As you’ve probably come to realize by now, I love all things cozy and country for the home, and Buffalo check is no exception. I also love it when you don’t have to spend a fortune creating the look. In this blog I’ll show you how you can create a warm and cozy country look for your bedroom on a shoe-string budget.

Buffalo check originates from Woolrich a clothing company in the USA in 1850. Legend has it that the designer of the fabric used to own a herd of buffalo and that’s how the popular fabric got its name. Although tartans are more commonly used in British country style interior design, I’ve embraced my new surroundings and created an American version using the popular American Buffalo check.

Buffalo check is also pretty synonymous with Minnesota, where we now live. Often lovingly referred to as a lumber jack shirt, one of the state’s national monuments Paul Bunyan rocks this plaid variety in his various statues throughout the state. And you can find Minnesota inspired Buffalo check home goods everywhere. So what better way to honor the place which we now call home.

I started by seeing a post by An Inspired Nest on how on how Shannon beautifully redecorated her master bedroom with mostly IKEA items to create a fresh and relaxing space. I absolutely adore this room, it’s so cozy and inviting. And I couldn’t believe that most of the items came from IKEA!

I love the whites and greys together and the use of natural fabrics to create warmth and texture. I love that she’s also mixed in warm woods and wickers to give the room some contrast and added warmth. If everything had been all white I think the room would’ve looked too cold.

I love the bright and fresh look that she created with her design. However I couldn’t really afford to replace all the furniture in our room, so I’ve created a darker, cozier version for our spare bedroom – the winter version!

I kept the original dark brown leather sleigh bed and dark brown bedside tables (also from IKEA) and worked them into the design. I already had some plain-dye grey bedding, so I used this instead of buying more new white bedding as it worked well with the buffalo check bedding from IKEA.

One tip I picked up from Shannon’s design was to use more than just a lamp on the bedside tables. This isn’t something I’d tried before, and I think it turned out really well. It adds more interest to the design and adds to the rustic country look I was trying to achieve. I got all the items from either Hobby Lobby or IKEA.

The room before (when we bought the house) was bland, out-dated and very blue. We had replaced all the doors throughout the house with six-panel oak doors painted grey to update all the rooms. This made a huge difference, especially in these bedrooms where there is a whole wall of closet doors.

There were no ceiling lights in the whole of the upstairs either. Apparently this is quite common in the age of house we have in Minnesota. So we also installed dimmable ceiling spotlights to every room upstairs.

We painted the walls a light taupe color, and luckily the carpet was already new and neutral in color. The rest was just furniture. So all in all this room make-over was a pretty affordable one. The only big cost in the room being new ceiling spotlights and new doors.

I hope you feel inspired to head down to your local IKEA and see what amazing bargains they have to give your room an instant update for low cost. It shows that you don’t need to spend a fortune to create a great look.

Shopping List:

• Buffalo check bedding – Emmie Ruta duvet cover set, IKEA
• Grey striped rug – Epiphany Stripes rug, Rugs USA
• Sleigh bed – owners
• Side tables – Malm, IKEA
• Cushion covers – selection at IKEA
• Accessories – selection at Hobby Lobby and IKEA
• Fur throw – selection at Home Goods

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Thanks for reading. Until next time.

Jo