If you have a small bedroom that feels a bit claustrophobic, you may need to give your bedroom the illusion of more space. Small bedrooms are supposed to feel cozier than a big bedroom, but not cramped.
And while it might look and feel more relaxing in a larger space, it's not realistic to convert a larger room into a bedroom in most cases.
For this post, we'll focus on what you currently have to work with. We'll talk about practical space saving tips such as utilizing smaller furniture when you can to make your small bedroom look more prominent.
There are so many ways to upgrade the look of your small rooms with a more significant appearance. Continue reading to learn tips to bring out your small room's best aspects and get more out of the space you crave.
Your bed is, most of the time, the focal point in your bedroom. So let's start with that! Did you know that large ornate beds with tall foot and headboards optically shrink your room's size? You can instantly tell the difference when you remove these embellishments.
In fact, A low-slung bed in a small bedroom will give the optical illusion of more room by adding vertical space. Low-slung beds are one of the fastest ways to bring a bigger feel to your room. And it has added benefits too.
With more space from the ceiling to the floor, the ceiling also looks cleaner. You'll just need to make sure your chairs and tables sit lower to the ground as well, to keep up the aesthetic.
Alternatively, futons and pull-out couches work well as an excellent way to save space. If you can manage it, a murphy bed that pulls down from a wall will grant the most space when you aren't sleeping in it.
All of these are great ways to instantly shift a room's perceived size to feeling roomy while not sacrificing its coziness. The next thing you can do is change your entire bedroom design by changing up the color scheme.
Have you ever been in a bedroom with dark colors on the wall and thought it felt cramped? You aren't the only one.
Paint color choices for your bedroom's walls positively affect the room's perceived size. When you are thinking of room colors to use on the bedroom walls, try to avoid dark colors at all costs.
The best practice is to choose lighter colors to create the illusion of space. White is probably the most common hue choice for a bedroom, but you don't have to choose something boring!
Here are some helpful paint ideas that will help make your room look massive:
A monochromatic color scheme takes one color and varies that color by mixing white or black paint. For example, suppose your bedroom design calls for incorporating the color olive. Painting the full room with the darker shade of this color will shrink it, but if you modify each wall's shade, you might be surprised by how spacious it seems.
In this scenario, one side of the wall uses a medium olive shade, and then on the adjacent walls, use lighter tints of green. Transitioning the darker shades to lighter makes the room flow better.
Opposite colors will make your bedroom seem smaller and won't produce the same effect as monochrome colors.
Darker trim colors and patterns on the ceiling have an effect that automatically attracts the eye upward from the floor to the ceiling.
Regardless of the room's size, this trick works like a charm while opening it up to express your unique personality.
Make your bedroom feel like you are sleeping under a starry sky with dark blue or black paint and glow in the dark stars.
Kids especially love how expansive this look can feel.
Utilizing closet space effectively is critical to making a small bedroom look bigger. Most closets and wardrobes consist of hanging racks, a shelf, and the floor. There is a lot of extra space in there you can use to clear your bedroom of clutter if you are creative.
For example, using clear crates with labels on them can help you stay organized while giving your small items a place to live. Of course, most of us have cluttered closets, so you'll want to take stock of your closet space and the things in there before taking on this organizational task.
I recommend reading up on Marie Kondo or watching her Netflix series about the KonMari Method™. You'll find all sorts of ideas for how to get the most out of your space.
Small bedrooms don't need a lot of furniture if you consider what the primary purposes are for a bedroom in the first place. And since we have already talked about how the bed is the most significant focal point of a bedroom, we'll focus on other furniture pieces.
Let's take a moment to write down all the furniture pieces taking up floor space in your bedroom.
Do these pieces serve a functional role in your morning or evening routines?
Do you really need that TV and Computer Workstation in the same room where you usually rest?
Consider the side effects of having electronics like this in your sleeping quarters.
Sure, it may feel comfortable to watch TV late at night or game, but if you have a small bedroom, these extra items will make your room feel cramped and may lead to sleeping problems.
Your bedroom is a place for relaxation, not a multifunctional workspace. You can, however, make parts of your bedroom multifunctional.
