How to make the most of a small bedroom space

Small bedrooms can be enchanting and cosy, but may present challenges to ensure they are as functional as they need to be.

Whether enhancing the space in a small adult bedroom or a child or teen’s room there are lots of tricks to make it work as well as possible.

With a bit of careful planning – and some smart purchasing – a small bedroom can be a much loved one.

Get the bed right

The one fundamental of any bedroom is the bed and getting it right will allow you to use limited space to best effect.

For a child or teen a raised bed is the best option to maximise the space in a room. This can be a lower cabin style bed with enhanced storage underneath or a high sleeper that potentially makes space for a seating area, desk and/or wardrobe and chest of drawers.

Avoid buying a high sleeper with no built in or coordinating furniture to fit underneath it, unless you have a clear plan on how you’ll use the space. If you’re not careful that floor space can become an unsightly and not hugely useful dumping ground.

A similar idea can be implemented with adult beds – don’t let the space under the bed go to waste! Either buy a framed bed with space for wheeled storage boxes underneath, a fold-up bed with storage underneath or a divan. Divan Beds Centre has options for all budgets.

Buying a slighter smaller bed – a normal double instead of a king or queen, if that isn’t a priority – is also worth considering to free up valuable floorspace.

Make the most of wall space

Choosing where to place the bed and other furniture will help maximise available wall space for other things.

If it’s feasible to place a bed under a window, for example, you’ll buy some space elsewhere.

If you have an awkward alcove that you could fit a rail into as hanging space – either with or without a door on the front, instead of a conventional wardrobe – you’ll buy yourself some room.

Wall mounted bedside lighting or even a clip light that attaches to a bed frame, will mean you don’t necessarily need a nightstand. If you do want a nightstand, consider using a small chest of drawers that you can utilise for practical storage rather than a style that offers little more than a table top and empty space beneath.

Shelves or even cupboards mounted on walls will offer additional storage whilst maintaining some floor space. Overbed storage can be a gamechanger too.

Mirrors make rooms look larger

A mirror is likely to be an essential item in most bedrooms anyway and it can provide a double function by helping to make a small space appear larger.

A mirrored wardrobe door is an excellent way of maximising that reflective power as well as squeezing a full length mirror into a small room. If you’re not keen on that, but would still like to accommodate a full length mirror, perhaps mount it on the inside of a wardrobe door or behind the entrance door to the room (providing you the door won’t bump into it when opened).

Fitted or bespoke wardrobes and furniture

If you can stretch to fitted or bespoke furniture, it’s a great way to make the most of odd corners and low ceilinged areas of a room.

If you don’t have the budget for that, consider manufacturers of adaptable furniture that allows you to customise items by buying and matching different elements to suit your needs.

Maximising storage in your room will help you to reduce clutter and keep it tidy, which will also help to make the space you have seem more appealing.

Have fun with it

Some people argue that lighter colours are better for small spaces, whilst others will say that being bold shouldn’t be ruled out for fear of making a room seem less expansive.

In reality it’s a matter of taste.

Don’t feel you can’t put a certain colour on a wall or have a feature wallpaper just because you have a small room – it’s perfectly possible to do this if you’re smart with the rest of the space.

Making the most of a small room, just as with any other room, means filling it with things that are both useful and beautiful, or at least one of those things!