Cottage Bedroom Refresh: Small, Cozy Changes For A Big Impact

Today I am sharing tips on how to make a few small changes for a cozy cottage bedroom refresh!

Well hey friends, I think it’s been a while since I’ve shared my bedroom space with you. With the changing seasons and the warmer weather, I thought it would be fun to give it a little cottage bedroom refresh and just make some changes up here. One of the easiest ways to do that, in my opinion, is to switch out your bedding and add some fresh flowers or stems!

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I love doing that with every seasonal change. I love to switch it up a little bit. Sometimes it’s just with some throw blankets, sometimes it’s just switching out the sheets, sometimes I like to switch up the pillow covers. Whatever it is, I think it makes the biggest impact if you’re wanting to make some changes in your bedroom space.

Most of what you see in my bedroom space was thrifted or found on Facebook Marketplace, so you can save so much money by shopping secondhand for your bedroom. But I think that when it comes to your bedding, it’s worth the investment. It’s totally worth it to invest in something you love that will last a long time, and that’s why I love Quince!

Quince was started in order to challenge the existing idea that nice things have to cost a lot. Their mission is simple: to create products of equal or greater quality than the leading luxury brands at a much lower price because Quince believes that quality should never be a luxury.

There are so many reasons why I love Quince’s products, truly. They have so many beautiful options available on their website. I started off with the white 100% cotton sheet set. But on top of that cotton sheet set, I decided to do some layering and some mix and match. I started off with this organic airy gauze blanket in white. I actually have both the color white and the color dune that Quince sent me. You guys, I love gauze. With the warmer months ahead, I thought this would be the perfect first layer for this time of year.

Then on top of the gauze blanket, I ordered this box quilt set in the color mist. It’s this beautiful blue color. I love blue, I love bringing blue into my decor, and it was just the perfect quilt set for my bed.

Then, you guys know that I love gingham. I had to get this gorgeous organic duvet set with these beautiful euro pillow covers. I ordered this in the color café. This is absolutely stunning. It feels so soft on my skin, but I couldn’t decide between this or the other striped European linen. Quince was so sweet to send me both, and I’m going to show you both of them on my bed.

Now, I’ve only featured a few of the amazing bedding options that Quince has to offer in all different textures and shades. You guys know that I am so frugal when it comes to home decor, and that’s what I love so much about Quince. It’s high-quality products but at a fair price. They value quality first and price second. They use premium materials that are made to last.

All right friends, so here’s where I need your opinion. I have the European linen duvet cover in this beautiful white and blue stripe, and I love it for summertime. I think it’s so pretty. But I also have this gorgeous European linen gingham duvet cover that would match the pillows I have. So I’m trying to decide—can I mix and match the patterns and maybe pull the gingham in for fall?

I don’t know. I always think of plaids when I think of fall, but I love gingham all year long. I think it’s so cute. I truly can’t decide. Something about the blue and white stripe is screaming summertime to me. It’s so beautiful, it’s so relaxed. I love the colors. I love how well it matches the box quilt set.

So I went ahead and grabbed a few of the linen blue and white striped pillow covers to put on a few extra pillows we have. They’re like neck support pillows, so I’m going to stick these on the bed and kind of tuck them under the white cotton so you get that little peek of blue and white stripe. Maybe it’ll tie into the European duvet cover on the end of the bed if I keep the stripes. Tell me what you think—do you like the mix and match, or is it too busy?

I don’t know if you guys remember these beautiful prints that I got while thrifting in Oak Island, North Carolina this past spring. I’ve been wanting to put them somewhere, and I keep thinking about my bedroom. So I’m considering hanging them up on the wall up here in this space for my cottage bedroom refresh.

I love these prints. They were a little pricey at $10 each. I shared these in my thrift haul video from vacation. What they are is just a couple of old barns and then this beautiful drawing of flowers in a windowsill. They’re just so lovely.

Originally, I planned on putting all three over here, but I ended up taking the third frame down. It felt a little bit too busy on this side of the room. I took one of these and moved it over to the other nightstand—Mike’s nightstand—and I think I like that more. I’m still kind of playing with it, but they’re so beautiful. I love them.

I know, like I said, that’s more than what I would typically pay at a thrift store. But what I try to remind myself is that if I found these at an antique shop for $10 each, I would, of course, feel like, “Oh, what a great deal!” That’s not bad at all—$10. So I try to remind myself of that when I find things at thrift stores that seem too pricey. Would I pay this at an antique shop? How much do I love this?

I also have some beautiful fresh flowers that I recently cut from my lilac bushes. I just love these beautiful white lilac flowers. I love including natural elements to really make my bedroom feel like a retreat, and this arrangement adds a touch of whimsy to my bedside table here.

So I’m just putting together a pretty little arrangement for my nightstand next to my bed, which is actually my grandfather’s desk. I sanded it down and lightened it up a little bit, but it actually opens up into a desk and it works out perfect as a nightstand for next to the bed.

