How Much Does it Cost to Furnish a Bedroom? Here’s How to Calculate Your Spend

One of the questions I get asked all the time as an interior designer, by new clients, is how much does it cost to furnish a bedroom? It’s not an exact science, of course, but in this post I want to show you how I work it out so you get an idea of the total cost you can expect to incur.

I’ll do some calculations below, but I’d recommend you use this as a guide (average costs), because what the total spend comes to will vary depending on which furniture stores you buy from, how many pieces you need, and what sort of bedroom they’re going in.

It’s kind of like eating out. You can go to McDonald’s and spend $20, or you can go to a Michelin-star restaurant and spend a few thousand. It really all depends on the venue and what food you want. It’s the same with furnishing. Some things are cheaper than others, and some higher-quality materials simply cost more.

But come along for the ride as we cover it all off below with some real-world examples.

How Much Does it Cost to Furnish a Bedroom, Realistically?

Let’s start with furnishing a master bedroom as an example, because they tend to be the room most of my design clients want transformed. We tend to invest more money here, and then less in a guest room, and then even less in a teen or kids room.

It should be said that I don’t go to thrift stores, flea markets or online marketplaces like Facebook when I’m furnishing bedrooms. They’re a great way to reduce costs, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not where I source from.

The price point calculations here are based on going to a new furniture store, sourcing quality furniture (sorry budget chains). That said, I don’t consider the type of products I specify to be super high end either; more middle-of-the-road or mid-tier. It’s a designer look, but not crazy expensive.

The honest answer in terms of how much does it cost to furnish the entire bedroom would be approximately $10,000. That may come as a shock or surprise to the average person, but come on the journey with me and I’ll show you how it’s calculated.

What Pieces are Needed to Fully Furnish a Bedroom?

A great place to start when considering your spend is to list out the essential furniture pieces and decor elements that would go into a fully furnished bedroom. It’s always how I start my design process with clients.

Here’s an example of what you’d need to fill an entire room with furniture (at a minimum):

• A king size bed frame and mattress
• 2 x bedside tables / nightstands
• 2 x table lamps or pendant lights or wall sconces
• Wall art for at least one of the walls
• A mirror is also likely to go on another wall
• Perhaps a TV stand or chest of drawers across from the bed
• An armchair if the room is big enough, with a small end table and floor lamp

Now, the list above assumes it’s a new space we’re dealing with where you’re not keeping any old furniture; we’re getting everything brand new. You might already have a mattress or some accent pieces you’re working with, so keep in mind you can reduce costs if this is the case.

How is the Cost of Furnishing a Bedroom Calculated?

Below I want to list real pieces from a real furniture retailer, so we can add items up as we go along and give you the full transparent picture of how we can get to $10,000 total spend.

Let’s use some pieces from Pottery Barn as an example, and we’ll use some additional suppliers for things like mattresses. All of the pieces here can be found on their website, with correct pricing, at the time of publish.

• 1 x Sausalito king-size bed: $2299
• 1 x King-size mattress from Sleeping Duck: $1999
• 2 x Sausalito bedside tables: $1698
• 2 x Anders table lamps: $456
• 1 x Plaster tile wall artwork: $339
• 1 x Marlena antique mirror: $649
• 1 x Sausalito eight-drawer dresser: $2699
• 1 x Tallulah upholstered armchair: $1299
• 1 x Chelsea adjustable floor lamp: $349
• 1 x Cori round wood side table: $429

TOTAL SPEND: $12,216

What’s Not Included in the Above Bedroom Costs

The important thing to highlight is that the above estimate doesn’t include any custom pieces of furniture. It also doesn’t include any bedding (quilts, pillows, quilt cover set, throws) or decorative accents like cushions, plants, photo frames, ornaments.

While we’re on the subject of bedding, these are the top 10 places we get bedding from for clients.

