Five Simple Tips to Create the Illusion of Space in a Small Bedroom

Today I am joining a design savvy group of my blogging friends and we are talking about cozy bedrooms. How does one decorate a small bedroom (or three) and make the room feel cozy and  much larger? It takes some strategic styling and creative organization to make a small space live large.  Let’s talk about five tips to create the illusion of space in a small bedroom

My son and daughter in law have a beautiful home that was built in the 30’s.  In the years since they have owned it they have almost completely redone it. I featured their small bathroom remodel in this post Stylish Solutions for Small Baths. I shared their laundry room remodel in Clever Storage Solutions for a Small Laundry Room.  You can also see their Walk-in Closet Makeover with IKEA PAX System here. You can also revisit their wonderful library in my post Easy Steps to Style Your Shelves here. 

I almost forgot.  I also penned this post How to Get a Fresh Collected Look in Your Home about their charming family room.

They have done almost all of the renovations themselves.  They recently completed their revamp of the upstairs. The don’t like a lot of clutter and they like to keep their decor simple. They had three bedrooms and two baths, but the bedrooms and bathrooms were poorly configured. Since it is an older home, it has beautiful architectural details and some quirky details to overcome. Colin and Lauren reconfigured the space to make it more practical and inviting.  They had to give up space in some areas to gain storage in others.  The result is lovely and liveable.

All of the bedrooms have simple wood shades.  One side of their home is on a busy street so the shades allow privacy and natural light. I think they hope to add area rugs at some point.

Go Big With Less

In all three of their bedrooms they kept the furniture to a minimum.  They wanted all three bedrooms to have king beds to accommodate guests comfortably.  In order to do that they had to keep their furnishings to a minimum. It seems like an oxymoron but by furnishing a smaller space with a few large pieces, the space appears larger. This is one of their guest bedrooms.  Around the corner is the door to the closet. To the left of the bed is a door to the the bathroom.  Straight ahead is the door to the hallway that leads to the stairs. That’s three doors in this average sized room.  There is room for dressers only for the bed frame, two nightstands, and an antique trunk at the end of the bed for storage.

The nightstands are from Pottery Barn. Colin made the lamps from old porch fragments.  The green sphere is an old Japanese fishing float.  The basket on the bottom shelf can store visiting guests essentials.

Keep the Color Palette Simple

My son and daughter in law painted their entire upstairs BM Edgecomb Gray and the trim Simply White.  The floors are all the original hardwoods.  This gives the space feel larger and creates continuity without chopping up the rooms. They aren’t fans of wallpaper, a lot of pattern, or an overabundance of accessories.

Utilize Mirrors

Colin and Lauren inherited a great custom headboard from our now deceased friends.  They planned to use it in the primary bedroom but it was too much in front of the window. This is the small room.  It originally had built-ins on either side of the bed which made the room seem even smaller.  Colin and Lauren tore out the built-ins and added IKEA built-ins to the small closet.  Here they were able to use the headboard that was over powering in the primary bedroom and two bedside tables. The two mirrors create the illusion of space by reflecting the light from the two small windows adjacent to the bed.

This bedroom has one door to the left of the nightstand and one beyond that that enters the jack and and jill bath. The bed faces the closet doors.  Again a room with many doors.

Right before the door that goes to the Jack and Jill bath is a small alcove just large enough for a stack of antique boxes that were being stored in our garge (hip hip hooray!).

Position Bed in Front of a Window

This is a favorite trick of mine.  I know many disagree, but when a space is poorly configured or small, you can open up the room and make it feel much more spacious if you place the bed in front of the window. The bonus, people love sleeping under the stars. This is their primary bedroom and the first bedroom they finished. They purchased new linens. They utilitzed some of my pillows and were able to layer the quilt from our former home across the end of the bed.  The table lamps are from Pottery Barn. Note the quirky ceiling detail. The curtains detract from the unsightly details and make the bedroom feel cozier .

The room that Colin and Lauren are now using as their primary was one of the smaller rooms originally. They made it their primary bedroom because it had an attached balcony. They made the bathroom and closet more functional by reconfiguring them. They have room for essentials in the drawers and baskets on the nightstand.  The simple oversized artwork above the nightstand provides some subtle color. On the right wall before the door (not visible in this photo) is an antique chest.  Across from the chest is the door to the balcony.

Maximize Storage

In each of the three bedrooms they barely have enough space for a bed and two nightstands.  Two of the bedrooms were long enough that they could place antique blanket chests at the foot of the bed for extra storage. They also created storage space by carving out small closets in both guest rooms.

SHOP SMALL BEDROOMS

You might enjoy this article from House Beautiful 5 Space Saving Ideas for Small Bedrooms-House Beautiful for some tips from the experts.

Thank you for reading Five Simple Tips to Create the Illusion of Space in a Small Bedroom. I hope this might give you some small bedroom ideas to implement in your own home.

Do you have a small bedroom that is challenging to decorate? I would love to hear about it. Now let’s pop over and visit my talented blogging friends to see what they are sharing.

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