Neutral Master Bedroom Decorating Ideas

DAVID TSAY, styling by Janna Lufkin

Your bedrooms are arguably the most important rooms in your house. After all, the master bedroom is where you both start and end your day, while the guest bedroom is the place where you welcome those special overnight guests. That's why we've put together this inspiring bedroom design guide. Jam-packed with more than 100 (!) of our best and brightest bedroom decorating ideas, it'll help you visualize your dream space and provide the tips and simple ideas you'll need to get that look.

First up, figure out the style you'd like for your room: are you dreaming of a cozy bedroom ideas that beckon you to curl up with a good book, a cheerful, gingham-filled hideaway, a farmhouse rustic bedroom, or a white bedroom that removes you from the stresses of the day? With that in mind, let's get started. Whether a spacious master suite or a small bedroom, the easiest and most affordable way to update your space is by painting the walls a fresh, new hue. (Check out our list of these best paint colors for bedrooms to get you started.) If you're looking for something a little more involved, consider a bedroom wall decor treatment such as wallpaper, salvaged wood, built-in millwork, or a statement hanging installation.

Now it's time to dig into the fun stuff! Your bed and other pieces of bedroom furniture are important pieces to help set the mood and style of your bedroom. One of the best ways to ensure that your bedroom is unique and personal is to mix and match your bed, bedside tables, dresser, armoire, and other bedroom furniture rather than buying a matching suite. If you are up for a DIY challenge, consider even making your own DIY headboard and adding some floating nightstands for a bedroom that will be truly one-of-a-kind. Lastly, don't forget to add a cute bedroom chair (best paired with a floor lamp and side table) or cozy window seat for reading. Lastly, to really give your bedroom personality, consider new bedroom curtains, a cozy rug, layers of sink-in bedding, and a few fun accessories and collections that will bring you a smile every morning. Keep reading for sweet dreams ahead.

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Cozy Built-in Bed Nook

In their New York cottage, Sea Roost, Mate Gallery owners Matt Albiani and Ron Brand transformed the small bedroom into a dreamy coastal retreat by building a cozy captain's bed that they then surrounded with vintage indigo textiles and topped with an indigo-inspired wallpaper.

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Small Space Storage

You would never guess that this bright and airy all white bedroom measures only 170 square feet! Painting the planked ceiling, shiplapped walls, and trim all the same crisp, clean white was key to achieving this deceivingly spacious look.

Small Space Storage Tip: If you have a small bedroom or your closets are in short supply—as in nonexistent!—bring in a vintage clothing rack to add function with style. Also place a trunk or blanket chest at the end of the bed as a makeshift linen closet.

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Statement Headboard

In her master bedroom, style blogger and author Liz Marie Galvan (@lizmariegalvan) chose a mantel-inspired headboard to add architectural interest against the plain white walls. A chunky cable-knit throw atop layers of subtle striped bedding provides softness.

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Mixing Patterns

For a bedroom that really pops, like this Texas guest room, start by painting your walls and trim a crisp white. Then bring in graphic patterns through a rug and upholstered headboard. Topping the bed with all white bedding helps the patterns pop even more. Tip: Choose pieces of similar colors to keep the look tailored and sophisticated.

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Salvaged Headboard

For a unique headboard, stylist Matthew Gleason turned a salvaged door on its side. To keep installation easy, attach the door directly to the wall and pair with a simple platform bed.

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Built-in Bedside Bookcase

If you have a small bedroom, consider swapping a floor space-sucking bedside table with a narrow recessed built-in bookcase. The space-saving nook provides not only storage space for your favorite books and bedside essentials, but also display space for an arrangement of accessories, vintage finds, and bedroom-perfect houseplants.

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Pops of Color

Painting all the walls and trim a crisp white (try Simply White by Benjamin Moore) provides the perfect backdrop to showcase colorful painted furniture and graphic framed art. In this cheery California bedroom, an overscaled green painted four-poster bed takes center stage, while the vintage art provides even more eye-catching color.

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Painted Accent Wall

In the attic bedroom of her Wisconsin home, designer and DIY columnist Jenni Yolo (@ispydiy) painted the ceiling and side walls a crisp white to make the small bedroom feel more spacious. She then chose to paint the oddly shaped end wall a calming blue (Dusty Laurel by Behr) to add some interest.

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Natural Wood Accents

Maria Carr of @dreamywhiteslifestyle knows a few things about decorating an all-white bedroom. In her airy California cottage, the master bedroom is awash in a variety of white hues, from white painted planked walls to a white slipcovered chair to layers of soft and pretty white bedding. To break up the sea of white, she replaced the original closet door with a natural wood salvaged door, chose black oak herringbone flooring, and added a rustic pine bench. For an easy and romantic bedroom curtain idea, Maria simply hung a vintage monogrammed textile.

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Embrace the Architecture

Old houses come with all kinds of lovable nooks and crannies, so embrace—and enhance—the quirkiness of your space when decorating. In this small bedroom, homeowner Matthew Gleason emphasized the slope and height of the low ceiling with contrasting paints. The pretty blue ceiling (Fantasy Blue by Benjamin Moore) also brings the sky indoors.

