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All products featured on Architectural Digest are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.In big cities across the US and beyond, minuscule bedrooms abound. Fun small bedroom ideas feel hard to come by, and frustration sets in before anything actually improves in your space. Visions of an armchair, a reading nook, and a makeup vanity float by, meanwhile your space still doesnt have room for a pair of nightstands to accompany your bed. But fear not, there are, indeed, decorating ideas that make it possible to achieve an inspiring living space, squeeze in those storage solutions, and still get a comfortable nights sleep at the end of the day, toono matter how small your square footage is. Read on for small bedroom decorating ideas and advice from experts on how to maximize your space in style.Photo: Simon Brown1/33Add a patterned headboardIf you have a small bedroom, it can be particularly difficult to bringin pattern without overpowering a space.Designer Beata Heuman deftly displayed how to do so in this pictured West London flat. Though not every small room has space for an end-of-bed bench like the upholstered one in this flat, the commanding striped headboard look can be easily replicated in even the smallest of bedrooms. Not only does the patterned headboard draw the eye into the back of the room, but also up, as it reaches toward the ceiling and draws attention to the vertical space.Photo: Yohann Fontaine2/33Display what needs to be storedInthis Paris apartment planned out by the homeowner and Myanmar-based architect Pierre Mounier, the bed is surrounded on both sides by open bookshelves. Rather than making the bed feel closed in or stuck between these two shelves, the space feels airy thanks to the lack of backing on the shelves. Whats more, the clever bedroom design allows the built-in shelves to serve as nightstandsand lets the homeowners personal effects to double as decor, adding visual interest to the space without cluttering it. Talk about multipurpose!If you prefer a look thats a little more uniform, buy baskets or bins for the shelves to hold all that clutter. The baskets will add visual interest, and youll still be able to store plenty without needing a bulkier dresser or wardrobe.Photo: Charlie Schuck3/33Use a curtain to separate your spaceIf your tiny bedroom is in fact a studio, or if its the only space thats entirely your ownno roommates and no family calling the shotsthen you likely want to maximize it, even if it is quite small. Adding curtains is a cost effective and adaptable way to separate your space to serve multiple purposes. In architectCorey Kingstons own Lower East Side apartment, curtains separate her bed from the living area, keeping the sleeping space peaceful and personal. The curtains also add color to the space without the anxiety-inducing commitment of a bold paint job (particularly useful if youre in a rental!).Photo: Genevieve Garruppo // @garruppo4/33Or try a custom room dividerWhen designing the bedroom of her NYC studio, Ward + Gray cofounder and AD PRO Directory designer Christie Ward aimed to preserve the flow of natural light from her living room area to her bedroom alcove. With my apartments open-concept layout, I was concerned that a small enclosed bedroom might feel too claustrophobic, she says. To address this, I had a custom room divider [by BK Handbuild] created, which allows light to filter through from the living area. She notes that this not only defines the bedroom space intimately, but also maintains a sense of openness. To save even more space, Ward chose a small task light from In Common With for reading, coupled with a wall-mounted sconce in lieu of a bedside table and lamp.Photo: Amy Bartlam5/33Work with the bedrooms architectureWere obsessed with this small bedroom idea from Jaime Zehner, owner and lead designer of JZ Interior Designs in Laguna Beach, California. We embraced the pitched ceiling as a standout architectural feature by adding wallpaper to draw the eye upward, making the space feel taller and more dynamic, she says. Zehner recommends identifying the unique architectural highlights of your roomlike a distinctive ceiling, window, or alcoveand enhancing them with wallpaper or paint. Here, the designer chose Lake Augusts Nasturtium pattern and Bigleaf colorway. Embrace natural light and make sure the window treatment you select adds to the room and doesnt take away more space, she adds.Photo: Theresa and Theo Morrison6/33Lean into dark colorsTo embrace the small scale of this bedroom, Jenny Guggenheim of AD PRO Directory firm Guggenheim Architecture + Design Studio in Portland drenched it in Benjamin Moores Texas Leather and selected space-saving sconce lighting by Los Angelesbased Ravenhill Studio. The bed has such a beautiful upholstery detail at the head and foot, and the oatmeal boucl contrasts nicely with the dark wall to add visual texture, says Guggenheim, adding that the custom walnut pieces by Phloem Studio are sized to work with the room scale.Photo: Jenna Ohnemus Peffley7/33Opt for a bookcase headboardThe best small bedroom design ideas are ideas that address multiple needs in the space. A bookcase headboard does just that. Need a place to put books? Got it! Need a bedside table? It can store what youd usually put on said table! Need a headboard? Well, thats up to personal preference. If youdo want a headboard, opting for a bookcase headboard could be your best bet. InFanny Singers Los Angeles apartment, the bookcase headboard serves a lot of purposes, including hosting a sort of gallery wall by holding a number of art pieces on its topmost shelf.Photo: Barbara Corsico8/33Add a loft spaceWhether you add it for extra storage room or as an area for the mattress, a loft space will immediately give you more space to rejigger your room design. In this Italian vacation