If you are a Harry Potter lover and enjoy decorating your home, then you are in the right place because, today we are looking at a Harry Potter room makeover.
My daughters grew up, watching Harry Potter movies and enjoying the books so when my Hannah asked me to come and convert one of the dormers in her master bedroom loft into a Harry Potter room, I couldn’t wait to help.
Whenever you’re doing any Harry Potter decorating, it’s all about being creative and having a whole lot of fun.
Join me as I share how we transformed this dormer from an ordinary reading nook into a Harry Potter book nook. Stay tuned for a magical surprise!
Harry Potter Room Makeover
To begin our project, we completely pulled our inspiration from the movies, books, theme parks, and the Hogwarts Legacy games. If you are familiar with any or all of these, then you will probably guess some of the details that were added to the Harry Potter room.
Now, let's get started taking a tour of this tiny Harry Potter space.
Harry Potter Paint Color
Believe it or not, this Harry Potter room got a new fresh coat of paint. Originally, it was dark brown or burgundy, depending on who you talk to, but Hannah wanted to brighten it up.
Since she loved her green accent wall in her old bedroom she decided to keep Escape Gray by Sherwin Williams for her master suite. All the walls in this dormer were painted Escape Gray, just like the master bedroom loft.
Now that we had a fresh new color, it was time to start updating the room decor, beginning with curtains.
Harry Potter Room Curtains
For this tiny space, we decided to go with cafe curtains in a beautiful muslin fabric. Did I mention that almost everything in this room was thrifted or purchased at Walmart? These curtains, as well as all the others, came from Walmart.
Our goal was to keep costs down, and Walmart was a great place to look for budget-friendly curtains.
Another set of curtains was needed to make the Harry Potter room feel cozy and its own space. So again, we utilized Walmart and found these adorable ruffled curtains to hang at the entrance of the dormers by My Texas House.
We used a shower curtain expandable rod to hang the curtains at the top and some tiebacks to easily pull the curtains back on each side to let the sunshine in. Now, when they want to nest inside and read a book they can close the curtains for privacy.
Talk about nice and cozy!
Harry Potter Window Seat
Next on the agenda was addressing the window seat. Luckily, there was already a seat there so all we had to do was add something soft to sit on and decorations.
First, we used Hannah's white fur rug and placed it on the bench. Then we added this beautiful tapestry rug, also found at Walmart, on top of the fur rug.
Next, we placed a few pillows, one in a neutral plaid pattern reminiscent of the Hogwarts houses and a tapestry pillow. The softness of the fur and pillows truly make this bench look cozy.
Now that we have the feeling of coziness, we added a box that was actually a shelf found at a thrift store. Inside the box are two battery powered candles in a brass candlestick holder and the most current read.
And sitting beside the box is a brass cauldron with an actual candle inside.
Last, to finish the whole look we tossed a Hufflepuff sweater. It is as if this niche is inside of the Hogwarts Academy and one of the students has been using this cozy reading nook.
I almost forgot that when thrifting for decor we came across this pretty painted box. We placed it in front of the bench and added a few decorations, such as apothecary jars, an old-timey radio, and another real candle.
One cannot have too many candles in a Harry Potter room!
Next, let's move over to the bookcases Hannah added to the space because if you are making this a Harry Potter reading nook then you need a place for books.
Decorating a Harry Potter Bookcase
Decorating this bookcase with loads of Harry Potter details is where the fun really began. To save money, we used a narrow bookcase that Hannah already had, but you can find an inexpensive bookcase at Walmart or Ikea, and we filled it with lots of Harry Potter books that she and her husband Tim owned.
Between the two of them they had enough books to almost fill the bookcase.
With the extra space on the bookshelves, it was time to add decorations that were inspired by and came from Harry Potter.
Apothecary Jars
First, we added lots of apothecary jars. They're like little jars for potions.
Harry Potter Wands
Then, of course, we needed to add a few Harry Potter wands.
Plants
We included some greenery that we also found at Walmart.
Ivy filled up one of the shelves and this pretty bust of a woman with a plant had that Harry Potter vibe. Can you believe this small bust of a woman also came from Walmart?
Hedwig Decoration
On the bottom shelf, we added more decor that reminded us of Harry Potter, including this gorgeous Anthropologie owl on a glass ball.
Doesn't he make you think of Hedwig?
Lamps
Last but not least. This is an essential element to add a lamp to your cozy Harry Potter nook. On the top shelf, we placed a tiny lamp found at Walmart for only $10.
These little lamps are the best. They may be my favorite part. Not only do they work fantastic on bookcases, but I love to add them to kitchen counters and they make great housewarming gifts.
Now that we have the bookcase decorated, let's turn our attention to the walls.
