9 Bedroom Makeover Tips for More Sex

Your partner carries you into the bedroom à la your favorite #BookTok MMC, only for you both to remember the duvet is still covered with laundry that needs to be folded. Buzzkill. Or maybe you reach into your nightstand drawer for your wand vibrator, only to graze a stack of unpaid bills. Never mind…“Your bedroom is already shaping how you feel about sex,” says Ashley Giddens, interior designer, artist and founder of Ashthetics NYC. It's not just clutter that can pull you out of the moment, or a tidy space that can help you stay in it, either, she says.“Light impacts how you feel, which matters a lot when you're about to take your clothes off, while the textures impact what you feel beyond skin,” Giddens explains. Not to mention, the colors on the walls, sheets, and even the ceiling can influence how cozy, intimate, or downright sexy your bedroom feels, she says.With that, a little bedroom makeover can help set the stage for more (and better) sex.According to Philadelphia-based ASSECT-certified sex therapist and clinical licensed social worker Melanie Greenberg, LCSW, CST, MEd, Founder of Pulling Threads Therapy, changing your surroundings isn't a guaranteed libido booster. “But having a bedroom that is decorated and designed to make you comfortable, free of worry, relaxed, and connected to your senses and partner may make it easier to get in the mood,” she says.Rest assured, you don't need a huge budget to bring it to life. Whether you've got $20 or $20,000 to spare, there's a way to make your bedroom a little sexier. Here are nine expert-approved places to start.1. Start with sleep. You might think a bedroom designed with sleep in mind and one designed for, well, doing it are two different beasts. But actually they are the same side of the coin: “If your bedroom doesn't help you sleep, you're probably not going to have much energy left for anything else,” Erica Corpening, co-founder and designer of Hidden Honey Homes, an adult-only boutique retreat emporium, tells Cosmopolitan.On a physiological level, skimping on Zzz's can disrupt our endocrine system, potentially interfering with the hormones that support sexual functioning in the first place. That's why before you start shopping for silk sheets and sex swings, Corpening suggests that when designing a sex-friendly bedroom, “start with sleep.”First and foremost, that means getting a comfortable mattress—whatever that means to you. In particular, however, take a beat to consider your preferred squishiness, how much the mattress squeaks when you move, and the weight limit. After all, if you can't get comfortable lying still, odds are you won't enjoy getting busy in missionary.It also means considering the bed height you enjoy most. “A low platform frame can make the room feel grounded, relaxed, and a little more lounge-like,” says Corpening. It can also make getting into floor-based sex positions a whole lot easier. But it might not be accessible for people with hip or knee issues, or anyone who has difficulty getting up from low surfaces. On the flip side, a higher bed frame can give your room a more elevated, hotel-suite feel, while also making certain standing sex positions easier to pull off.2. Make room for getting busy…literally. The lowest-cost suggestion on the list doubles as the most essential: Tidy up. “One of the sexiest things you can add to a bedroom is space,” says Corpening.The debris of life (i.e., burp cloths, bills, yesterday's boxers) can keep your mind focused on everything on your to-do list—a serious turn-off (or sexual brake) for anyone whose desire is easily derailed by distraction. And without all those visual reminders of your responsibilities, your brain might finally have the bandwidth for something a little less responsible.“So before you buy anything, clear off the nightstands and rescue the corner chair that's been holding last week's laundry,” says Corpening. And don't underestimate the wonders that under-the-bed storage, vacuum-sealed storage bags, and drawer organizers—all of which are just an Amazon order or Target run away—can do for your daily detritus (and, by extension, your sex life).3. Outfit the room for your needs. Materially speaking, what do you need on hand before, during, and after sex? Maybe you're a sensation seeker like yours truly and need a Wartenberg wheel, blindfold, or feather tickler to transition from your PG life to your X-rated one. Maybe you squirt, or are into golden showers, and like to lay down a water-resistant blanket before play. Or maybe you're a lube lover who would benefit from keeping a bottle within arm's reach rather than buried in the bathroom cabinet.Whatever your pleasure preferences, take stock of your sex-specific supplies, then do what you can to make them as easy to access as possible.“Even small adjustments to a real setting can make a difference,” doctor of human sexuality Emily Nagoski, PhD, sex educator and author, writes in her 2024 book Come Together.“It’s not super-sexy to have to get out of bed, dripping with fluids, and go into the bathroom to get a towel, especially on a cold New England night,” she writes. Her solution? Allocate a drawer, reachable from the bed, with towels dedicated to post-sex cleanup. “Some problems are just that easy to solve,” she writes.4. Consider investing in sex furniture. Sex furniture, more or less, falls into two categories. First, there is the stuff that looks like, well, the kind of sex furniture that outfits a dungeon or BDSM playroom. I’m talking St. Andrew’s sex crosses, spanking benches, and sex horses. All of which, for the record, can be great bedroom makeover investments if they support your particular fantasies.But there's also more discreet sex furniture, like sex pillows and wedges, which are primarily designed to support your bodies and make certain positions more comfortable. While unassuming, these seemingly simple additions can have a serious impact because “with better support, sex naturally improves,” Danny Griffin, the creative director of Liberator, tells Cosmopolitan.