When you have a narrow, small bedroom, the way you organize your furniture will directly influence your perception of the available space inside a room. Here are some of my favorite tips for arranging furniture in a small bedroom…
Combine two types of furniture into one
A great option for small bedrooms is a bed-desk or a hidden bed. It is assembled like a bunk bed, with the difference that the bed below is a desk where you work. Place it against the wall that is farthest from the door. Note: You should cover the walls in a way that there is an empty space left in the middle of the room, even if it has only the size of a narrow corridor.
If you do not want to have a combination bed-desk, place a desktop close to a window and, if possible, on the same wall of your bed’s headboard. Place the desk about one foot from the bed or on the other side of the window.
Wall of closets
Instead of using a dresser with wide drawers, get a high one to take advantage of vertical space. Even if you don’t get to the highest drawers, you can use them to store winter clothes or stuff that you don’t need on a daily basis.
If you find a closet with the same height as your small bedroom (or if you get one built customized) it would help keep the room dust-free, as no dust will stay stuck at the top.
Bedside table hacks
You might want to consider living without a bedside table. But, if you prefer having one, consider putting a desk right next to the bed. It could double as a workspace, and a place to set your alarm clock.
Space for the television
If there is a television in your bedroom, consider putting in a support system for attaching the TV to the wall, so you can have more space to move around in your small bedroom and make the most of your table space.
What are YOUR favorite tips for small bedroom furniture arranging?
I’m a big fan of the beds with storage! I have the Brimnes bed from Ikea, with 4 drawers underneath (2 on each side… my partner and I use these for shoes and workout clothes) and a sweet headboard with shelves. The headboard has a ton of space on top (plus the 3 shelves on each side) so there’s no need for a bedside table. We usually put our dressers in our closet.
Ooh! I hadn’t thought about a headboard pulling double-duty as a side table. That’s awesome!
We have that exact bed and we love it too! It saves us so much space AND keeps the cats from getting under the bed and tearing up the underside of the box spring.
I also have the same set and love it (And have the 3×2 cube storage units that act as my dresser in the closet). I love that the headboard has the empty space at the bottom (probably designed for baseboard heaters, mine stores my 4×3 foot posters from my undergrad).
Also, command hooks for everything and everywhere. I have a ton on the inside of my closet for belts and necklaces and on the backs of doors for hoodies, scarves and coats.
When I was in the dorms at college, we used to “bunk” our beds like the bed-desk above. In order to accomplish this we would arrive the moment the dorms opened in the fall and raid the freshmen bedrooms and swap their headboards for our footboards, leaving them with 2 footboards. Then we had two tall headboards that we could flip over and make a “loft”.
They were younger than us so, you know, they deserved it. 😉
I’ve had a loft bed for about 20 years, and it’s terrific! At different times, in different homes the underside has been my office, closet, library, storage space, guest room or hidey-hole. I added a shelf up there, so I can keep books, clock, back-scratcher, lamp, air purifier, and dream journal handy. I feared I might get too old for it, but I’m 60 now, and I find that going up the ladder actually soothes arthritic pain in my hips! It’s just the right stretch or something. (I do need a slanted ladder–a vertical ladder built into the side is just too steep for these old bones.)
And since it’s mine I can nail things to it, hang things off it, drill holes for electrical lines, woodburn designs into it, do any darn thing I please with it, and no landlord can complain.
Right now I’ve got my computer desk at one end and my writing-desk in the other with a swivel chair in between. I’ve got my scarves hanging on the wall-side, and some shelves at the ends of the desks for both office and craft supplies. I have a lamp hanging by the computer and a gooseneck lamp for the writing-desk. The computer desk is made of boards on top of a filing cabinet on one end and shelves on the other, with an Ikea keyboard slider bolted underneath. It’s really pleasant in here!
If you can’t afford to buy one, there’s books and instructionals on how to build one yourself. You can do this.
If you ever felt like submitting a guest post, I’d LOVE to hear more about your 20 years with a loft bed, with pics and everything. That’s so awesome!!!
Thanks! I’ve thought of it, but I’ll need to fix my camera first.
Two years ago my husband and I moved into a house with no closets and a bedroom just big enough for a queen bed and room to walk around it. No other furniture would fit. So we bought an Anderson bed (http://www.ultimatebed.com) with a headboard (and one built in side table, for his cpap machine) and found a vintage armoire at an antique store that’s pretty enough to live in the living room. It’s been great!
Are you have full picture the last one? I want custom table like that