For example, if you have standing lamps, you may feel tempted to keep them. After all, they serve a purpose in helping you light your space.
Perhaps a better idea would be to have a smaller table lamp and a bed-side drawer instead of the standing lamp.
You'll get more personal storage space for your side of the bed (if you're a couple) and still take up a similar amount of floor space.
Since your bedroom is small, you may not have room for large dressers or additional big drawers in your bedroom, limiting you to rely on all of the closet space you have.
Having multifunctional furniture pieces ensures that your clothes and personal items are easy to locate when you need them throughout the day.
Another excellent example of this method is to replace your bed's risers with drawers. You can maintain the same comfortable height as before while unlocking even more storage space for your bedding or out of season clothing.
Listed below are other ways to use furniture to make the room look much larger than it is:
As we mentioned before, the key to making a small room appear bigger is to choose light-colors to pull everything together.
The same applies to the furniture you want as part of your small bedroom design as well.
A white or light-colored table with a stool chair that fits underneath will offer a clean visual versus other setups.
Built-in shelving provides easy access to everyday items while contouring to the layout of your bedroom.
An example is to build or place shelves to fit around your bed to optimize space in your bedroom.
These shelves serve as a nightstand and may eliminate the need for bookshelves and other congested pieces of furniture.
Another way to use built-in shelving is to install corner shelves around your room.
Corners are an often under-utilized space in most rooms. Since they take up very little space, they are great for displaying photos, keepsakes, and small trinkets that give your room personality.
Most people use decor as a method of personality expression. Home decor can range from large ineffectual pieces to practical items. If you are looking to add some decor to your small bedroom, consider the size and practicality.
1.) Do these decorative items hold sentimental value, or do they just look pleasing?
2.) Are you looking to make use of this decor in some way?
Be mindful when making decor decisions for your room. For decor ideas, try these ideas:
Wall art is one of the most common forms of decor. What makes it great is that it is versatile. In most cases, interior decorators will recommend a single large piece of wall decor placed over your bed to draw the eyes to your bed. Carefully selected wall art can push a room's theme and express one's unique personality.
Drapes are one way to bring life to bedroom walls, but when you want to make a small room look bigger, choosing drapes can pose a problem.
You want the bedroom's flow with small bedrooms to go from the floor to the ceiling consistently.
There are exceptions, however. Light drape colors allow your windows to bring in tons of outside light—natural sunlight can make a small room appear larger.
If you can manage to find some you like, choose drapes that stretch most of the wall but leave space above the floor. If you prefer a different look, you can also tie off longer drapes to shorten them.
Next, we'll take a look at how patterns can affect a room's perceived size.
Horizontal and vertical patterns are great to work with when in small bedrooms.
However, to keep the room's flow consistent, make sure you break the horizontal and vertical patterns into segments.
For example, match your window treatments to the walls with horizontal window panels.
You may want to do the same if you have a small bookshelf that favors a horizontal structure.
You don't want the window treatments or panels to clash with other patterns in the room. For example, a vertical style patterned piece of furniture may clash if you have stripes on your bed other parts of your room.
The idea is to get the room's flow as smooth as possible, utilizing the maximum amount of space.
Use light-colored slipcovers on your futon or reading chair.
If you wish to create the illusion of more space, making your existing chair blend into the wall or floor is a great way to make any space look and feel bigger.
You don't have to get rid of your favorite bedroom loveseat if it doesn't look like an eyesore.
MiracleSofa slipcovers are a great way to breathe new life into any couch or lounge chair.
To make a small bedroom look bigger than it is, remember to use light, color, and other small bedroom design techniques we covered in this article. If you work floor to ceiling, you can make a room look bigger, even if you work in a small space.
Remember to keep your bed low to the ground and build everything around it as the focal point. You'll make your small bedroom look bigger as you draw the eye upward to create the illusion of space. Take advantage of all the space in a small room with a well-thought multifunctional piece of furniture.
Using a combination of natural light and lighter color choices for paint colors can go a long way to making the room seem larger.
We hope these tips help you make your bedroom look bigger. If you found these tips useful for your situation, please share this post with a friend.