“A firm, stable surface at the right angle takes the strain off knees, wrists, hips, and lower backs, so you can stay in a position long enough to actually enjoy it,” he says. Meanwhile, the few inches of lift provided by a pillow or wedge can significantly change how two bodies line up, he says, “which can mean deeper penetration or an easier path to the spot that matters, which is a big deal for couples with different heights or body types.”Ultimately, whether you opt for a piece of furniture that screams sex dungeon or one that passes as a regular ‘ole cushion depends on your wants, needs, desires, and budget. To figure out what you should invest in, Corpening suggests, “Ask each other what you'd actually enjoy exploring, what sounds intriguing, playful, adventurous, or more comfortable. Then choose something that supports that experience.”5. Dim the lights to turn up desire. According to Giddens, another cheap change with a big payoff is a lighting revamp. “Bright light is inspection light, and it mostly puts you on display to yourself, which can make it hard to feel sensual,” she says. Bright lights have also been linked to feelings of unsafety, which is totally incompatible with good sex, she adds.Low, warm light, on the other hand, can help create a sense of privacy and comfort, allowing you to “stop monitoring and start feeling,” she says. On top of that, warm lighting can soften skin texture and even out tone, she says, which may help you feel more confident in your birthday suit.Your move: “Retire the overhead after dark, put two lamps low and close to the bed, and fill them with warm dimmable bulbs,” Giddens suggests. Specifically, look for bulbs rated 2700K or lower. “2200K gets close to candlelight,” she says.And if you're going for more sex-party than spa-night vibes? “Swap one lamp to a pink or red bulb, or hang a small neon sign, and let that colored glow wash across one wall,” she suggests.6. Set the mood with color. When choosing a color palette for your pleasure palace, take a cue from the bisexual Pride flag: “Pink is the sleeper pick,” Giddens tells Cosmopolitan. Associated with both calmness and intimacy, the hue can help create a more inviting atmosphere, she says. “It also sits in the same family as flushed cheeks and lips, so it tends to flatter skin,” she says.“Red is the obvious answer, and it earns its reputation,” she says. On the walls, red can make a room feel smaller, “which in a bedroom reads as close and intimate,” she says.For a moodier, more boudoir-like feel, consider deep jewel tones like plum and midnight navy, which make a room feel more enveloping, particularly when the lights are low, says Giddens. In fact, if you're tempted to go full black-walled for the ~drama~, she suggests using these colors instead. “They will give you the same moody depth with some warmth still in it, unless a little dungeon energy is exactly the goal,” she says.Whatever shade you choose, don't commit based on how it looks at high noon. Instead, tape a few paint swatches beside your bed and see how they look under the lamps you actually use at night. “Warm bulbs can change paint a lot. Reds, pinks, and plums tend to get richer, while a cool blue or gray that looks crisp in daylight can go flat and muddy,” she says.7. Give some TLC to the fifth wall, too. Before you rinse your brushes and fold the tarps, consider giving the ceiling a little love, too. “It's the move that almost nobody makes,” says Giddens. Yet “it's the surface you look at most when you're lying in bed, it's usually still builder white, and there's no furniture to work around, so a gallon of paint and a weekend afternoon gets you a completely different room.” Cheers to efficiency!Of course, the color you use on the ceiling matters. “A ceiling bounces that color back down onto your skin,” she says. “My one hard rule is no green on the ceiling, because that same reflection casts green onto faces and bodies, which is about as unsexy as color gets.”A saturated pink or a warm peach above the bed, on the other hand, can cast a warm, flattering glow on the naked bodies below. Red, meanwhile, is better left to the walls or smaller accents, as Giddens says it can feel heavy and intrusive overhead.8. Let your sheets do the seducing. Good news: If the thought of spending your weekend in coveralls with a paint roller makes you want to crawl under the covers (to sleep), you can still join the color play. Same goes if your landlord has a strict No-Paint-Allowed policy. “If paint is off the table entirely, change your sheets,” suggests Giddens.“Sheets are the biggest piece of color that sits right next to your skin, and fabric reflects color the same way a ceiling does,” she says. As such, she suggests picking them the way you'd choose a makeup shade. “Pink, peach, deep red, and plum bounce warmth back onto your face and body, while gray-green does the opposite.”9. Make a mirror work for you. A well-placed sex mirror can turn an otherwise innocent situation downright indecent faster than a well-timed 'good girl' can make me forget my own name (just me?).Sure, there's the tried-and-true mirror-above-the-bed approach. Though, word to the wise: Don't leave this one to any ol' Taskrabbit. A broken mirror might mean seven years of bad luck, but a broken mirror above your bed could mean a trip to the ER. So make sure yours is professionally and securely installed.But you have other options, too. “If you place a mirror across from a chaise, or beside a doorway, play can spill into other parts of the space,” says Corpening. “You might catch a bare shoulder in your peripheral vision, or the two of you moving together in the glass, and then it's gone. It can heighten your awareness of your body and build anticipation without anyone saying a word,” she says.Meanwhile, a mirror near a window can serve double duty. “If you hang it near a window, it bounces daylight around and makes the room feel open during the day,” says Corpening. A win for afternoon nookie fans, indeed.