If your bedroom is in need of a facelift, you don’t have to sacrifice health, sustainability or quality for the sake of savings. By choosing wisely, you can renovate the look of your bedroom with just a few items: We chose paint, a duvet cover, a headboard, curtains, a rug and a hanging accent lamp. Our six picks total just over a grand, and they’re only a few of the healthy options available. If you want to save even more, get creative with your décor, hitting secondhand stores for unique vintage artwork and light fixtures or furniture that needs only a fresh coat of paint to reclaim its past splendor. (Note: If you have not invested in a nontoxic mattress, do that first. You can get our recommendations by visiting our Organic Bedding and Mattresses resource page.) If your bedroom has healthy bones but you want to revamp, start here!
1. Cover Up
Duvets last for decades and can be updated again and again with only the expense of a new cover. Choose an organic duvet cover such as the Organic Rice Pintuck Duvet Cover by West Elm to ensure healthy bedroom air and support responsible farming. Organic Rice Pintuck Duvet Cover, full/queen: $99
2. Fresh Coat
Nothing changes the look of a room as quickly and inexpensively as a fresh coat of zero-VOC paint. For bedrooms, we love soft pinks and purples such as Culture and Warmth from AFM Safecoat, but choose any colors that make you feel good. AFM Safecoat, 1 gallon: $39; 1 quart for accent: $13
3. Heads Above
A dramatic headboard can be the bedroom focal point, and you can make one out of almost anything with some ingenuity. Consider a vintage door, a wood shutter, a folding screen or an antique fireplace mantel. Or see what the artisans at Etsy have to offer. Artist LoveALittleArt makes designs in custom sizes from fallen trees on her Wisconsin land. Panoramic Wood Slice Wall Art, full-size headboard: $525
4. Strong Accent
Add personality with unique accents. We chose a recycled aluminum Moroccan hanging lamp for a touch of exotic romance, but you could use a piece of artwork, a vintage chandelier, an interesting side table or anything else that strikes your fancy. VivaTerra Silver Moroccan Lamp, small: $179
5. Totally Floored
A pretty rug adds a burst of color, ties a room together and offers comfort when you step out of bed on a cold morning. This pretty rug is handcrafted out of salvaged fabric by Etsy artisan EKRA. EKRA Red with Flecks Round Upcycled Crochet Area Rug, 30-inch: $92
6. Curtain Call
Making curtains is an easy sewing project (see Curtain-Making 101 below). If you don’t sew, a local seamstress can do the task in no time. Either way, you get the luxury of choosing any organic fabric. We like a playful print from Birch Organic Fabrics. Window sizes vary, so you’ll need to measure yours. To make two 40-by-84-inch curtain panels, you’d need 5 yards. Field Friends Shroom Fabric, 5 yards: $85
Curtain-Making 101
Making curtains is among the easiest DIY tasks you can take on. If you can sew a hem, you can make curtains—use the full width of the bolt, hem the top and bottom, and use clip-on curtain rings or create a 4-inch curtain-rod pocket. If you can’t sew, you can make curtains using iron-on hem tape—for instructions, visit Young House Love. For instructions to hand-sew curtains, read “How to Hand Sew a Curtain” on eHow.com.
