Design Tips: Small Bedroom Ideas

There is a lot that be done to make a small space feel larger, brighter, and cozy. Everything from the walls to the lighting and storage solutions play a role. Here are small bedroom ideas that will make the most of your space.

The Important Areas

The color of your walls will play a big role in how spacious your bedroom feels. For a small bedroom, go with light paint ideas like white seen in picture (1), cream, or pastels. This will make the bedroom feel bright and spacious. While darker colors will make the room feel cozy and smaller which also works if you want that (Bedroom Color Ideas: Paint Schemes and Palette Mood Board).

Try and keep bold colors out of the bedroom – like bold colored pillows. Bold colors will dominate the look of the space, and attract the eye. You want everything to blend in as much as possible – this way the eye keeps moving around the space just like the bedroom in picture (2).

Making Smart Use of Lighting

To make a space room more spacious with lighting, you want to use as much ceiling lights as possible (recessed lights are best). The opposite is true when you want to create a cozy and romantic space – use lights such as table and floor lamps that are closer to the ground.

A lot of people like having a bedside lamp. One way to free up table space is to have a bedside lamp fitted to the wall by the bed, just how they do in hotels.

Decorating and Hacking a Small Bedroom Space

Here are some basic ideas on how to decorate a small bedroom:

Curtains

The way you hang your curtains can impact how the bedroom feels. By mounting the curtains high up, say near the ceiling, you’ll make the space feel taller. Try and use a long curtain rod. This way you can fully open up the curtains letting in as much natural light as possible.

How To Make A Small Room Look Bigger: Creative Design Ideas and Tips

When it comes to the curtains, avoid contrasting them with the color of the walls. If you have white walls, try and get off white, cream, light tan curtains – a color that blends well with the wall just like the curtains in the bedroom in picture (3). Also avoid using heavy patterns on the curtains as this will dominate the look of the room. In a small space you want pieces to blend together.

Mirrors

See if you can get a mirror or a group of small mirrors up on the wall. A mirror is always a good way of making a room feel larger than it is – as they add depth and reflect light (4).

Beds

A lot of beds take up extra floor space than they really need – with their headboards and footboards sticking out. Look for designs that are really compact. One good idea would be a platform bed. The good thing about platform beds is that they don’t need to have a box spring, which allows for storage under the bed. And because platform beds are low down, this makes the bedroom feel larger.

Organization and Small Bedroom Storage Ideas

For a small bedroom, you’re going to need to be creative and resourceful when it comes to storage space:

Under the bed is one area that can be used for storage (5). IKEA has storage boxes that have wheels which can be rolled under the bed. To do this means having a bed that doesn’t need a box spring.
Hooks can be fitted to the back of the bedroom door – to hang up clothes and other items (6).
The inside of the closet door is another place that can have hooks fitted to hang up things like belts, ties, etc. (Smart Small Closet Ideas and Storage Organization Tricks)
Built in closets are ideal. They make the most of the space available. And because they are built into the space, they blend in with the look of the room – take a look at the cabinets above the bed in picture (7).
Floating wall shelves and wall cabinets free up valuable floor space just like the shelves in the bedrooms of pictures (8) and (9).
Fitting lights inside of your closets will help make each shelf more usable and convenient when looking for items. It can be as simple as using a battery powered and motion censored puck lights. Have a look at my post here for ideas: Closet Lighting Ideas: From Wireless to Walk In.
For any furniture pieces you use in a small bedroom, try and go for transparency. Take a side table for example. One with a glass tabletop works best as it takes up less ‘visual space’.
For furniture pieces that you can’t get transparent, an alternative would be to find pieces with raised legs. This makes the furniture pieces float, allowing you to see below, which helps in making a room feel larger.