Harry Potter Gallery Walls and Wall Decor
In addition to the bookcase being a fun place to decorate, we found the walls equally exciting.
Let's begin on the wall where the bookcase is sitting and then we will look at the opposite wall.
Harry Potter Maps
Hannah placed the Hogsmeade map that came with the wand, which she purchased at Universal Studios. Are you starting to see all the different avenues we pulled decor from, for example, theme parks, movies, books, Hogwarts Legacy game and so on?
Harry Potter Robes
On the left side of the bookcase, Hannah added a hook for their Hogwarts robs which is another Universal Studios purchase. Including hooks is a great way to hang other Hogwarts objects.
The funny story about this Slytherin rob is it belongs to her sister. Hannah and Tim are both Ravenclaw but their robes were in storage.
Now, let's turn around to the adjacent wall, where we decided to make a gallery wall similar to the one at Hogwarts.
Harry Potter Gallery Wall Art
Again, we went thrifting and grabbed all the gold ornate frames we could find along with this mini shelf. After determining all the frame sizes, Hannah began searching Etsy for printables that fit the whimsical nature of Harry Potter or had a witchy vibe to them.
Here is a list of the printable art we used:
- Dumbledore sleeping
- Hedwig Owl on books
- Unicorn tapestry
- Woman with ship
- Violin
- Kittens
- Wizard School
Next, we had them printed at Walgreens, then decoupaged them and removed the glass so they would look more like oil paintings than printables.
Here is a post on how to decoupage printables if you want to make your art. This blog post is about how to paint a ghost on a printable landscape, but if you scroll down, it tells you how to decoupage art.
Last, we set out the art on the floor how we wanted it on the wall and then started hanging all the pieces. The silhouette in the middle is going to be changed to Hannah's cats silhouette soon so stay tuned on my Instagram for the update.
Shelf Decorations
Now let's look at each piece of art for fun, beginning with the shelf where added a paperback Harry Potter book – Hannah's most recent thrift find.
Did I mention that you can find Harry Potter books quite often at thrift stores?
On top of the book, she placed a folding frame with more wizard and witch vibed art.
On the opposite end of the gallery wall is a piece of art that looks like Hedwig, Harry Potter's owl and he is strategically sitting on a stack of old books. It's fitting since this is a reading nook.
In the middle are two landscapes with architecture. The bottom reminded us of Hogwarts, so we couldn't resist adding it, and on top is another mysterious building.
Now, I almost forgot to share one piece of art: the witchy lady under the silhouette. Scroll back up and check her out. She fit the color scheme and dark academia theme perfectly.
The gallery wall of magic is all done! There is something about this gallery wall that pulled it all together.
Well, guess what? We are back at the entrance of this small Harry Potter room, and our tour is over.
Here are a few final thoughts that will help you if you give your space a Harry Potter room makeover.
How to Make your Room Look like Harry Potter?
If you are considering creating a Harry Potter themed room, begin by collecting these four things:
- House Colors or Hogwarts Color Scheme—You can use a certain house color scheme, such as Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw, to create your nook, or you can go for an overall neutral color scheme.
- Wizarding World Accessories—When shopping or collecting items, think about accessories that fit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, such as wands, apothecary jars, robs, maps, and so on. It also helps to search dark academia and display your Harry Potter collection. Imagine everything you would find in the trunks of the kids at Hogwarts.
- Art and Posters—A great way to fill your space with the Hogwarts vibe is with art. Shop Etsy for printables, keep an eye out in thrift stores or online, and even thrift Harry Potter books and frame the art inside. Adding art to the walls fits in perfectly, just like the walls at Hogwarts.
- Lighting and Atmosphere—Ambient lighting can really transform a space, especially when creating a moody room. Adding something as simple as a lamp or including floating candles from the ceiling truly creates that moody atmosphere. This reminds me that we may decorate this space for Halloween, so subscribe to Life on Summerhill to get notified.
Final Thoughts
Remember to look for different items, such as Harry Potter books, apparel, instruments like wands, and apothecary jars. Thrifting items will help keep your cost down, and if you are not in a rush to complete your project, add pieces one by one as you find them.
Next, if you want a dark and moody Harry Potter room, go with a dark color. But remember, this is your space, so if you want it white, go with white. It is really your personal preference.
Last, here are more Harry Potter decor projects we have done to get inspiration and ideas:
- Harry Potter Table Decor
- Harry Potter Flying Letters DIY
- Free Printable Harry Potter
- Harry Potter Movie Night Ideas
I hope you have enjoyed this Harry Potter room makeover tour and found inspiration to create a cozy wizarding book nook. Do you plan to create a Harry Potter room? Please share in the comments what project you are working on.
Happy Decorating!
