Give your space a modern refresh with these fresh design ideas.
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Curating a relaxing environment for the place where you start and end your day can have a positive impact on your overall well-being. If it’s been a few years (or longer!) since you’ve spruced up your bedroom, it might be time to show it some TLC.
Updating your bedroom can be as simple as purchasing a new bedding set or swapping in a pair of side tables that are actually big enough to keep your essentials within reach. Or, if you’re ready to invest some time and money into your space, consider updating the lighting and wall treatments. Whatever kind of upgrade you’re looking to make, we’re sharing our best contemporary bedroom ideas to help you design a space you’ll love.
Contemporary Bedroom Furniture
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A matching furniture set could be what’s making your bedroom feel dated. Long gone are the days of purchasing your bed, dresser, and side tables from the same big box store to stay on trend. Modern bedrooms now feel more collected over time and personalized.
Nature-Inspired Bedroom Decor
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Contemporary design doesn’t need to feel cold and industrial. You can fuse in warm touches from nature via the organic modern interior style. For example, hang art featuring landscape scenes, fill your room with natural fibers like linen and sheep skin, and mix wood tones together.
Contemporary Bedroom Ceiling Inspiration
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A ceiling is an often forgotten canvas for a potential design statement. Painting your ceiling a statement color is always an option, but going monochrome and applying color as your walls also makes for a bold look. To further add interest, consider applying some wood details.
Mix Traditional and Contemporary
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If you’ve landed on a contemporary design direction for your bedroom, that doesn’t mean every piece needs to feel ultra-modern. Consider mixing in one or two traditional pieces to add some texture and variety. So go ahead and pair a bed frame with sharp lines and angles with a bench that shows off some ornate wood carving.
Contemporary Bedroom Wallpaper
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If you’ve spent a fair amount of time in a room with wallpaper from the ’80s or ’90s, you know that it really has the power to make it look outdated. However, wallpaper is still a common sight in freshly updated homes. The key is to select a design that feels contemporary, like a nice geometric pattern with soothing colors.
Upgrade Your Bedside Tables
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If your bedside tables lack storage, there’s a good chance they look cluttered. Investing in a new set will open up the opportunity to display a few calming and beautiful accessories, like a quartz rock, a few books, and a sprig of eucalyptus.
Contemporary Bedroom Headboard
Headboards are major design opportunities in a bedroom because your eyes automatically gravitate toward this feature. You can set a contemporary tone in your bedroom via the headboard by selecting one that offers some interest to the space. This custom wood headboard that spans the entire length of the wall is a great example.
Lighting as Modern Art
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When designing your contemporary bedroom, turn to a modern art museum for inspiration. Your bedroom should feel like an art gallery with statement pieces that command your attention. Even useful items, like your overhead bedroom lighting, can be a work of art.
Navy As a Neutral
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There’s no doubt that cool tones like gray have taken over the modern design world. But like any thriving trend, it runs the risk of falling out of style quickly. While gray itself will always be a classic, avoid using too much of it in a space. Aim to break it up with some other neutrals, like its cool-toned cousin, navy.
Mix Patterns
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Patterns are a great way to give your contemporary bedroom an eclectic edge. To make several patterns look cohesive in a space, choose versions with similar color families and smaller prints that don’t compete. You can further add balance by tossing a few solid neutrals to the space.
Contemporary Bedroom Color Scheme
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Working with a refined, limited color scheme is one way to keep your bedroom looking up-to-date. A tri-color scheme incorporates three main colors. In the case of this bedroom, emerald green, black, and white give the overall look a chic sense of balance.
Layered Window Treatments
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Curtains are quintessentially traditional features in a bedroom. One way to give them an updated edge is to combine them with a practical, easy-to-close shade.
Consider the Architecture
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Your bedroom’s backdrop also plays a huge role in its overall look. If you have the funds or skills for a little extra work, consider the ways you can update the overall shape of your space. This may look like exposing a vaulted ceiling in an attic bedroom, installing decorative wood beams, or creating an arched entryway.
Break Some Design Rules
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We’re living in an era where classic design rules are starting to loosen their grip on society. In other words, pretty much anything goes. So instead of trying to research all the rules on proper rug sizing, buy a rug that you personally love and experiment with placement. It might not feel like the best fit resting at a straight angle right under your bed, but putting it at a slant may make all the difference.
Contemporary Bedroom Wall Art
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There’s nothing like a beautiful piece of contemporary art to give your room a unique look. If it’s in the budget, invest in a large-scale piece by a local artist to adorn the wall above your bed. It can easily change the entire mood of the space.
Modern Victorian Aesthetic
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Modern design choices play extremely well with Victorian touches. The end result is a room full of dramatic juxtapositions. A midcentury modern lamp looks beautiful in front of classic picture frame molding, and a traditional oil painting portrait next to a modern watercolor painting of roses makes for a mini art collection full of dimension.
Contemporary Bedroom Accent Wall
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Behind a bed is the perfect place for an accent wall. By adding a unique wall treatment, such as wood paneling, you cut out the need to hang a lot of framed art and other accessories that can lead to a busy look.
Add Additional Seating
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Bedrooms, much like hotels, should also be a place for lounging as you unwind after a busy day. Instead of going the traditional route with a bench at the end of your bed, add something a bit more modern and unexpected, like a loveseat. The extra back support will make this furniture addition even more functional.
French Country Inspiration
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It’s always a good idea to look for ways to work with your bedroom’s current design style. So, if your bedroom already leans a little French country or English cottage, there are simple ways to bring it up-to-date with a contemporary flair. For starters, consider breaking up an excess of dark wood tones by painting the walls cool colors like slate and a bright neutral like white.
Calming Bedroom Color Palette
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When it comes to maintaining a contemporary look in a kids’ room, less is often more. This may mean sticking to a limited neutral color palette or keeping art to a minimum. Curating an environment that isn’t overstimulating encourages creativity.
Contemporary Bedroom with Clean Lines
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Geometric shapes, as opposed to organic ones, have long been key components of the modernist design movement. Look for bedding, lighting, and bedside tables that show off simple and clean lines.
Modern Rustic Bedroom
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If your decorating style currently leans a little rustic or farmhouse, there are some simple design choices that can make it look more contemporary. Aim to work with a modern color scheme. Neutrals like white, brown, black, and tan always look trendy and never fall out of style.
Contemporary Bedroom Inspiration
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A modern adult bedroom typically doesn’t lean too heavily into one theme, but it’s still a good idea to seek inspiration from certain regions or styles. For example, adding a dessert or Southwestern flair to a room can be as simple as selecting a bed set with a subtle geometric print and pairing it with wallpaper that mirrors layers of sand.
Low-Profile Furniture
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Modern mattresses no longer require bulky box springs. Most simply need a foundation, and foundations come in a variety of heights. For a more contemporary look, opt for one with a low profile so your bed sits a bit closer to the ground.
Midcentury Modern Pieces
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When you envision the word contemporary, sleek lines often come to mind. Midcentury modern furniture embodies this characteristic, so it’s a good search term to use when looking for new pieces online. The key is contrast, so if you get several dark wood midcentury pieces, you may want to offset them with light walls.