With that desk, I have this beautiful German chair that Mike bought for me for our anniversary a couple years ago from an antique store that has a lot of German antiques. I love having that there next to my bed. Of course, some of my favorite books—a Bible and a devotional that a friend purchased for me—look really pretty on my nightstand as well.

Now, Mike’s side of the bed—if you’re looking at the bedroom decor right now—you might be thinking, “Man, it feels dull. Something is missing.” That’s because it needs some touches of greenery. Whenever you feel that way about an area in your home, typically you probably just need to pull in something that is alive—some greens or some faux greens. You don’t always have to have real, but adding greenery is a great option for a cottage bedroom refresh.

I happen to have some eucalyptus and baby’s breath from another arrangement in my home, and I just put a little bit of it together in a beautiful pitcher here for Mike’s small side table. I feel like it’s exactly what this side of the room needed for some organic beauty and visual interest with the artwork and bedside lamps.

So keep that in mind as you are designing your own spaces. If you feel like there is an area in your home that’s missing some essential elements or it feels dull, try bringing in some greens. Another thing that someone told me once is that every room needs a little bit of black. So keep that in mind for your own cottage bedroom refresh. If you’re like, “Man, what’s wrong with this space?”—black kind of grounds a space and gives it some depth.

A friend of mine told me that years ago. Every room needs a little bit of black. So think about—even if it’s just something small like a curtain rod or a lamp or something little—something about black just helps to ground the space. That is another tip that someone shared with me a long time ago.

Now I still want to take advantage of this gorgeous linen duvet. So I’m trying to hang it over here on this—what is this exactly? It was my grandfather’s. He loved collecting antiques. I’m assuming it was meant for blankets or towels or something, but I love it. I think it’s so pretty up here in my bedroom.

On this other side of our bedroom space, we have a little seating area. Between each comfortable armchair we have—I don’t know—some people call it a dry sink, some people call it a blanket chest. It’s really cool. It opens up in the top, there’s storage in the top, and there’s a little drawer and then a door beneath.

I purchased this piece at an antique festival or fair, and I think we might use it for a sink in the downstairs bathroom. A couple of videos ago, a couple weeks ago, I shared that we are going to give our bathroom a makeover. I’ve been looking for a vanity for that space and I have not found one that I love. I want one with character.

Randomly, Mike and I were looking at this piece in our bedroom, and we were like, “How wide is this?” And it ended up being the perfect width. So we’re going to seal that and try using it downstairs. Antique dressers really make for great bathroom vanities haha

In the meantime, this is a piece that I refinished years ago. I purchased it on Facebook Marketplace. I think I paid like $25 or $35 for this. It was very orange, and I stripped it down completely. I actually bleached this piece because it was so orange. You can find that whole blog post actually on my blog. I shared the process—I think I even have a YouTube video, a really old one. It goes way back, one of the first ones that I made. I shared how I kind of achieved this raw wood look.

We moved this piece here between the chairs. This is what used to be here before I found that other antique. I do think the other one has a bit more character. I love the scalloped edge on the bottom of that one. But it’ll just work out perfect for a vanity, I think.

Now I say that—who knows? Maybe it won’t. Maybe we’ll get it in the space and decide otherwise. But I’m just switching up. This is something simple you can do for a cottage bedroom refresh—just switching out your throw pillows, trying some throw blankets with different textiles and hues. If you can’t afford to do all brand new bedding, you could purchase just a $15 throw blanket or a new pillow cover, and that’ll just give you a little refresh for your bedroom space, on your bed, or if you have a seating area like I do.

Truth be told, I kind of feel like this whole side of the room is a little bit blah. The beige chair is against the beige wall. But it has the relaxation of a reading nook where I can curl up with a good book and drink a cup of tea haha I like my bedroom space to feel calming. I want it to feel like a serene, cozy space. I want to go up there, and I truly do—I come up to the space and I just feel like it feels peaceful. I love the way my eyes can rest when I go up there.

But I do feel like this side of our bedroom space could use a little bit more color. So I’m still playing around with the idea of wallpaper for an accent wall. I’m playing around with the idea of maybe switching out the curtains or doing something different up here to bring in more color. But you know what? I’m kind of a plain Jane kind of girl, and oftentimes I try bringing in more color and pattern, and then I don’t like it. So I don’t know—I’m still playing around with it.

You guys are going to have to let me know what you think about the stripes and the gingham. Do you feel like they go well together, or do you feel like they need to be matching? I’m curious what you guys think about those two together.

It’s always fun taking you guys along, and I hope this gave you a few ideas for your own primary bedroom space. What do you think of this cottage bedroom refresh? Let me know in the comments below, and don’t forget to sign up for my free mini homemaking course for more home decorating tips!

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