Furniture Tips

It can be tricky to know where to start with a small bedroom, but there’s no need to worry. With a little bit of know-how and a few simple tips it’s possible to make even the smallest of bedrooms into a cosy little haven with storage for all your needs.

Keep it light

One of the first rules of decorating a small space is ‘keep it light’. A light colour will help to create an illusion of space, so keep vibrant colours well away from your small bedroom and choose something pale. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the room has to be painted throughout in white, as too much white can create an Arctic feel, which certainly won’t seem cosy! Off-white with a hint of a pastel shade will add a little colour to the space without swamping it.

Keep the light theme with pale-coloured wood furniture, preferably keeping bed, shelves, cupboards and wardrobes to a matching theme as this will improve the streamlined feel of the room, helping to maximise the area. Alternatively a mirrored finish to furniture will amplify the light in the room to create the illusion of extra space.

A dark or heavily patterned carpet will make the room seem smaller, so choose a floor covering in a beige or neutral shade. If you feel that the overall effect is too plain you can soon add accessories such as a cushion, picture and lamp in a more vibrant shade to add accents of colour.

Clear the clutter

It’s vitally important to remove any traces of clutter in a small bedroom as it will instantly make the room seem untidy. Clean, clear surfaces give the feeling of there being more space than there actually is, so hide everything away. If everything has a designated space there will never be any need for untidiness in the future, so be sure to plan storage according to your needs.

For a small room that only serves occasionally as a bedroom, a sofa bed, camp bed or futon may be appropriate, whereas a bedroom in daily use will benefit from a bed with built-in storage. Nowadays there is a huge choice of bed from divan beds with storage in the base to beds with a guest bed stored under the frame for occasional visitors. A cabin bed can be the ideal solution for a child as it incorporates anything from shelves and cupboards to a wardrobe and even extra seating under the sleeping area.

Invest in hanging storage baskets to maximise wardrobe space and make full use of available wall space by fixing shelves to store books and using co-ordinated baskets to store similar items together.

There are plenty of ready-made and home-assembly options for storage to suit the standard rectangular small room, but if your small bedroom space is constrained by sloping ceilings, or is an unusual shape it may be worth considering bespoke storage which can be built to fit a specific area whilst catering for your exact storage needs.

Guest post by Tony, a UK blogger on behalf of Archers sleep centre.