What it REALLY Costs to Furnish a Bedroom: Here’s the truth

You’ve done it! You’ve landed your dream home, and you are moving there in a couple of days. But you were previously renting a furnished place, which means that you have no items to take to your new home. So now that you have to start the bedroom furnishing process from scratch, you are probably wondering how much money you can expect to spend. 

Furnishing a bedroom can be very expensive, and the cost will widely depend on the size of the room and the amount of furniture you want to place within it. But in general, you should expect to spend at least $2,000-$2,300 furnishing a bedroom.

Are you wondering if there is any way for you to possibly furnish your new bedroom cheaper? Well, read on to find out where that number comes from and what adjustments can be made to save money. 

Furniture Needed to Furnish a Bedroom

First and foremost, you need to decide what furniture you will need to furnish the bedroom in question. You will also want to measure the room to get the exact dimensions so you know how large of furniture you will need to purchase. 

A Bed

There is no way to cut this cost. Every bedroom needs a bed. And a bed often comes in multiple parts, a frame, a mattress, and a box spring. You can cut the cost here by getting a platform bed—this is a type of bed that only needs a mattress and doesn’t require a box spring. This can save you a couple of hundred dollars sometimes. 

If the room is small, you’ll probably just want a full-size bed—but if it is large, you’ll likely want a king-size bed. Either way, a frame will likely cost you $300-$800, depending on the style you choose. But keep in mind that really fancy frames can cost all the way up to $1000 or more. 

Next, you’ll need a mattress. And while you can go cheap on the mattress, remember this is what you will be sleeping on each and every night. For this reason, you will want to set aside at least $300 for a decent mattress. But if you want a larger bed or something nice like memory foam, you’ll want to save more like $500-$1200 for this purchase. 

A Dresser

The next necessity is a dresser. Like everything else on this list, size will matter when it comes to pricing out a dresser, but you will probably want one with at least three drawers, and this will cost you at least $70 but could cost you all the way up to $200. 

A Nightstand

In recent years, the main purpose of a nightstand has been to put your phone there while charging during the night. And if you are on a tight budget, you can eliminate this cost by putting your dresser next to your bed or using something unconventional as your nightstands like a chair or a ladder. 

But if you do decide to purchase a nightstand, this will be between $100-$180. And sometimes people decide they want two nightstands, one for either side of the bed. If this is the case, you will need to budget double the above amount. 

Read about what to look for in a quality dresser.

A Desk

If your new home is large enough to have a separate room for an office, then you can skip this section about purchasing a desk for your bedroom. But if you work from home and don’t have a specified office space, then purchasing a desk and desk chair is a good idea when it comes to furnishing your bedroom. 

A reasonably priced desk will cost at least $150, though you can always find some bigger and better with a larger price tag. And of course, a chair to go with your desk isn’t included in that price and will probably cost an additional $50-$100, though this is another item that can quickly increase in price if you want something a little nicer. 

A Wardrobe

Hopefully, your room comes with a built-in closet because if it doesn’t, you will want to factor a wardrobe into the cost of furnishing your bedroom—like a dresser, it just isn’t enough. An inexpensive wardrobe can cost as little as $150, but the cost of these can meet and exceed $1,000 if you aren’t careful. 

I made a guide on how to save space in your wardrobe and dresser here.

A Lamp

The final piece of furniture you will need to consider is a lamp. This is another item that may be built into your room, but even if it is, you still may want a specific one beside your bed. The good news is, adding a lamp won’t break the bank as a decent lamp is typically around $50, or even less, depending on the style you want for your space. 

Bookcases

Again, if your room is on the small side, then you have likely already filled it with furniture at this point. But if it isn’t for some reason, and you are a book lover, you will need a place to put all of those books. 

A smaller bookshelf can be found for around $80, while a larger one will probably run you about $300. As a dresser, a shorter bookshelf can be used instead of a nightstand in your room. 

Suppose you don’t have a ton of books. In that case, you’ll want to skip the bookshelf itself and consider just keeping your books on your nightstand or the edge of your desk instead to save money and space. 

Decorations Needed to Furnish a Bedroom

When people think of furnishing a bedroom, they typically think only about the furniture. The problem with this is, a bedroom with the only furniture just isn’t enough. While you can go easy on the decorations if you are on a budget, there are some things that you will absolutely need for your room to live comfortably. 

