In this frequently space-starved world, having a small bedroom is actually pretty common.
While remodeling is always an option, here are several decorating tricks that can fool
the eye into seeing the bedroom as larger than it really is:
Welcome to Jansen’s DIY.
Here are 17 Ways to Make a Small Bedroom Look Bigger.
#1.
Make use of vertical space.
If you lack real estate in your room, you have to think vertical.
The floor space may be insufficient, but by utilizing the walls all the way to the ceiling,
you can use the space more efficiently while enticing the eyes to look up, thereby making
the room seem bigger.
Built-in shelves that go from floor to ceiling are a smart choice, not just visually but
also for storage.
#2.
Keep your bed low to the ground.
Eschew tall pieces of furniture in favor of those that are low to the ground, forget even
putting up a headboard.
By keeping furnishings in your room as low to the ground as possible, you’ll hit two
birds with one stone: first, you effortlessly create more vertical
space, which in turns makes the ceiling look higher.
#3.
Utilize light colors.
Rather than decorating with dark colors that absorb light, why not try using lighter and
softer colors that can reflect light?
This will give the impression that your room is brighter and more spacious.
Whites and pastels give your walls a refreshing look that seemingly opens up the room.
This tip can be applied to both the paint colors you choose for your walls and the colors
of your furniture and décor.
#4.
Hang mirrors.
A full-length mirror is essential to every bedroom so you can check how you look right
before you leave your house.
However, small bedrooms actually need more mirrors than large bedrooms, as mirrors are
the easiest way to trick the eye into thinking that the room is bigger than it actually is.
There are many ways to go about incorporating mirrors into your room, whether you use mirrored
closet doors, put an ornate mirror over the dresser or hang a starburst shaped mirror
over the bed.
#5.
Mount the lights.
Clear out the clutter on your nightstand by installing sconces or some other kind of chic
light fixtures that don’t have cords that will snake all over the floor.
Try this out and you’ll notice a big difference in how tidy your small bedroom looks afterwards.
#6.
Color coordinate the décor.
Shading is a time-tested trick that you can use to create the illusion of a larger room.
Picking different shades of the same color for your walls, furniture and rug can help
create a sense of unity throughout the space.
Visual coherence fools your mind into thinking that the space in a small room is more open.
#7.
Use black and white.
Although this tip may sound counterintuitive since black is the darkest color (or rather,
literally the absence of light), combining black with white can help generate an optical
illusion of space.
The layering and depth of the opposite hues conspire to help make a room look larger than
it actually is.
#8.
Pick out furniture with legs.
When choosing furnishings for your room, it’s best to pick out pieces that have legs so
as to help create an open feel to your room.
We’re not saying every piece should have legs, but at the very least, try to have one
with some height to it, whether it’s your nightstand or the bed.
The more floor and wall you can see, the larger your room will appear.
#9.
Try built-in storage.
When you don’t have much room to work with, you can try punching out the walls and have
a custom-made storage unit built in.
The space you save from doing this is space that you can ultimately use for something
else.
#10.
Use stripes.
Have you ever heard of, or even used, the tips that wearing a vertically striped shirt
will make you look thinner while a horizontally striped shirt will make you look wider?
The same principle can be used to decorate your walls.
Horizontal stripes visually lengthen and widen a narrow bedroom while vertical stripes create
the illusion of a high ceiling.
#11.
Match window treatments with the walls.
Large bedrooms often use drapes or blinds that contrast with the wall colors.
However, if you have a small bedroom, you’re better off matching your window treatments
with the walls, as this keeps the eye moving across the space, tricking it into perceiving
the bedroom as a little bit bigger than it really is.
#12.
Be judicious with your furniture.
Filling up your small bedroom with a lot of furniture will just not work.
However, making smart choices about what kind you’ll have and, more importantly, how many
pieces you’ll have can definitely help.
For example, rather than having two nightstands, why not try having just one?
Or better yet, none at all!
#13.
Keep items off the floor.
Keep clutter to a minimum within the small space that you have in your room.
With less clutter on the floor, your room will exude the illusion of extra space.
Instead of buying a bookshelf, which takes up real estate, try mounting shelves on your
walls.
The more shelves you can put up on your walls, the more floor space you’ll have.
#14.
Combine subtle prints and solids.
You don’t have to eschew all prints in a small room, but you’ll make the space look
a whole lot bigger if you stick to using small prints and plenty of solids.
This is particularly true when it comes to your bed, which is usually the largest item
in the bedroom.
Pick a solid or mostly-solid bedspread or comforter, then add some color and interest
with patterned sheets and throw pillows.
Stick with light- to mid-tone colors to help visually enlarge the space.
#15.
Pick furniture that matches the size of the room.
Having a small room doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have tiny furniture, but
it does mean that you’ll need to look for pieces that match in scale and are sized suitably
for your space.
A king-sized bed flanked by two tiny nightstands will just make your room look silly and cramped.
Instead, choose a bed size that lets you fit at least one nightstand large enough to visually
hold its own against the size of the mattress.
#16.
Pick a bright palette Think a small bedroom means you have to use
a palette of white or washed-out neutrals?
Absolutely not!
When used properly, color can open up your bedroom by either producing a focal point
to attract the eye — thus distracting from the small size of the space — or visually
expanding the room by keeping the eyes moving around the area.
Either way, you’ll win with a cheerful looking bedroom.
Pick an unexpected color combination like sunny yellow, coral orange and lime green
for a bright bedroom that feels larger than it is.
#17.
Open up your room with patterns.
Are you keen on keeping your walls, window treatments, and floor white, but still want
shots of color?
When you mix-and-match patterns the right way, you get twice the benefits — a dose
of vibrancy plus visual distractions that keep the eye moving, thus distorting the small
dimensions of
the bedroom.