Seasonal
Christmas Bedroom Decor for a Small, Rented Room: 5 Cozy Ideas
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
Christmas bedroom decor gets skipped in most homes, and it's the room you spend the most hours in. The tree goes in the living room, the lights go on the window, and the bedroom stays exactly the way it looked in June.
Short version: change the bed first, because it's most of what you see. Then add soft warm light by the nightstand, heavy fabric at the window and one green thing by the headboard. Skip ornaments and bright lights. A bedroom still has to be a place you can fall asleep in.
Picture walking in on a cold December night. The bed is red and white now. Three small candles are already glowing on the nightstand, because the timer turned them on at six and you didn't touch a switch.
That's five changes, and none of them needs a nail, a flame or a landlord's permission.
We're leaving out the ornaments, the tinsel and the second tree. A bedroom is small, you see it with the lights off as much as with them on, and every extra thing is something to dust around until January.
What is the easiest way to make a bedroom look like Christmas?
Change the bedding. The bed takes up most of a small bedroom, so a Christmas duvet does more than every other idea on this page put together.
- The Lekesky set is a queen duvet cover with two pillow shams, so the pillows match without a second order
- One side has reindeer and trees on white. The other side is red plaid
- Why does reversible matter? Flip it to the plaid side in January and it still works until spring. You're not storing a cover you use for five weeks
- The Eddie Bauer throw is 50 by 60 inches, sherpa on one side and a red fair isle knit print on the other
Pick the duvet if your current one is plain white. That's the biggest change for the least effort. Pick the throw if you love your bedding and only want one festive layer on top.
Will the throw clash with the duvet? It can, since both are busy prints. If you buy both, fold the throw at the foot and keep it there. Our cozy bedding ideas guide covers the base layers under all of this.
What if the bed isn't a queen? Measure before you order. A queen cover on a full bed hangs to the floor and looks sloppy, and on a twin it swallows the mattress. Search the same print in your size instead.
How do you decorate a headboard for Christmas without damaging it?
Drape, don't attach. A garland laid along the top of the headboard looks finished, and gravity holds it there. Nothing gets taped or glued to the fabric.
- The Norfolk pine garland comes as two 6 foot pieces. One piece spans a full or queen headboard with the ends hanging down a little on each side
- It has no lights, so there's no cord to run behind the bed and nothing glowing near your face at night
- Use the second piece on the window or a dresser so the green repeats around the room
- The tree shaped pillows come as a pair in fuzzy green fabric. They stand in front of your sleeping pillows
Pick the garland if your headboard is plain. It's the one thing that makes the bed wall look decorated from the doorway. Pick the pillows if you don't have a headboard at all.
Where do the pillows go at night? On the floor or a chair, same as any throw pillow. Two is the right number. More than that and making the bed becomes a chore.
Can I put lights in the garland? You can wind a short battery string through it, but keep it warm white and on a timer. A bright, blinking headboard is the opposite of what you want two feet from your pillow.
What curtains make a bedroom feel warm at Christmas?
Deep green velvet. It reads as Christmas without a single ornament, and it still looks right in February. White rental blinds are usually the coldest thing in the room, and these hang in front of them.
- The RYB HOME panels are 84 inches long and come as a pair
- They're blackout velvet, so early winter streetlight and late sunrises stay outside
- They hang on a standard rod. If your rental has no rod, a tension rod inside the frame works for a small window
- Lay the second garland along the sill or across the top of the rod, so the green on the bed shows up again here
Will dark curtains make a small room feel smaller? Only if they're closed all day. Open, they frame the window and pull your eye up. Hang the rod as high as you can so the room reads taller.
What do I do with the landlord's blinds? Leave them up and pull them all the way open behind the curtains. You don't have to take anything down, and nothing changes at move-out.
Pick these if your window is the first thing you see from the bed. If you'd rather put lights on the glass, our Christmas window decor guide covers that.
How do you get Christmas lighting in a bedroom that still lets you sleep?
Keep it low and put it on a timer. Bright string lights belong in the living room. By the bed you want a glow that sits below eye level and turns itself off.
- The Tyawon set is three flameless candles in amber glass, in three heights
- They run on batteries, so there's no cord across the nightstand
- The remote has a timer. Set them to come on in the evening and go off a few hours later
- The flame is an LED that flickers, and the glass hides the plastic insert, which is what makes cheap fake candles look fake
Why not real candles? You'll fall asleep before you blow them out.
Where should they go? On the nightstand, at the back corner, away from the edge. Group all three together. Spread across the room, three small lights look scattered. Together they look like one warm spot.
Pick these if your bedside light is a bright ceiling bulb. If you also need a reading lamp, our cozy bedroom lighting guide has the year round picks.
What rug works for Christmas in a small bedroom?
A runner beside the bed, not a big rug under it. In a small room a 2 by 6 runner covers the one strip of floor your feet hit every morning, and you don't have to move the bed to lay it down.
- The KOZYFLY runner is 2 by 6 feet in black and white buffalo plaid
- Black and white plaid looks wintry next to the red and green, and it still fits a cabin or farmhouse look after the holidays
- Lay it with the long edge parallel to the side of the bed, starting near the pillows
- Will it slide on a wood floor? Thin runners can. A rug pad underneath fixes it and keeps the floor safe
Does it have to go in January? No. Black and white plaid has nothing Christmas about it once the red is packed away, so it can stay all winter.
Pick this if your floor is cold in the morning. It's the last thing to buy and the first thing you'll notice every day.
Our picks
Similar finds on Amazon
Start with the bed. If you only do one thing this year, a Christmas duvet is the one you'll see every night and every morning.
Everything else is a small layer on top. And because nothing here is nailed, stuck or wired in, taking it down in January is a ten minute job (the duvet just flips to plaid). For the rest of the apartment, see our small apartment Christmas decor guide.