25 Best Small Bedroom Ideas that Will Surprise You

These hand-picked small bedroom designs are brilliant—go ahead and copy these ideas.

Rustic Modern Bedroom with Earthy Hues and Natural Lighting
Rustic Modern Bedroom with Earthy Hues and Natural Lighting | Photo by Megan Bucknall

Hey, you might think a small bedroom will limit your coziness, but I should disagree. You can get the best of your small bedroom space by maximizing its functionality while making it stunning and welcoming in the process. From choosing a color style, adding more storage solutions, and creating a special area in your small bedroom, I will tell you how to make a small bedroom the most comfortable and favorite space in your home. Here are 25 best small bedroom ideas to make the room feel bigger and cozier – that you can apply to your small bedroom.

1. Create an illusion of more space

large bedroom mirror
Photo by SANDRA REI

It’s not what you think but you can use a mirror to make your small bedroom feel bigger. A mirror will help reflect and bounce light around the room. Placed it in the opposite of the window where natural light comes in. Or put it on the opposite of your bedroom door to create an illusion of a longer room.

2. Try light and natural color

Natural Color Bedroom
Photo by Curtis Adams

Introducing the strength of natural color! As many have said, light color helps in reflecting and bouncing lights around the room. Therefore, a natural light color mixed with ample natural light will make your small bedroom feel like a spacious bedroom.

3. Matching walls and ceiling color

Matching Bedroom Wall and Ceiling Color
Photo by Photographer Liam Gillan

The same color for walls and ceilings is an effective way to get a spacious feel for a small bedroom. It creates a cohesive and balanced visual for a small bedroom – making the room feel bigger than what it originally was.

A light walls and ceiling color will give openness and airiness to the room. Additionally, lighter ceilings and walls will make the ceilings feel higher.

4. Play with bold and uplifting color

Bedroom with Uplifting Paint Color
Photo by Dang Hong

The trend for small bedrooms is to have a natural white color. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can get a warm and cozy bedroom with braver and bold colors like Yellow or Green. This bold color will brighten the mood and energize you.

5. Be different and go with the dark

Bedroom Painted in Dark Color
Photo by Bilal Mansuri

It may feel outlandish to paint a dark color for a small bedroom, but dark colors like navy or black can surprise you. When done right, dark color will make your small bedroom feel bigger as it blurs the size of the room. You can also combine dark colors with industrial-style furniture like metallic bed frames with a black matte finish to get that modern industrial look.

6. Get a light-colored wallpaper

Bedroom with Pattern Wallpaper
Photo by Lisa Anna

If you want something more than ordinary wall paint, you can get wallpaper with calming patterns like a beautiful flower wallpaper. And, a light-colored wallpaper is a good choice to let the light bounce around the room.

7. Experiment with stripe pattern

vertical stripes pattern
Photo by Anna Lisa

Try to get a bigger pattern wallpaper because it will make your small bedroom feel bigger while a small repetitive pattern will make your bedroom smaller – like vertical or horizontal stripes to create an illusion of visual flow.

Vertical stripes on walls will make your room ceilings feel higher while horizontal stripes will make your room feel wider.

8. Utilize the space under your bed

Under Bed Storage
Photo by Elena Skoblova

Like any small space, every inch of space is important. You should get creative and utilize every space you have in your small bedroom, including the space under the bed.

Moreover, you can get a bed that has built-in storage. As a result, it removes wasted space and adds more storage to your small room.

9. Portable under-bed storage

If you bought your bed already that didn’t come with any under-bed compartment, then you can get portable bed storage like bedside organizer caddy. They will come in handy as they are portable – many come with wheels to open and close. Since you have more space now, you can put your favorite clothes, bed covers, personal items, or more in your under-bed storage. They are easy to reach as well!

10. Invest in ceiling-height closet/wardrobe

Ceiling Height Closet
Photo by Olena Bohovyk

A smart way to increase storage size is to invest in a wardrobe that goes to the ceiling height. This way, you can divide your wardrobe into multiple compartments vertically like hanging long dresses, separate compartments for heels or shoes, and better organization for your favorite clothes.

You will save a lot of space by vertically expanding your wardrobe. Additionally, it blends nicely with the wall and leaves no space on top – making the room look sleek and integrated.

11. Shift to versatile table vanity

Bedroom Vanity Table
Photo by Christopher Moon

Functionality is a blessing in disguise for a small bedroom. For example, a versatile item like a vanity table that can be used for dressing or a desk – is something that you need. Less is not always bad. And in this particular situation, less item means bigger space!

12. Limit your chairs to one

Ergonomics Chair
Photo by Max Vakhtbovycn

Having one or two additional couches or sofa chairs is great, but it takes up space which you don’t have with a small bedroom. Instead of feeling down, you can get an ergonomic and comfortable chair that you can use for any instances. Find one with high build quality, it may be expensive but you will not regret it.

