Before & After: Small Bedroom Makeover – cozy cottage style!

We gave our tiny cabin bedroom a cozy makeover on a budget and I’m so excited to show you! This small bedroom makeover features some ideas for decorating a tight space. Let’s go!

This Spring, I introduced our latest project to you: the Tiny Lake House renovation! This renovation has taken far longer than the 2-3 months we were hoping for, but we’re finally making some visible progress. A couple of weeks ago, we finished painting the exterior of the cabin and completely remodeling the front porch. This week, we’ve finished the small bedroom makeover!

Here’s how this small bedroom looked BEFORE:

There used to be two bedrooms in the cabin, and this was the main one. Because we wanted to add a bathroom to the cabin, we rearranged the floor plan to feature one slightly larger bedroom in the center of the house. You can see the floor plan makeover here.

Here’s how this small bedroom looks NOW:

At only 8 1/2 x 9 1/2 feet (81 sq ft), we had to be creative with this space.

Watch my YouTube video to see the whole bedroom makeover from start to finish:

Adding interest with wallpaper

Because this room is so tiny, I wanted to keep the colours in the space bright to reflect lots of light. Rather than painting the whole thing white, a soft, patterned wallpaper paired with paintable bead board wallpaper gives this room some interest.

DIY barn door from a vintage screen door

Sliding doors – either pocket doors or barn doors – are a great way to save space in a small room. For this little bedroom, I salvaged the old exterior screen door from the cabin and turned it into a sliding barn door for the mechanical room. I sanded the old screen door, replaced the screen with some acrylic from Home Depot, and then mounted the door to the wall with some barn door hardware. I love how this adds interest and history to this room!

No closet in your bedroom? Here’s a solution!

This little cabin is only 467 sq ft, so there’s not a lot of storage space. With no room for a closet in this bedroom, I had to get creative! A floating shelf mounted to the wall with baskets on top can be used to store bedding or clothing, and I installed a clothing rod underneath for hanging.

Upcycled nightstands with storage

Furniture with storage is a smart choice for smaller spaces. I found one IKEA Tarva nightstand on Facebook Marketplace, and bought a second one from IKEA. To add some character, I applied pole wrap to the drawer fronts on the nightstands, painted them the same colour as the house exterior, and added a new drawer pull. I love how these turned out, and the green colour looks fantastic in this bedroom!

Tiny Lake House Small Bedroom Source List:

• Paintable bead board wallpaper
• Green floral wallpaper
• Pre-painted shiplap
• LVP flooring
• Maia Soft Black Re-Jute Rug
• Bed frame
• Memory foam mattress
• Duvet cover set
• Sheet set
• Throw blanket
• Floating shelf
• Hanging clothes rail
• Barn door hardware
• IKEA Tarva nighstand
• Semi flush mount light fixture
• Wall sconces
• Room darkening curtains
• Night stand handles

I am absolutely thrilled with how this small bedroom makeover turned out. I love the modern vintage cottage style, and how we were able to make use of this tiny space. The bed is so comfy, and I might sneak in here to nap as we finish the rest of the renovations in our tiny lake house!

Tell me: What do you think of our tiny cabin’s bedroom makeover?

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