Small bedrooms don't have to be neglected or scaled down to have a great design layout. You can create an inviting and warm bedroom whether it's a short and narrow, square, or long and narrow bedroom, depending on how you arrange the furniture.
Be sure you leave enough empty space around the furniture pieces so the bedroom doesn't appear cramped.
Related ArticlesSpace around the bed is especially important. A general rule of thumb is to leave around 18 to 24 inches around the sides and foot of the bed with 36 inches being the ideal. If you can't afford a minimum of 18 inches of space, then go with a smaller sized bed.
As with any room design, don't clutter a small bedroom with too much furniture. You will need a bed and at least one nightstand with a lamp. If the space allows, you can add a dresser, chest of drawers or an armoire. Other pieces of furniture you may have room to include might be a comfortable chair or possibly a window seat, but be sure it can all fit comfortably.
Narrow bedrooms present design challenges that require creative solutions for a stylish and inviting bedroom. The first goal of design is to take advantage of the room size. Don't scale your furniture down to the point that it's no longer functional, much less comfortable. Create a design that allows more usable floor space and adds versatility to your bedroom activities, such as sleep, work, lounging, and reading.
Look for multi-functional furniture, such as a daybed, futon, or sleeper sofa. These bed styles give a narrow bedroom the illusion of space besides providing a different look when not being used for a bed. Place this piece of furniture on one of the long walls of the room.
There should be room for a dresser or armoire on the opposite wall. You can add a comfortable chair and table on the end wall or perhaps a desk and chair, if needed.
Once you've selected and placed the furniture, it's time to accessorize the room. This is part of your bedroom design where you can scale down objects to make the room look larger.
A square-shaped bedroom presents its own challenges with furniture layout, although mostly, beds are rectangular in shape and fit easier in rectangle-shaped rooms.
You may have room for a queen size bed, but in some cases a full size bed will be the largest you can get into the room comfortably. Place the bed on a solid wall to anchor it to the room. Accessorize with the following items:
Twin beds or a single twin bed are good design options, as are bunk beds. A loft bed combination like the ones sold at Pottery Barn optimize space with a desk and storage area underneath the loft bed unit.
A murphy bed is another ideal solution, especially one that has a built-in desk or an entire wall unit that features closets and drawers. If you only need to use the space for a guest bedroom or as a spill over to the guest bedroom, then a sleeper chair may be the best option.
You can add a desk and chair to complete the layout. Another possibility is to add a dresser and a single nightstand that can be used as a side table with the chair. If space allows, add a dresser or an armoire.
Select a collapsible/expandable desk, a wall mounted folding desk, or a wall floating desk to save valuable floor space. Some of the wall mountable desks can be folded up when not in use. Other accents and furniture pieces to consider include:
A long narrow bedroom can give you more space than you might realize if you capitalize on the length of room.
Start with a bed size that has enough space on either side to allow easy movement in and out of the bed. A good bedroom design avoids placing the bed lengthwise against the wall, except for beds designed for this like daybeds.
Depending on the bed size, you can place a loveseat, chair or bench at the end of the bed. Use the width of the bed to determine what size of bedroom furniture to place here. Opt for low back furniture so you don't overpower or obstruct the bed. If the room is large enough, add two chairs and a table instead. You may wish to invest in an electric or gas fireplace for the opposite end of the room. Place it directly across from the loveseat or chairs for a truly cozy warm room design.
Storage
If you need storage space instead of ambiance, then place an armoire or dresser at the other end of the bedroom. If space is a premium in your home and you require a work area and this is the only place for one, then opt for a stylish desk and chair instead of storage furniture.
Add Vertical Accessories
The bedroom can be given the illusion of height with draperies or a tall headboard with framed prints above it. Use mini-chandeliers or other hanging lamps or wall sconces to free up tabletop space and give the illusion that the nightstands are larger than they are.
Layering is especially effective for the long narrow bedroom because it creates a sense of depth and reduces the long narrow effect.
To create more space, place other pieces of furniture on the same wall as the bed. To get more furniture in your room, downsize to a smaller nightstand so you can place a desk with a chair on one side of the bed. Add matching table lamps to keep the eye moving along the wall and provide symmetry to the design. These additions will also make the bedroom appear larger.
