimes while cuddling with the dogs.

The little thrift store stool is perfect for elevating the vignette. I further elevated it and added a pop of color with more books from our library.

HINT: When decorating with books, remove the jackets for a more elegant look.

The two obelisk and candle are from At Home. I purchased 2 sets of battery operated candles with remotes. I LOVE the remotes. It makes creating candle ambiance easy and safe. These tow obelisk are perhaps my favorite finds from At Home. They are beautifully weathered and distressed.

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These two pillows from At Home lighten the dark green chairs a bit.

White battery operated candles change the look over my dresser.

Look how pretty it looks with the candles.

We discovered that even though we have two sets, one remote works all of them. So we have a remote in a couple of locations in the room. I turn them on every night while we watch TV.

I've got to head back to At Home soon. The Christmas section is HUGE and amazing! Thank goodness everything is budget friendly. You can definitely get a high-style look on a low-budget shopping at At Home.

I mentioned to you earlier that I have other plans for this room….all on a budget! Here are my future update plans. So be sure to follow along for more ideas.

Replacing the heavy drapes with light, neutral panels.
Replacing the bed skirt with something more neutral.
Adding slip covers on the two club chairs in a light neutral color.
Large area rug to go under the bed all the way to the front of the club chairs.
Sewing tow new Euro shams for the bed in a patterned fabric.
Add a buffalo check duvet for the foot of the bed.

My goal is to go all neutral with the exception of pillows on the bed. I can very affordable change out pillows for new looks seasonally if I keep the rest of the bedding neutral. All of this will happen gradually and funds allow. Honestly, just updating the mantel has given me the motivation to turn our bedroom into a mater retreat!

Do you have areas of your home that could use a mini-makeover. I'd love to hear your ideas! Please let me know in the comments below. Happy decorating!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of At Home. The opinions and text are all mine.