How to Make a Small Bedroom Look Bigger

Having a tiny bedroom is pretty common, and making a small bedroom look bigger and brighter can be very challenging. One option is to completely remodel your home to increase your bedroom space, but that can be costly (not to mention a real hassle).

When it comes to decorating a small room, there are certain things you have to consider. Most importantly, you will require a bed and storage space. These two things can already make a small bedroom feel cluttered.

Fortunately for all small bedroom inhabitants, there are some tricks in terms of furniture, decor, and color that you can use to completely transform a tiny bedroom and make it appear much larger than it really is.

From simple paint colors to incorporating mirrors, read on for our tips and tricks on how to make a small bedroom look bigger.

12 Ideas for Making a Small Bedroom Look Bigger

Below are some of the 12 best tips and tricks to make your bedroom look bigger. The main things you can do is to move around your furniture and also get furniture that suits the space. You can also use decor to your advantage to make your bedroom space appear larger.

Furniture:

You can use certain furniture items and styles to maximize floor space and give small bedrooms a larger appearance.

Choose a Thin, Low-Slung Bed Frame

Rooms with lofty ceilings suit high bedframes, while small rooms with low ceilings will look best with a low bed (whether conventional or sofa beds).

A lower bed (at least lower than the standard height) with a small or short bedside table will open up more wall space behind the bed, making the room much larger.

Floyd Modular Bed Frame — The Floyd Bed Frame

You can construct your own base for your mattress or buy low-slung bed frames to get this airy look. When it comes to your bedside table, you can also get thrifty - use a small stool or wooden box instead of a commercial table. Platform beds can be good options for smaller rooms and we'd also recommend checking out the Floyd Bed Frame if you're looking for a low-to-the-ground option.

Buy/Build a Bed with Built-In Drawers

Storage solutions can take up a lot of space in a small bedroom, but fortunately, you can get creative and work around these issues.

"The most effective way to save space in a small bedroom is to create built-in storage such as built-in shelves, and headboards. You can also have box beds or hydraulic beds to save extra space," shares Bilma Ehrentreu, CEO of The Designers Group.

Storage beds are great space-savers as they have built-in drawers, where you can store your linens, shoes, or out-of-season clothes under the bed, clearing up plenty of space in your closets or shelves.

Install Floating Bedside Tables or Floating Shelves

Floor space is limited in a small bedroom, and utilizing vertical space can make a small space feel much larger.

"Using your walls and ceiling as opposed to table or standing lamps will save you much-needed space," advises Bryan Johnson, CEO of Shades of Light.

You can install your storage right on the wall - like floating shelves or floating bedside tables - which will open up more space on the floor, making your bedroom look bigger.

Consider a Taller Headboard, or Replace Your Headboard with a Wall-Mounted Shelf

Once you have your low-slung bed frame, you can create the illusion of even more space by using some headboard hacks. Large headboards - although a statement piece - will completely dominate your tiny bedroom. Luckily that does not mean you have to sacrifice your interior design style!

You can still use a headboard but go for one that is light in color, lightweight, and taller. A tall, narrow headboard will draw your eye upwards, creating the illusion of tall ceilings in small bedrooms.

If you want to skip the headboard altogether, you can install a wall-mounted floating shelf above the bed to create the same upwards pull of the eyes. A shelf has the added bonus of giving you some additional storage space for books or plants above the bed.

Choose Furniture With Legs

A handy trick to make a small bedroom look bigger is to use furniture with legs. A bedside table, dressing table, chairs - the leggier, the better!

This is because it will make the floor more visible and let more light flow around the room. More walls will also be visible to the eye, giving the room the appearance of more space.

Even a low-slung bed can have short legs that slightly lift the bed off the floor, giving the tiny room an enlarged appearance.

Use Mirrors to Broaden the Space

The number one affordable trick to make a small bedroom appear larger is to make use of mirrors.

If you have any empty wall space in your bedroom, you can place a mirror on that wall (or balance it against the wall) to make the room appear much larger. Mirrors are not only decorative but also functional, and will reflect natural light across the room.

Tall mirrors create depth and height, especially if they are floor-to-ceiling mirrors. You can even place mirrors on your closet doors, or a small mirror on a shelf, to give the room a wider feel. Mirrors placed right next to windows will work best to capture and bounce natural light around the room.

Decor:

Now that you know how to utilize furniture in a small space, it is time to consider your decor options, like your curtains, rugs, bedding, and scatter cushions.

Consider Thin or No Curtains

Light (both natural and artificial) is one of the best ways to give a small bedroom the feeling of more space.

Although you can play around with lighting fixtures, your natural light will come from the windows you have available, and it is up to you to make the most of these windows to make your small bedroom feel bigger.

The best way to embrace outside light is to leave your windows bare. If you want to have drapes for privacy reasons, then use thin curtains which will still allow plenty of light to flood into the room.

Experiment with Your Rug Placement

Bedroom rugs add personality to your room, but did you know they can be used to change the entire room feel as well?

Instead of placing an area rug in the middle of the room, rather tuck it under some furniture. Placing a rug halfway under the bed (with the other half sticking out) will make the room feel elongated, tricking your eyes into thinking there is actually a lot more space in the room.

You can use the same trick under dressers or tables in your room.

Don’t Overuse Pillows

The most crucial rule that interior designers follow in small rooms is to reduce clutter.

You may think that a large bed with lots of pillows and cushions, as well as decorative cushions on your desk chair, will make your room feel more cozy and homey, but sadly these decorative pillows will also make your space feel much more cluttered, cramped, and small.

