Interior Design Ideas

Ideas For Decorating a Small Bedroom

May 14, 2026

The first purchase almost everyone makes, when starting out, is a queen sized bed. Because of it’s mass the bed has to be placed first, and should be centered on the longest wall which is uninterrupted by doors or windows. There probably isn’t room for a foot board, but a headboard that is comfortable enough to lean against for reading or TV viewing is worth every inch of space. To make a room look larger use a pair of night stands which are simple and open in design- more like a table with a drawer, than a chest of drawers. And since horizontal space is at a premium, light fixtures can be wall mounted bracket lights or ceiling mounted pendant light. A pair of tall mirrors hung one above each nightstand, will serve to double the view of the width of the room, and bounce light around the space. Alternatively, a pair of narrow (@ 10-12″ deep) book cases which fit nearly bed to wall and which are painted to match the room color, will hold a lot of collectibles and will create a feeling that the headboard is “built in”.

How big is your closet? If it is big enough to walk in, try to place your chest of drawers there. If the closet is the old 1940’s 3 foot square, then clothing storage is the highest priority for the remaining design choices. You may consider a clean lined wardrobe placed opposite the bed which gives the effect of a closet in the room. Or, a single large armoire or dresser will hold more and take up less space than numerous smaller pieces with narrow drawers. If you plan to watch TV from bed, then hiding it in the armoire, mounting it on the wall and/or mounting it on a bracket will place the TV at eye level and save valuable floor space.

Hopefully there is room for at least one chair, whether it be an upright desk chair, armless slipper chair or a more fully upholstered lounge chair. A bench at the end of the bed or under a dormer can be a convenience but will never replace the comfort of a chair with upholstered arms.

To make a bedroom look as large as possible keep the contrast in colors minimal, but add textural variety. Mirrored and Lucite furnishings take up less visual space because they reflect light. So does a polished wooden floor verses wall to wall carpeting. Window treatments can be layered for light control but the design and hardware should remain streamlined. If you love wallpaper and want to surround the room in pattern, choose a 1/2 drop match of curved motifs. The scale can be large but by keeping the number of patterns to a minimum, there is no frame of reference for your eye to “measure” the room. To really make the edges of the room dissapear make a wall glass, or take it away entirely.

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Posted in: Design Trends