There are other things you can do make your bedroom design:
Whether you bedroom is short and narrow, square, or long and narrow, make sure you always have enough empty space around the furniture so you can move about without stubbing toes or tripping. Crowded furniture is neither appealing nor easy to move around. Your ultimate goal should be a bedroom design that is so charming, comfortable, and inviting that no one pays any attention to the size.
Arranging furniture is an art: It’s one of the most important parts of interior design.
That’s not to say that you have to be a pro to do it well. With just a little thought and willingness to experiment, you can do quite well on your own, and have some fun along the way.
One of the most difficult rooms to design is the bedroom, especially if it’s small. Fortunately, we have some simple tips and tricks on how to arrange bedroom furniture.
Before you start arranging your furniture, watch our video on how to create a bedroom layout that is easy to navigate and how to arrange furniture in an aesthetically pleasing way.
Now that you know the basics, here are seven steps that will help you organize your space like a professional.
There are a lot of things you could have in the bedroom, but you should start with just what you need to have. Trying to work with a lot of different items can easily become a mess, and you might not need all of them in the end.
This is especially important in small apartments when there isn’t a lot of extra space — using fewer pieces will make the room look and feel a lot more spacious. If your room is extra tiny, use taller dressers and shelves to get more storage while taking up less room.
The best way to only have what you need in the bedroom is thinking about what you’re going to do. If you have a good idea of what you’re going to want and need to do in the bedroom, you can design around that.
If you watch a lot of TV in bed, find a layout that works well for that. Plan a walkway from one place to another — you don’t want to find the path between the dresser and the mirror blocked when you’re trying to make sure your clothes look right.
It’s easier to sketch out different furniture arrangements than to move furniture around the room. It’ll save you a lot of errors of thinking something will fit when it won’t or scratching your floor or walls while moving your dresser for the zillionth time (believe us, it happens).
Measure at least your biggest items (bed, dresser, shelves, etc.), as well as the dimensions of your room, then sketch out a couple of different options. If you’re not much of an artist, check out an AR app that can do the job for you. Try Home Design 3D (iOS) or Floor Plan Creator (Android).
At some point, you have to move things around the actual room and not around your drawing. Since the bed is the most important part of the bedroom (it’s right there in the name), get it in place first. Generally, you’ll want to put it against the wall opposite the door or the largest wall with no windows, but your choice may vary.
In a small bedroom, that may not work. Find a spot for your bed that makes the most sense to you, just make sure you can open and close your bedroom and closet doors. Also, while placing your bed under windows is totally OK from a design perspective, you may find yourself feeling uncomfortable drafts over the winter.
Once you’ve found the best place for your bed, arrange everything else starting with the biggest bedroom furniture item followed by smaller ones. Usually, the dresser comes next, followed by bedside tables, a desk, shelves, chairs and anything else you may have. Generally, the tables will go next to the bed, the dresser on the opposite wall and a desk in the corner, but these can all vary.
Small-bedroom tip: If your closet is spacious, see if you can fit your dresser inside it. This will open up a lot of extra space in the room itself.
Though it’s not a furniture item the area rug is still a key component of how to arrange bedroom furniture. Keep in mind, your area rug placement will depend on your room’s finalized layout.
Area rugs are typically placed underneath the lower two-thirds of the bed so they create a cushy area to step on as you get out of bed in the morning. If your bed is tucked into a corner, your rug will likely have to be placed somewhere else, like next to the bed or in the center of the open part of your room. Wherever it goes, hopefully, that rug really … sorry, we can’t make a “The Big Lebowski” reference. You know it already.
Don’t buy new furniture until you’ve arranged the pieces you already have. This should be an obvious point, but it’s really easy to buy things you think you need before you actually need them.
When you wait until arranging what you already have, you’ll know exactly what you need and where you want to put it. You’ll also be able to make sure anything you get is the right dimensions and style to fit in the room, both literally and stylistically.
There are a lot of guidelines about how to arrange bedroom furniture, including some listed in this article. They’re just that, guidelines, and there’s no real right or wrong way to do it. Just figure out what works best for you and your space.
If you want, try experimenting with different layouts during your first few weeks living in your new apartment. It’s easier when you have less stuff to move around, and when you hit on one that works, you’ll know it.