Before and After: This Bedroom’s Colorful Redo Features Simple DIYs That Start at Just $3

It’s no secret that paint can do wonders for a room, whether it’s with floor-to-ceiling coverage or a perfectly placed wall arch. But sometimes you don’t even need to take a brush to the walls to make a big impact. Skeptical? Just look to this charming (and mostly white-walled) bedroom makeover from Anam Zohaib (Delicious and DIY).

“As you can see, there isn’t much to say about the room before I gave it a makeover,” Anam says. The walls were completely white, the bed was white, the floor was bare — all around, it was in desperate need of color and character. Anam says she tries to make every room in her house feel cozy and comfortable and “this room needed all the love I could give,” she says.

Anam decided to tackle this room in phases. She started by thrifting two vintage wood nightstands with metal pulls, giving them a cool two-toned coral paint job on the frame and drawers while leaving the tops stained wood. The two nightstands make room for a matching pair of green-toned glass lamps.

Anam took a unique approach to the painted wall arch trend by not actually painting them on the wall — yep, the walls stayed white! Anam cut three pieces of cardboard into arches, painted those deep green, then attached them to the wall using double-sided tape. Since Anam loves to change up her decor, it was a no-brainer, but this hack is also a great fix for renters with strict landlords. Mounting a collection of baskets on the arches makes them look even more convincingly like they’re really part of the wall.

To cut costs, Anam kept her same bed frame and hacked a $14 IKEA shelf to create a DIY headboard. She used the wood piece as the base of her headboard, covering it with fabric she already had on hand to mimic the look of a high-end upholstered piece.

The curtain rod hung above the window is another easy and affordable DIY. Anam used a $3 conduit pipe that was about 10 feet long, glued ping pong balls to either end of the rod to act as finials, and painted the entire thing blue to make all the pieces blend together. From it, Anam hung white curtains with a dip-dyed blue effect.

A teal rug helps add some more color to the space and warms up the area under the bed, too. Now, the once-bare room is warm, inviting, and filled with personality.

“I love how cozy it looks, and the small details made all the difference,” Anam says.

Inspired? Submit your own project here.