Tips and Tricks for Arranging Furniture in Small Bedrooms

When moving into a new house or apartment, a common disappointment is discovering that your bedroom is smaller than anticipated. But even if the bedroom is tiny, you’ll still want some furniture to provide places to sit and liven up the room. Don’t lose hope–there are many strategies to help fit furniture into small bedrooms. Here’s a list of some of the best advice:

 

 

Consider getting a smaller bed

Everybody would love to sleep in a big king bed at night, leaving plenty of room to stretch out. But realistically, having a bigger bed isn’t necessary, and you can still get a good night’s sleep in a smaller bed. By buying a smaller bed, perhaps a twin, is a great way to save space, especially if the bed is only used by one person.

 

Take measurements on bedroom furniture

By measuring the length and width of each piece of furniture, particularly larger items, as well as taking the dimensions of the room, you’ll know exactly how much space you have (How to Arrange a Small Bedroom). Use measuring tape for accuracy, and write these measurements down somewhere to help plan the layout of the room. When doing this, it’s also a good idea to note the location of outlets and windows in the room to prevent these from being blocked by furniture.

 

 

Arrange items In order of descending size

Another smart strategy is to arrange the largest items first, which usually means beginning with the bed. Once your bed and any large dressers or wardrobes are placed, it’s easy to find ideas for locations for the rest of the furniture. In addition, by waiting to place the smallest items until last, you may notice small spaces between or around larger items where the smallest pieces of furniture can fit.

 

Leave the room and re-enter

Do this multiple times. The reason for this is that by re-entering the room and walking to the bed, or the dresser, you’ll experience what it’s like to walk through the room. If you have to squeeze between items or find yourself bumping into furniture, that’s a sign that you need to lay out the room differently. It’s also helpful to take in the view of the total view of the room when you walk through the door; visuals matter since it’s going to be your bedroom.

 

Consider using a clothing rack

While having a closet is nice, if your bedroom doesn’t come with one built-in, moving a closet or wardrobe into the bedroom can take up tons of space. Clothing racks take up less space and, while they aren’t as aesthetically pleasing to some, they make finding the item of clothing you want easy and convenient.

 

 

If you have a closet, make good use of it!

One of the biggest mistakes people make when furnishing a small bedroom is to place storage items, such as a chest of drawers or dresser, in the middle of the room, which takes up floor space that could be used to hold other furniture. Place as many storage items as can fit comfortably in your closet; it will be a minor inconvenience at worst and provides lots of extra space.

 

Use multi-purpose furnishings

One of the best pieces of advice for arranging furniture in a small bedroom is to opt for multi-purpose furniture. Look for things like headboards that have shelves, bed frames with drawers built into the sides, or a small bench with storage space beneath the seat. This allows you to use fewer items of furniture overall without sacrificing utility.

 

Get second opinions

Finally, it’s worth noting that no matter how extensively you plan the layout of your furniture, it’s always a good idea to get a few other opinions on potential layouts. By asking friends for advice, particularly if they have any experience doing their own home decorating, you may get ideas for space-saving arrangements that you hadn’t even thought of.