13. Add personality to your bedroom with decoration

boho chic macrame plant
Photo by Blaire Harmon

I find that one of the best ways to decorate a small space is by decorating above the ground. It is particularly useful if you want to small bedroom where floor area is scarce.

Like macramé plants, where you can hang them near your bedroom window – they look stunning and great for boho chic style.

14. Decorate your wall with a pair of wall art

Framed Wall Art
Photo by Christopher Moon

A pair is always better than one! They don’t take up much space as you hang them on the walls. They are personalized and you can choose whatever wall art that you like.

Like paintings, movie posters, or your favorite anime character! And you can even get triplet wall art if you want to!

15. Make a timeline or clustered map wall art

Bedroom Gallery Wall Art
Photo by TurnKey Apartments

If you have many art collections or favorite photos you want to put on your walls – gallery wall art may come in handy.

Here is what it makes interesting, you can make some kind of map or timeline with gallery wall art. You can be creative and make an interesting clustered map and timeline. Furthermore, you can also add stencils or stickers to elevate the look.

16. Build a cozy nook

Cozy Nook
Photo by Maria Orlova

A cozy nook or bedroom nook is a special place created only for you. You can build a cozy nook by picking a special spot, mainly a quiet spot next to a window.

And, it will be the best area for you to relax and unwind, and read your favorite book. Additionally, you can add LED strip lights to increase the coziness.

You will love your cozy nook, especially if you have bay and bow windows – as it is the perfect situation to create a cozy nook.

17. Add more storage above

Bedroom Wall Mounted Shelves
Photo by Darren Richardson

If you have more stuff than what you originally thought, you can always add more storage – like wall-mounted open shelves. They don’t eat your floor space like a cupboard, and the good thing is they double up as decoration space as well. They are great for showcasing small figurines, framed photos, and little plants.

18. Make use of odd spaces

Cupboard on Odd Space
Photo by Atanas Paskalev

Odd spaces like the corner of your bedroom. Or if your small bedroom is not square such as in the attic where you have a roof right above your head. You can turn them into a functional space by adding storage unit like a cupboard.

As a result, you eliminate a potentially wasted space if you leave it alone – maximizing your room space by turning it into a useful compartment.

19. Move your bed up

Loft Bed
Photo by Anna Lisa

As one of the biggest items in your room, making it efficient without sacrificing its functionality is something you can do – especially if you have high ceilings. You can make a loft inside your room and move your bed up.

With this, you can use the area below the loft as your walk-in closet, dressing area, or little office with a desk and chair. But if you don’t have high ceilings, the next idea may be useful.

20. Changing to low-profile furniture

If the above idea doesn’t apply to your small bedroom, you can try to change your furniture to low-profile furniture. They have shorter legs and designs, making low-profile furniture have lower proximity to the ground than normal furniture like platform beds, sofa beds, short-legged tables, or slipper chairs.

21. Go big when decorating your bed

Bedroom Decor
Photo by Hanna Auramenka

A bed is undoubtedly one of the most common focal points in a small bedroom. They are easily the biggest item in the room, making it a great focal point. But to make it a “great” focal point with a character – you will need to decorate your bed.

You can make it work by having colorful throw pillows, but I like to layer my bedding with a down comforter, throw blanket, and silk duvet. Make your bed cozy – be creative!

22. Add softness to your small bedroom

bedside rugs
Photo by Anna Lisa

it’s time to make your small bedroom more inviting and welcoming by adding softness to the room. Sometimes a little touch of softness like with wool rugs or nylon rugs is what you need.

They add comfort and warmth to the room while giving the illusion of making the space bigger, which is beneficial in a small bedroom.

23. Eliminate distractions for a good night’s sleep

Photo by Danielle Dolson

I know some people who are sensitive to lights, especially at night. They are unable to sleep well due to the lights from outside like from traffic outside. And their curtains are not enough to block the lights coming from outside.

That is why you should invest in blackout curtains to eliminate distractions. If you like you can also layer it with light drapes. You will be free from distractions and sleep comfortably at night – or during the day when you want to take a nap.

24. Upgrade the lighting for the small bedroom

Photo by Curtis Adams

You cannot control the sunlight but you can control your lightning. They are very important to create atmosphere and ambient, especially if you are in an area where it’s cloudy most of the day.

You will never go wrong with modern LED lightning – they are affordable and energy efficient as well. Modern ones come with a control button, to control the warmth and color of the lightning.

25. Stay minimalist and keep essentials only

Clean and Tidy Bedroom
Photo by Anna Lisa

Your small bedroom has already gone through many optimization stages, and you have a functional small bedroom at this point.

But there is a limit on what we can optimize. Sometimes the answer is to limit the stuff that we put in and stay with the basics. You should consider moving your non-important stuff outside and only keeping the important ones inside.

Additionally, a regular clean-up is appreciated because it is easy to lose track of new stuff that you put in the bedroom.

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