Why you should care

These simple, doable tricks will have you living large even in a small bedroom.

Bedrooms are sanctuaries from long days at work texting – so it’s important that they’re inviting. But how do you you call those 4 closing walls your hideaway?

Bedrooms aren’t what they used to be. Many smaller apartment and house layouts leave more space for common areas, leaving very few square footage for bedrooms.

If you’re done bumping into the foot of your bed or fed up with not having enough space for your vampire romance novels, here are tricks you need to make the bedroom feel bigger:

1 Light, Cool Colours

Multiple items in similar colours look like multiple parts of one thing as opposed to separate random things, i.e. clutter. By keeping your bed, bedside table, walls, and curtains within the same colour family, the room look less cluttered.

pink bedroom

SOURCE: bowsandsequins.com

Besides keeping colours within the family, opt for cool colours which visually recedes walls, brightens the space, and makes the bedroom feel more spacious. Whites, light greys, and light blues work great here.

light grey bedroom

SOURCE: gzzmn.net

Speaking of parts of the same thing, paint your walls and ceiling the same colour, so that the visual line extends all the way to the top, enlarging the feel of the space.

2 Friendly Furniture

Choose furniture that aren’t overly chunky and that have legs instead of a solid base. That means ditching divan beds for bed frames with legs, and choosing bedside tables with slender legs, or which have open or see through shelves.

retro bedroom

SOURCE: westelm.com.au

Being able to see through your furniture creates visual continuity in the room, making it appear larger and more open.

Instead of filling the room with many small furniture, you can choose 1 or 2 pieces of statement furniture that act as the room’s focal points. This creates a distraction from the size of the space and helps you eliminate the need for several small furniture.

For example, place a larger shelf on one side of your bed that can also act as a bedside table instead of having bedside tables on both sides of the bed.

ikea bedside table

SOURCE: theeverygirl.com

Also look for multi-functional furniture or ones with hidden storage, such as a bed frame with bottom drawers. Read this article for more space saving designs.

3 Height Illusion

If your room faces the outside, and if you’ve got a good view to boost, install large or floor-length windows. This psychologically extends the space – ceiling to floor and indoors to outdoors.

floor length window

SOURCE: qqphoto.net

In a narrow room with a tall ceiling, extend the visual lines upwards instead of sideways. Do this with a tall and slender bed frame, and with sheer, long curtains that barely touch the floor. Such curtains leave a slight breathing space between the end of the curtain and the floor, creating an illusion of space.

bedroom decor ideas

SOURCE: L: elementsofstyleblog.com; R: houzz.com

4 Lines and Small Patterns

In the same way that clothes with horizontal lines make you look wider, so will a rug or wall with horizontal lines “expand” a room.

bedroom rug

SOURCE: redriesgoslitorales.com

Patterns are also a good way to create points of interest in the room that distract from the room size. Opt for subtle or small patterns as opposed to larger ones that will make the room look cluttered. Use the patterns as accents – like with pillows – while keeping everything else neutral and plain.

accent pillows

SOURCE: L: the-citizenry.com; R: markergirl.com

5 Art & Knick-Knacks

As with furniture, select smaller pieces of art, or fewer large pieces. This way, the art pieces act as a focal point, distracting from the space. Don’t forget to apply the subtler and cleaner patterns theory!

bedroom art

SOURCE: avenuelifestyle.com

As for knick-knacks in the room, be they functional pieces like books or decorative items like figurines, arrange them in a colour-coordinated manner. Remember how we said that similar coloured items look like parts of the same thing? This trick eliminates psychological clutter.

blush bedrooms

SOURCE: designhunter.co.uk

6 Mirrors

You’ve probably heard this one before. Similar to windows, mirrors allow you to look beyond the physical confines of the room, and in this case reflections! Plus, we can’t fault more surface areas for frequent hair checks.

mirror bedroom

SOURCE: decoist.com

Another way to adopt this trick is by having built-in closet door mirrors. As closets are a big part of the room, having door mirrors really open up the space.

closet mirror

SOURCE: thehoneycombhome.com

Keen to to redesign your bedroom? Get in touch with Malaysian interior designers.
You can also check out other local interior design portfolios.

Why you should care

These simple, doable tricks will have you living large even in a small bedroom.

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