Small Space Bedroom Tricks: Follow Matthew's lead and forget the footboard, instead opting for a just a headboard. For extra bedside storage, try pulling up a vintage chair.

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Textured Neutrals

In this Georgia bedroom, designer James Farmer embraced a soothing grasscloth for the walls, then brought in additional layers of texture with a woven headboard and an arrangement of rattan basket trays for the wall.

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Bold Headboard

The master bedroom in this Mississippi farmhouse features a charcoal headboard inspired by an old door, which brings out the blue in the hand-woven rug and serves as a perfect accent piece in an otherwise neutral room.

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Nature-Inspired Neutrals

The soft color scheme throughout this Alabama lake house brings an element of serenity to this room. The muted brown, green, blue, and tan hues were all inspired by the breathtaking scenery surrounding the home.

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Shiplap on a Slope

The way that this California bedroom's white shiplap walls slope inward while maintaining a space above the bed adds dimension and extra coziness. The laser-cut lanterns casts soft shadows on the walls at night, adding to the effect.

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Pile on the Heirlooms

Made by this East Alabama homeowner's grandmother, the hand-stitched quilt provided design inspiration for the entire guest room, starting with the red-orange paint on the French doors. The Laredo iron bed, another historically accurate touch, tempers the sweetness of the graphic floral motif.

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Stylish Murphy Bed

A good tiny bedroom strategy: Think like a boutique hotel. Far-flung friends—a.k.a. air mattress aficionados—will appreciate the fluffy towels, reading lights, and wait a minute, is that a pull-down bed? Get even more inspiration for making small spaces work harder.

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Serene Symmetry

The owners of this Maine cottage converted a storage unit already on the property into the ultimate he-and-she-shed. Now attached to the main house, the cozy quarters accommodate a queen-size bed and headboard flanked by custom floating bedside tables. Petite lamps and a homemade single-bulb pendant provide ample light without bulk, and a custom lumbar pillow made from Indian textiles helps the room feel a bit wider.

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Cozy Treehouse Getaway

The owners of this Nashville treehouse designed the space around this iron bed, which was originally in a guest room in the main house. Made of bark cloth, the pillow's material is aptly named for its environment.

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White Shiplap

"We just wanted a spot that was restful and calm," says the owner of this Washington farmhouse. Once they peeled the 1970s pink floral wallpaper off the walls, they uncovered drywall that was bowed, so a friend hit it with a hammer and discovered shiplap, which they painted white. They brought in a platform bed, antique blankets, and an old leather chair from Craigslist.

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Views of Nature

Yes, the guest room of this Maine home is small (just 10 feet wide!), but what it lacks in square footage it more than makes up for in views. It overlooks the scenic backyard filled with birch and spruce trees. The tiny table—just big enough to accommodate a bud vase, cell phone, or coffee cup—was a gift from the owner's aunt.

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Passion for Color

Designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard isn't afraid of color—and you shouldn't be either! A seafoam green four-poster bed pairs perfectly with a bright blue comforter and patterned wallpaper.

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Dreamy Spring Bedroom

Refresh a tired space with a lively mix of patterns and hues. A playful bedspread (Tatiana by Kathryn M. Ireland) provides an easy jumping off point to inspire other design elements, like a chippy vintage whitewashed bed that gives soul to the space and keeps feminine prints from feeling too prim. Bold textiles pop against neutral wood paneling, and unexpected accents like a vintage hat mold on the table make a space feel truly personal.

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A Room With a View

Inspired by a collection of vintage landscape paintings, designer Stephanie Sabbe created a boy's bedroom with the potential to grow with him.

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Cherished Art Display

Rather than edit down a large collection of artwork, this California homeowner created a gallery wall that stretches from the crown molding to the baseboards, making room for every cherished piece.

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Updated Parlor Retreat

The bedroom in this 105-year-old Victorian farmhouse was originally the house's parlor. The homeowner upholstered the white-painted bed in a graphic blue-and-white-check fabric to complement the whimsical sheets. Wallpaper with a wood grain pattern, a fresh way to achieve a similar effect as unpainted, wood-paneled walls, creates a warm backdrop for the crisp bed.

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Blue and White Bedroom

Patterned textiles add dimension to light, bright spaces, as seen in the master bedroom of this rural Connecticut farmhouse. Although the homeowner mixed multiple patterns—windowpane plaid, vertical and horizontal stripes—the effect is still subdued, thanks to the consistent palette.

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Golden Accents

A 1950s brass Hollywood Regency headboard that the homeowner picked up at a local antiques store is the centerpiece of the master bedroom in this Arizona ranch home. Its metallic finish inspired the room's other golden accents, from the nightstand's campaign details to the 1960s tufted yellow bench.

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No-Fuss Neutrals

The laid-back atmosphere of country superstar Ronnie Dunn's Tennessee barn home is maintained by keeping the palette neutral while focusing on organic textures (lots of linen and rope) and raw materials (metal, wood, and stone). An antique barn door track gets a second life as a picture rail above the tufted burlap headboard in the master bedroom.