Before and After: A Muted Bedroom’s $300 Refresh Brings in the Color, But Keeps the Calming Vibes

You know those old allergy medicine commercials where things suddenly went from drowsy and hazy to crystal clear, post-allergy tablet? Or in “The Wizard of Oz” when the screen goes from black-and-white to color? That’s a bit what Hannah Fröberg’s (@nostalgia_rag) bedroom redo is like in her “after.” Hannah’s bedroom started as a muted space, but over the course of a month, got an infusion of color.

“Since I work weekdays, I could only work on it on weekends, so I guess in days, it took, like, seven days,” Hannah, who lives in Sweden, adds. She says her bedroom before was “a mix of shabby chic, boho, and vintage, which at that time felt really nice and relaxing with natural colors in whites and beige.” Hannah initially thought the softer color palette would help her sleep better, but over time, she started to miss bright colors.

“I have always had very colorful hair and clothes,” Hannah says. “I decided to surround myself in colorful surroundings.” She painted the walls a more vibrant, rosy pink (Rusta’s Sandalwood) to start. Hannah says she loves how the paint color seems to change with the weather outside. “When it’s sunny, I have a pink bedroom, and when it’s gray, I have more of an orange bedroom!” she says.

Hannah also added a yellow bedskirt and pillows, a red floral print comforter from IKEA, a scallop-patterned rug, and new framed prints for even more color. She estimates that her project total was about $300 USD.

Among all of her changes, Hannah’s favorite is the newly revamped nightstand. Hannah painted it yellow and then added a peel-and-stick wallpaper in a pattern called “Kimono” to the front. “I live alone so I did everything myself,” Hannah says. “I created a mood board and stuck with my vision even though I had some doubts about how the wall color and wallpaper for the table would work together.”

There’s one detail in the space that Hannah was originally planning to change but kept as-is: “The plan was to replace that curtain rod with a shorter one, but now I kind of like that I can hang plants on it,” she explains on Instagram.

Hannah says overall, her revamped bedroom is now much more colorful — but remains a calming, personalized retreat for her. “I feel totally relaxed in there,” she says.

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