How to arrange a small bedroom is essential when designing the more petite spaces in your home, so we've broken down our top tips on how to get the most from your room, even when square footage is tight.
From tiny spare rooms to awkwardly shaped attic spaces, small bedrooms all come with their own unique set of problems. People often struggle with where to squeeze in storage, how to fit in all the furniture you need in the bedroom layout, without making the space feel crowded, and how to ensure the arrangement makes the room feel bigger, lighter, and more airy.
So here we tackle the best arrangements for small bedrooms that balance form and function, they allow space for all the essentials, and still leave some breathing room.
1. Don't place furniture on every wall
Fitting furniture within a small bedroom layout can seem tricky, but you always want to avoid the room feeling stuffed with furniture, like all the walls are coming in on you. Easy way to avoid this claustrophobic feel? Ensure some walls are left free of furniture.
'The key to arranging a small bedroom is to try to avoid placing bedroom furniture on all sides of the room. Keep spaces clear between furniture to allow for flow, and make sure that the pieces that are selected serve their purpose well,' advises Bunny Turner of Turner Pocock.
2. Embrace the bed against a wall arrangement
By their very nature, beds can be a fairly cumbersome problem when arranging a bedroom. They are naturally the focal point, so ideally, you want them to sit in the center of the room with equal space on either side. However, in small bedrooms, this usually isn't an option. And even if you just about have room to position a bed in the middle of the main wall, if you are having to squeeze around it, it's definitely not the best arrangement.
Embrace having to place your bed against a wall by turning it into a bed nook. As shown here by designer Wendi Wolf Lewitt, space is tight, but the bed looks so inviting, and by placing it against the wall, there's more floor space and room to add in larger pieces of furniture.
3. Make use of the space at the end of the bed with an ottoman
Storage is one of the biggest issues with small bedroom arrangements. It's an essential, yes, but can be tricky to know where to squeeze it in. Look to those underused, dead spaces – alcoves are an obvious one, but the space at the end of a bed should never be left empty in a small bedroom. Add a small, streamlined ottoman to create extra storage and even some bedroom seating.
In this small bedroom, designer Beata Heuman made the most of the space at the end of the bed by including a beautifully upholstered chest. By using a gorgeous fabric, it becomes a focal point for the room and doesn’t scream out the fact that it’s actually a practical bedroom storage solution. In addition to being the perfect container for thick jumpers, boots, or blankets, it also provides a place to sit and get ready for the day ahead.
4. Create a symmetrical bedroom arrangement
Get symmetry right and you can create harmony in a small bedroom, and make your space feel much larger than it actually is.
Symmetry creates balance and a feeling of calm when used in interior design – and while it is wonderfully elegant in large rooms, it can also create a feeling of enhanced space in smaller rooms. Think about all the most luxurious hotels you have stayed in, so often they have a symmetrical arrangement, even in the room itself isn't huge.
The best way to use symmetry in a room is by having an architectural feature or a piece of statement furniture as a starting or center point. However, you can create symmetry in a non-symmetrical space with statement headboard ideas or wall decor ideas.
5. Pick oversized pieces to give the room a key focal point
Just because the room is small, that doesn't mean you can't go big with statement pieces. In fact, arranging a small bedroom around one standout piece can be a really easy and effective approach. As designer Kit Kemp explains, Using a very large painting or wall hanging in a small bedroom often makes a room feel bigger.'
Pick your 'main wall' (the one your eye lands on as soon as you walk in the room) and pick your focus piece. In a small bedroom, this is likely going to have to be the bed, so turn that into the big feature with a bold headboard or a large statement painting hanging above.
The best way to arrange a small bedroom is going to differ depending on the exact space, but the key thing to avoid is adding too much furniture. So, really think about what key pieces you want to bring into the space? Can you slim it down to a bed and some side tables and put a bulky closet elsewhere? Can you switch bedside tables for larger drawers to add some extra storage?
Make sure you also have plenty of space to move around the room. Nothing shrinks a room more than having to squeeze around furniture.
