8 expert steps to organizing a modern bedroom – for a serene sleep space
These eight bedroom organizing tricks are perfect if you want a sleek, modern space
A modern bedroom needs to do more than house our beds. They need to offer a restful sanctuary away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of our homes while simultaneously housing everything we need for the perfect start and end to a day.
But how do you do this without the room looking cluttered? From picking the best bedroom storage to decluttering a bedroom, organizing a modern bedroom ultimately comes down to perfecting your organizing routine, professionals say.
In this guide, we explore the eight best ways to organize a modern bedroom to create a neat, sleek space perfectly suited to sleep.
How to organize a modern bedroom
Besides picking out minimal color pallets and sleep furnishings, organizing and decluttering is the best way to make a bedroom look more modern according to professional home organizers. This is how they design a modern system that works.
1. Pick multi-functional furniture
You can't have a bedroom without furniture (well, you can, but it wouldn't be very comfortable). When organizing a modern bedroom, the best place to start is picking out multifunctional bedroom furniture ideas that offer a modern silhouette and a place to hide away clutter when needed, suggests professional organizer and Spiffy Chicks founder, Amy Berryhill.
‘A calm, relaxing environment has also been shown to improve your quality of sleep - and who doesn't want that?’ she begins. ‘I would get rid of any furniture that doesn't have storage. If you just have a flat surface, items can pile up over time. I love a nightstand with drawers so you can put most items away and only have a few decorative items on top.’
Other great options are ottoman beds with a lift-up base, beds with drawers, or ottomans and benches with built-in storage for throws and spare bed linens.
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This spacious storage ottoman is ideal for the bottom of your bed. It comes in a huge range of colors too, so it will suit any space
2. Hide dressers in closets
A modern bedroom is, but their nature, a more minimalist bedroom. To help achieve the look without compromising on storage space, Juliana Meidl, owner and professional organizer at Serenity At Home suggests tucking dressers and drawers into closets to update the look of your bedroom and create more space.
This helps to keep clutter to a minimum for the perfect modern look while also making your closet more functional – preventing items from being strewn in the bottom and left to collect dust.
We love these small space dressers for tiny bedrooms to add something special to a closet space.
3. Cut down on dumping zones
We have all had to declutter the bedroom ‘clothes chair’ at some point. We might promise ourselves that we will stop using our furniture as temporary clothes storage, but the temptation is often too great – especially when we are tired after a long day.
The best way to organize a modern bedroom and prevent this endless clutter pit is to remove this furniture altogether, says Gillian Gudgeon, APDO member and founder of Restore the Calm:
‘Having chairs, ottomans, and valets in the bedroom can encourage things to be strewn across them, such as lightly worn clothes. If you can’t be disciplined, remove the temptation and consider assigning one end of a wardrobe for these garments, or hang a hook on the back of the bedroom door, or behind it.’
4. Maintain clear walkways
The minimalist modern look is all about creating space and allowing the room to breathe. As such, organizing the space to promote a better bedroom layout is a must, suggests professional organizer Jamie Hord, founder of Horderly:
‘The layout of a space can make a big impact on the function and feel of your space. If your bedroom is hard to maneuver around, think of how you could rearrange your space to create a better flow. Things to keep in mind: try positioning the bed to where it's facing you when you walk into the room and make sure any doors have full clearance to open fully.’
5. Declutter decor
When the experts recommend decluttering your bedroom decor, they are not telling you to strip the space of all personality. Your bedroom needs to have some creature comforts to help promote better sleep, for a start.
Instead, the experts recommend paring back cluttered collections to make cleaning a bedroom easier and make the room more restful – especially if you want to replicate the modern aesthetic.
Modern doesn't mean you can't have anything in the bedroom. It just means you have very little visual clutter,’ assures professional organizer Amy Berryhill. ‘A few plants, books, comfy pillows, and blankets all make sense but I don't want to see any paperwork, toys, or dressers with items piled all over the place. I know this is controversial but I don't even like to keep a TV in the bedroom.’
6. Keep side tables spotless
Bedside tables are essential for any bedroom, but they need to be carefully managed in a modern space to stop them from becoming clutter magnets, cautions Gillian Gudgeon, professional organizer. ‘Bedside tables should have a relatively clear surface – lamp, book, and coaster with a photo, memento or two,’ she says.
To help keep the clutter to a minimum, pick bedside tables with drawers or cabinets to stow away the items not to store on your nightstand out of sight. Things like your medications, sleep sprays, eyeglasses, etc. will still be in easy reach without being on full display – or catching dust.
7. Opt for uniformity
It can be hard to organize a bedroom without some bedroom organizers. When selecting your clothes hangers, baskets, and under-bed organizers, try to pick options that match. This not only makes your storage easy to manage but ensures a uniform, modern scheme that allows the eye to rest, rather than draw attention to storage and belongings.
8. Use under-bed storage
When trying to organize a modern bedroom you need to make your storage spaces work harder to keep all of your essentials in order. This means making the best use of every available inch of hidden storage – especially under-bed storage, Gillian Gudgeon, professional organizer recommends.
‘Utilize space under your bed and invest in some good storage that’s easy to push in and out to ensure you use it, rather than leaving it to hoard items you never touch.’
FAQs
What are the best organizers for a modern bedroom?
When selecting organizers for a modern bedroom, opt for pieces with neutral colors and sleek lines, such as acrylic bins or woven baskets, to help introduce some warmth. Otherwise, using things such as drawer dividers for file-folded clothes and picking out matching slimline velvet hangers is a great way to display your clothing while keeping it neat and reducing visual noise – perfect for creating that minimalist appeal.
Of course, creating and organizing a modern bedroom requires decluttering and knowing what to get rid of for a more minimalist bedroom – trying to organize a bedroom with too much stuff will only spell disaster when your goal is a laid-back, relaxed space.
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Chiana has been at Homes & Gardens for two years. She spends most of her time producing content for the Solved section of the website, helping readers get the most out of their homes through clever decluttering, cleaning, and tidying tips. She was named one of Fixr's top home improvement journalists in 2024.
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