Not all of us are blessed with a big bedroom. While tiny rooms can have their advantages (they’re cozy and they can discourage clutter), they can also be frustrating at times. You may struggle to find space to put basic essentials and you may be restricted as to which furniture you can buy. You may have no space to do anything but sleep and at times it could feel quite claustrophobic.
Fortunately, there are many ways in which you can cope more easily with limited space. Below are some of the ways in which you can maximize space in a small bedroom.
Reduce clutter
You should start by being honest about what you really need in your bedroom. Do you really need all those clothes? Are you hoarding perfumes and cosmetics? Decluttering can be emotionally challenging and can take a lot of time, but it could free up a lot of space in your bedroom. Think about dedicating a day to decluttering and get rid of anything that you don’t wear/use. You can find some tips for decluttering here.
Get a fitted wardrobe
Fitted wardrobes are custom-built to fit the shape of a room. If you don’t like fitted, go with free-standing wardrobes from Instrument furniture. This makes them a good choice in a small bedroom as you can make them as wide or as narrow (a.nd as deep or as shallow) as you want. If you have an oddly shaped room with an alcove or sloping ceiling, you can also design the wardrobe to fit around this. All in all you’ll have much more flexibility as to the size of your wardrobe and where to put it. Fitted wardrobes can be more expensive due to being custom-made, although there are a growing amount of cheaper companies out there.
Go minimalist with a clothing rail
Do you really need a wardrobe? A popular minimalist trend is to swap out a wardrobe with a clothes rail. This can prevent excess clothes from being piled into a wardrobe. Having all your clothes on display also ensures that no clothes are put away and forgotten. All in all, it’s a drastic but effective way to cut down your clothing. You can find guides to using a clothing rail instead of a wardrobe online.
Mount lamps on the wall
If it’s too much of a tight squeeze to put a bedside cabinet next to your bed but you still want a reading light, you could consider installing mounted lamps above or either side of your bed. Even if you still need a surface for keeping a glass of water or glasses, it allows you the option to buy something slimmer because you don’t have to worry about placing a table lamp on it. Mounted lamps will likely need to be installed by an electrician, although battery lamps are an option.
Opt for sliding windows
Replacing your windows could have advantages in a small room. Windows that open inwards could be a nuisance in a small room, limiting space in front of the windows. Windows that open outwards can also be a disadvantage - if you want to place a dresser or chest of drawers below the window, you may have to stretch over it to close the window. This is where sliding windows such as these Renewal By Andersen sliding windows can come into use - they could be much easier to open and close in a small room. Replacing windows can be expensive, but could have other benefits (it could be a chance to improve insulation too).
Consider a bed with storage underneath
A raised bed on legs could allow you to store extra stuff beneath. Better still, you could opt for a bed with storage compartments beneath it for storing items tidily away. There are beds that open up like a chest and there are beds with drawers inside them. This extra space could be used for anything from bedsheets to clothes.
Consider a Murphy bed
Murphy beds are beds that fold up into the wall. When folded up, this allows you to use the floor space typically taken up by your bed. Such beds could be useful in studio apartments or bedrooms in shared properties - it could give you space to exercise in your bedroom or even space to assemble a pop-up desk so that you can use it as a home office or study during the day. There are pros and cons to Murphy beds - you can read through some of these pros and cons here at Innovate Home Org.