Curtains/Blinds

The number one decoration that every bedroom needs are curtains or blinds. Leaving the windows bare may work in other rooms of the house, but it simply won’t work in your bedroom. You will want curtains so you can sleep comfortably no matter what the light situation is outside and have some privacy.

The price of curtains and or blinds varies widely depending on what style you choose. Plain, single panel curtains can cost $20, and the hardware to hang them can also be about $20. But if your window is large, be prepared to buy at least four panels—which brings the base cost for this item to about $100. 

On the other hand, blinds typically need to be measured, cut, and installed into your window. You can often do this yourself, but the cost will still be around $50 (more if you decide to have them professionally done). The nice thing is if you have your entire house done at once, many installers will offer you a discount. 

Some people decide they want both curtains and blinds for their bedroom window. If this is the case, you will want to plan to add the above two numbers together, plus maybe a little extra to be able to pick out the exact curtains you want for your room. 

A Rug

If the floors of the room you are moving into are hardwood, you will most likely want some throw rug to put down. This will help keep you from having to step on the cold floor first thing in the morning and will keep your furniture from sliding on the floor. 

Throw rugs are another item that varies widely depending on the one you want. A simple, low-profile rug to keep your furniture from moving can be as low as $40. But if you want something a little fancier and a bit more plush, be prepared to spend about $300. 

Additionally, if your rug itself doesn’t have material on the bottom to keep it from sliding, you will want to get a rug mat to put underneath to keep it in place. This will cost about $20. 

Wall Décor

Now you might be wondering what type of wall décor will be necessary for your bedroom. And while a painting or picture frame is nice to put up, it isn’t essential—but there are a few decorations that may be necessary to keep your room organized and decluttered. 

If you skipped the bookshelf above due to space reasons, or if you have a lot of items to display, then you might want to put up shelves on the wall. This can help to keep items from cluttering your floor. The good news is, wall shelves are typically quite cheap, and you can usually get a set of 3 for around $50 and put them up yourself. 

While pictures and paintings might be something you skip hanging on your walls to save money, there is one item you don’t want to forget to hang in your bedroom, and that is a mirror. Without a mirror, you will have to walk to the bathroom every time you want to get a look at yourself. 

A nice, full-body mirror can easily be installed on your closet door for around $60. Or you can go the more decorative route and get a small circular or rectangular mirror for your wall for about the same price. But like anything else on this list, if you want to get fancy, there are mirrors out there that will cost upwards of $300.

Bed Coverings and Pillows

The last thing we need to discuss in decorating your bedroom is what you will put on your bed now that you’ve purchased it. Generally, you will want a set of sheets, some pillows, a duvet or comforter of some sort, and some decorative throw pillows. 

This cost is highly variable depending on the size and style of bed that you want. And while it may seem easiest to pick the cheapest sheets there are, you will probably want to splurge a bit on your comfort—after all, you will be sleeping in this be night after night! 

That being said, you should expect to spend at least $50 on a nice set of sheets—maybe more if you want something that contains silk. And if you like lots of pillows, be prepared to purchase some extra pillowcases as well because most sets only come with two. A good comforter or duvet will cost you about $100. 

For pillows, you will want two types, some for you to sleep on and a few to decorate the bed. The ones that you sleep on you will want to spend some money on to make sure you like them. A nice two-pack will be between $30 and $50. If you want memory foam pillows or something fancy, expect to spend more. 

And the good news is, if that is the end of your budget, you are welcome to stop there. But if you want to customize your bed with a couple of throw pillows, then you can usually do so for a few extra dollars. And you can also look into a throw blanket for the end of your bed for around $50, depending on the one that you choose. 

Under Bed Storage Solution (DIY)

Final Thoughts

Overall, there is much more that goes into furnishing a bedroom than just buying furniture. As you can see, it is a combination of furniture buying and essential decorating! And you should plan to spend some money doing so because this is the room you will be spending hours in each and every night. 

That being said, this list only contains most of the basics. So if you like to decorate, then you should plan to exceed the budget mentioned in this article. But you can also plan to spend less by skipping some of the less essential items on this list. But remember, one of the most fun parts of getting a new bedroom is getting to furnish it—so don’t deny yourself that pleasure!

Next, you can learn how to fold your clothes fast, or if you really need a dresser in your bedroom.