Creating a bedroom sanctuary doesn’t have to be expensive or require matching furniture sets. Make use of what you have and up-cycle your furniture, or check out your local thrift store for budget-friendly furniture styles. There’s no right way to style your bedroom, and if you find yourself with mismatched furniture, we’re here to help make it work.
So whether you’ve recently moved into an apartment in San Diego and need to purchase furniture, or you just received hand-me-down décor for your new house in Seattle – you can create a bedroom that is cohesive, stylish, and perfect for you.
#1: Make two lists – what you have and what you need
Making a list of what you have will give you a feel for what you have to work with and what else you need. Look at your entire space and think of the furniture you’ll want in that area. If you live in a studio apartment, you’ll need to find multifunctional furniture pieces that will work in your space. Once you know what furniture you have and need, you can begin searching for new pieces and styling your existing ones. If you see that you have a lot of different styled furniture pieces like two different side tables and a textured wall, don’t fret; there are ways to make it work.
“Hand-me-down furniture can be your secret weapon to an apartment makeover,” says Krista from Texas Gypsy Style, a stylish painted furniture company. “Skip painting walls and head straight to your mix-matched furniture with bold paint color to create your dream apartment.”
#2: Choose a focal piece and build from it
For bedroom furniture to work together, you’ll need to choose a focal piece and build off its design. Whether it’s your bed frame or a dresser, the furniture piece you choose as a focal point can be anything you love. For example, what characteristics stand out if you decide on your nightstands as the focal piece? Maybe it’s the metal knobs or the color of the stain. Whatever it may be, opt for complementary colors and patterns to bring the space together.
John from Arched Manor, a home improvement and design company shares, “Mismatched furniture can be a match made in heaven. Try to avoid pairing similar shades of the same material, such as two types of wood like red oak and maple, and ensure the scale of the furniture is relatively the same. Another tip is to change the hardware; it’s amazing what a simple swap of knobs or pulls can do to an outdated piece of furniture.”
#3: Use neutral colors to unify mismatched furniture
Neutral colors on larger pieces will bring any mismatched furniture together. Using colors like gray, white, cream, tan, or black will work well, and also help the space feel bright and calm. For your bedroom, stick with neutral bedding and a few accent pillows while keeping the remaining pillows neutral. Plus, you may bring these furniture styles to your next home, so keeping them neutral will allow them to match any bedroom furniture pieces in the future.
Deborah from Los Andes Shop, an Ecuadorian textile imports company out of Newberg, OR, shares, “The key to creating a unified look with furniture from varying design periods is to stick with a neutral color base on larger objects like dressers or bed frames. This allows you to use unusual pieces, pops of color, or trends in throw blankets, pillows, curtains, artwork, or rugs. Don’t be afraid to pull from various styles to create a timeless design and make your room feel uniquely you.”
To add, Brooke from Simple B. Living suggests, “Use the same paint color and wood stain in different ways on your furniture. For example, the dresser might be solid paint, one nightstand with the same color paint on the legs and wood stain on the top, and another piece just the same solid wood stain. That way, they are effortlessly cohesive but not matchy-matchy. And finish it off with your styling. Your unmatched furniture can make your home look more expensive and put together when done well.”
#4: Try a thrift flip
If you need budget-friendly bedroom furniture pieces, it’s always a great idea to stop by your local thrift store. There are plenty of potential pieces, from styles you love to flipping other designs.
We contacted Value Thrift Store in Aldan, PA, to share their insight about mixed bedroom furniture. “There is no comparison to having a pre-loved piece of high-quality furniture for a fraction of what it would cost at its listed retail price, no matter how mismatched it may seem. You can always repaint or repurpose your thrift shop furniture if the mismatch is too much. A coat of white or black paint will completely change the look and freshen up gently used furniture. Repurposed furniture means giving your furniture a whole new meaning. Take a dresser and make it into a desk area or reconstruct a headboard into a wall hanging or barn door. “
Mismatched furniture can be incorporated into your space through the endless possibilities of up-cycling. WoodUbend is part of the up-cycling revolution, providing user-friendly heat bendable wood moldings that instantly elevate the look of your furniture. “These moldings can be used to manipulate the shape of pieces and tie them together. You can also use consistent or complimentary colors on your furniture to tie them together even more. With old furniture, you have endless possibilities to redesign it and make it match your home. With mismatched furniture, your creativity can be limitless.”
#5: Mix and match shapes and sizes
If you’re looking for a way to add character to your old matching bedroom set, then what you’re looking for is how to use mixed furniture.
“Besides style, color, material, etc., there is another way of achieving a mismatched look: function,” says Greg from mybettershelf, a company that specializes in floating furniture. “As a designer of floating furniture, we see that sometimes our customers have different needs on each side of their bed. For example, we can get a great mismatched look if a floating nightstand is placed on one side and a larger floating dressing table is mounted on the other. Same style and material, but different size and function to meet its user’s needs.”
#6: Add accent pieces in pairs
Mixing bedroom furniture can seem busy with different pieces standing out. According to SarahJoy.tv, a home styling course, the key is to add accent pieces in pairs. “Let’s say there’s an accent chair whose fabric doesn’t match with anything else in the room. Make it feel intentional by adding a throw pillow to the bed in the same color. Add a frame to the wall with the same style or finish for a side table that doesn’t match. Giving any odd pieces a “pair” in the room will help them stand out as a statement instead of a sore thumb.”
Natalie from Pretty Choices, Barbie home and workshop goods company, adds, “I believe all shades of pink- from pastel to magenta- look good together. Mixed bedroom furniture will look intentional and cohesive with some cute DIYs. Paint drawers, handles, headboards, or shelves in various tones of pink, and add textiles and art of varying rose hues around them to create a harmonious Barbie Dream House of a bedroom.”
Styling mixed bedroom furniture: the bottom line
In the end, the room is yours. From up-cycling your hand-me-down furniture and second-hand gems to neutral tones and accent accessories, there are plenty of ways to make mixed furniture blend and create a room that’s perfect for you.
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