It also doesn’t include options like pendant lights instead of lamps (and the cost to get the electrician out to install them). It doesn’t include things like repainting, new carpet, area rugs, or installing wallpaper or curtains if we were to go down that path.

The other thing it doesn’t include is design fees (if you’re working with a designer) or delivery costs from a retailer like Pottery Barn. If you’re working with a designer, it’s commonplace for us to specify from a variety of suppliers, so there can often be multiple delivery fees.

That said, in using different suppliers I’ll often use a skimp-meets-splurge approach to get the best look for less (some high end pieces, some more affordable ones). The magic is always in the mix!

But Don’t Designers Get Discounts?

One of the bonuses of working with an interior designer (apart from our phenomenal ideas, project management, and peace of mind that the end result is going to be stunning), is that we can access pricing not available to the general public. This can affect how much money you spend overall on furnishing too.

Some designers (like me) share the savings with their clients, but some don’t. If they do, discounts of anywhere from 10% to 30% can apply to some of the furniture pieces. So, it might not all add up to the Pottery Barn prices listed above.

Also, bear in mind that it’s the job of your designer to ascertain your budget and work to find pieces that’ll come in on or under budget. But it’s nice to have a good idea of what you should allocate before you start.

On that note, here’s where we go budget in bedrooms to get them furnished affordably for clients.

Your Personal Style Can Affect the Spend

It’s worth mentioning that the interior design style you gravitate toward can impact the overall cost to furnish your bedroom. For example, if you’re a minimalist moving into a new home, it’s fair to say you’ll have less items in the space because you hate clutter.

On the flipside, you might be like me when it comes to furnishing and decor; you like the layers in a room to add warmth and personality. I love a really plush pillow-filled bed, for example, so more bedding alone is going to add to the amount of money you spend overall.

Of course, as we know, IKEA furniture is lower in price than Pottery Barn. But then Globewest or Zuster is more expensive than Pottery Barn. So it goes back to my analogy earlier about furniture being like food on a restaurant menu. Some people don’t see the value in paying for a five-star meal, whereas others would never let fast-food pass their lips.

Where you shop makes a huge difference to the dent it leaves in your credit card.

The Bedroom Size Can Reduce or Increase Costs

A bedroom in a small furnished apartment is going to have average costs that are less expensive than a grand master suite in a home in the suburbs. So the footprint or square feet you’re working with comes into play here (to a degree, anyway).

Your bedroom might just need the bare minimum if it’s a smaller space: a bed, bedside tables/nightstands, bedding, some lamps, and that’s about it.

If it’s a large master suite, you might have space for all of the bedroom furniture and decor listed earlier, plus a sitting zone with a number of chairs and coffee table. The room might open up onto a balcony housing a little dining area where you can sit and each brunch (that’s what I call living the dream!), or you might want to furnish your ensuite bathroom too.

In a smaller room, it’s still possible to spend $10,000 though. You might have few items, but those pieces might be made from higher-quality materials, or the type of furniture could be more bespoke/custom from a top-tier supplier.

Got a cosier bedroom? Here’s our top tips for styling small bedrooms to make them feel bigger.

So How Much Money Should You Really Allocate?

I said at the start of this post that figuring out how much it costs to furnish a master bedroom is not an exact science. And that’s true. But I hope this exercise, and the transparency, has helped you get a better idea of what the overall costs can come in at

As mentioned, you can go lower-price or quality and still have an amazing bedroom at the end, or if you want to splurge you can allocate extra money to achieve a luxury look and feel. But if we’re talking price ranges, I would honestly suggest you hover around the $10,000 mark to furnish your space. That’s for a mid-tier designer look that feels layered and lovely.

If you want to know what the budget for a living room starts at, check out this post on how much it costs to decorate a living room.

I hope this has helped you answer the question of how much it costs to furnish a bedroom. The best way to clarify anything that doesn’t make sense is to drop me any important questions in the comments section below. I’ll be happy to answer any queries you might have there.