A general rule of thumb is to stick to functional furniture and decor items in a small bedroom.

Streamline Your Bedding

Even with a low-slung bed or a bed with legs, you can still use your bed to enhance the space in your room even more.

Your bedding plays a big role in the appearance of your room, as your bed is the largest piece of furniture in the room.

When you choose your bedding, stick to light fabrics like cotton or linen, as well as light colors. You may want to use busy patterns, but these are best avoided. If you want a patterned sheet, stick to light, pastel colors as well as smaller prints.

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Space:

Despite your room being a set size, you can still work with the limited space to make it feel larger. This includes carefully deciding on the right paint color and getting creative with vertical space.

Use Light Paint Colors

"Selecting a lighter shade instead of a darker one will make the room appear larger. The reason for selecting light color is that it reflects light [giving the space a roomier feel]," explains Blima Ehrentreu.

It's also advisible to avoid contrasting colors to make a small bedroom seem larger. Once you are happy with a light color to use in your bedroom, why not consider making your walls, ceiling, and even the floor, the same color.

Although white would work best in a small bedroom, you can also consider other light colors or pastels.

Utilize Vertical Space

Your floor space is limited in a small bedroom, so it is time to put your thinking hat on and get creative with vertical space.

Using the walls to your advantage will not only clear up more floor area but also help draw the eyes upwards towards the ceiling, which in turn will make your room seem much larger.

You can use built-in floor-to-ceiling shelves as creative storage solutions while also adding visual interest, opt for floating shelves above the bed and desk for storage and decor, or try a flexible, modular shelving system that can adapt over time.

A tall headboard or art hung above the bed will also help the room appear larger.

Embrace Muted Flooring

The flooring you choose in your room can have a huge impact on how it feels.

Blima Ehrentreu, explains, "When it comes to flooring, I would suggest vitrified tiles in neutral colors. It makes the room look brighter. Avoid wooden flooring, it makes the room look heavy."

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5 Other Unusual Space-Saving Tips You May Not Have Thought About

Match the Window Frame to the Wall

We've already mentioned how light curtains and blinds (or none at all) can help your small bedroom appear larger, but you can go even further with your windows.

Reducing contrast in your bedroom will give it a much larger appearance, and another way to do this, apart from painting walls and ceilings the same color as already mentioned above, is to also paint your window treatment the same color as the wall.

By having the window frame the same light color as your wall, the eye will be able to move smoothly across the room without any distractions, making the room seem much bigger than it really is.

Reduce Clutter with Wall Lights

Although bedside and floor lamps are great for artificial light, they take up space. By installing wall sconces over your bed, you will have soft light for reading or relaxing in bed, without cluttering up the room.

Wall sconces help to draw the eye upwards, giving the room an open appearance.

Don't Let Curtains Reach the Floor

Floor-to-ceiling curtains may seem majestic and beautiful, but they take up visual space. By not letting your window treatments reach all the way to the floor, you are exposing more wall and floor space, similar to using leggy furniture, which makes your small bedroom look bigger.

If you already have long drapes, tie them in a knot halfway down to reduce the length, or get handy with a pair of scissors and cut them a bit shorter.

Use See-Through Furniture

Transparent furniture is great for making a room look much larger.

Opt for a glass tabletop on your desk or bedside table. Glass will still take up the same amount of space as a standard tabletop, but as it is see-through, the eyes will be tricked into thinking the room is larger.

You can also place some transparent acrylic chairs in your workspace to ensure you have a functional work area with minimal visual clutter.

Embrace Minimalism

Decorating a tiny room can be tough, so it is best that you embrace minimalism and reduce clutter. Choose only a few statement pieces of furniture and decor, make the most of storage drawers to avoid a cluttered room, and focus on clean lines and minimal prints and patterns.

"One of the most effective tips for making a room clutter-free and minimalist is to make it clutter-free and minimalist. Avoid too many photographs or paintings," adds Bilma Ehrentreu.

Final Thoughts

Any small bedroom will benefit from being kept organized, but apart from that, you can embrace decor and different furniture styles to give your small room a much larger appearance. Move your rug around, use space-saving pieces, and install floating shelves.

From the furniture layout to the types of furniture you use, play around with your arrangement to make the most of your limited space. Stick to light-colored furniture and paints and play around with natural light using mirrors and light drapes.

As a rule of thumb, the more floor and wall space are visible, the larger your small bedroom will look.

FAQs

What colors make a small bedroom look bigger?

The following colors make a bedroom look bigger:

White
Blush Pink
Gray

What pattern makes a small bedroom look bigger? Here are three patterns which will make a small bedroom look bigger.

Elongated stripes on the wall.
Small repeated patterns on rugs.
A light fixture that forms a pattern on the ceiling.

Do rooms look bigger or smaller with furniture?

Rooms without furniture will always look smaller than their actual size as there is no frame of reference for the size without furniture. However, it depends on how you arrange the furniture in your small room.

Meet the Experts

At Living Cozy, we work closely with top brands and professionals to provide the latest expert recommendations, tips, and picks. In this article, you'll hear from:

Bilma Ehrentreu, CEO of The Designers Group
Bryan Johnson, CEO of Shades of Light

Written by

Ash Read

Ash is the founder of Living Cozy. He's been featured by publishers like MyDomaine, Realtor, Real Homes, Architectural Digest, The Spruce, Homes and Gardens, and more. As a writer his work has appeared in publications like FastCompany, TNW, and Entrepreneur.