home, which measures just 323 square feet but is intended to host six people, a loft space was added above a mattress to home another mattress built-in bunk bed style. Be sure to leave enough headspace for guests who move around a lot at night (for example, from side sleeping to stomach sleeping). Low loft mattresses no more than 6 or 8 inches tall are affordable beds and should preserve enough room. Pink ladder, wood grain lining, and blue and green paintthe clever colorful design byhomeowners and architects Stefano Carera and Eirini Giannakopoulou shows how distinct even a simple loft space can feel.Photo: Rory Gardiner9/33Skip the nightstand and mount a sconceIf youre concerned about being able to fit a nightstand in your small space, consider whether or not you really need one. If your primary argument for squeezing one in is so that you can have some place for a lamp to sit, consider mounting a sconce instead. Skipping the nightstands will easily free up at least a foot of space on either side of the bedand those sconces will look rather chic. Just a glimpse at the bedroom in this300-square-foot Vincent Appeldesigned apartment should prove our point.Photo: Kyle Knodell; Styling: Jamie Perez Herrera10/33Go for a floating side tableOkaymaybe youre not ready to let go of the side table entirely but you still have limited space. A floating side table could be the fix for your interior design dilemma. In aBrooklyn apartment reimagined for a single mother and young daughter, Brett Masterson was left with limited space when he divided the original bedroom to create separate rooms for each family member. The mothers room has a slim floating bookshelf that offers enough space for a charging phone and a cup of water. An added bonus: Floating bookshelves are much easier to clean under than their four-legged counterparts.Photo: Lauren Edith Andersen/SEN Creative11/33Opt for a dual-function bedroomSmall bedroom decorating ideas are one thing, but you might also need to make tight quarters do double dutysuch as a home office/bedroom hybrid or a part-nursery, part-guest room space. Christina Higham, owner and principal of Sun Soul Style in Kauai, Hawaii, designed this space for a family that needed both a nursery and a guest bedroom for visitors. I really wanted the space to feel cozy, so we decided to drench the room in Benjamin Moores Seastar, says Higham. Oftentimes, people are afraid of bold colors when designing a small space. But it can actually have the opposite effect and make a space feel more expansiveespecially when the color extends to the ceiling. Another smart call for this room? The storage ottoman offers an easy spot to throw toys when the family wants them out of sight.Photo: Steve Freihon12/33Simplify your color paletteOften the easiest way to accomplish a feeling of tranquility in a small space is by simplifying your color palette. Even if the couple colors you opt for arent neutrals, limiting yourself to those particular colors will help to create a relaxed environment. If you do take this approach, as designerRyan Brooke Thomas did in this Brooklyn renovation, its best to keep storage behind closet doors, rather than out in the open.Photo: Prue Ruscoe; Styling: Felicity Ng13/33Center natural lightThough we may not be able to control the amount of natural light our living spaces get, when windows do appear, its best to center that light source as much as possible. In a bedroom atdesigner Yasmine Ghoniems own home, a low headboard was used so that the window could be as unobstructed as possible. Evidenced by the moody hues of the headboard and bedspread, deeper colors can be used in a room that enjoys natural light without making the room feel any less refreshing.Photo: Evan Jorgensen14/33Keep it doorlessIf you have the dumb luck of enjoying a spacious (maybe evenwalk-in) closet but only a small bedroom, there may not be much you can do beyond major renovation to even out the scale. What youcan do is opt to remove the door, or set of doors, that separate the closet from the rest of the bedroom. This way the cramped bedroom can avoid feeling cave-like, and the closet will feel less secondary. Bonus points if you pull off an arched doorway like in this Brooklyn rowhouse that Rustam Mehta and Tal Schori, the founding partners at Brooklyn-based GRT Architects, reimagined.Photo: Ekaterina Izmestieva15/33Select a sculptural headboardFor those who prefer neutral tones and simple fabrics to bright colors and flashy prints, sculptural headboards can be particularly useful. This way you can enjoy what makes an eye-catching headboard greatit can set the tone for the whole room and take the pressure off every other elementwithout sacrificing a rooms color scheme or overall mood. Were particularly into theStudio Ahead Sheep bed employed in aSan Francisco renovation by SAs founders. Also, make sure your pillows dont obstruct the view of the headboard. (For example, side sleeper pillows are loftier than average and stand taller.)Photo: Will Ellis16/33Choose your bedspread wiselyIn a room thats not much larger than the mattress it contains, the bedspread is the single most important factor. Forget upgrading your old bed frame or swapping out your nightstand, investing in a good blanket (and accessorizing with some fun throw pillows, if youre into that kinda thing) can easily help level up a small bedroom. Designer Fanny Abbes used a pom-pom-bedecked bedspread in the petite bedroom of thisUpper East Side apartment.Photo: Meghan Marin17/33Opt for a daybedEspecially for those of us who spend plenty of time in our bedrooms during waking hours, a daybed can be an asset for a small bedroom. In the guest bedroom/home office hybrid of hisNew York City apartment, celebrity hairstylist Harry Josh used a daybed to make the space as flexible as possible. Whether you use your small bedroom as a space to study, host friends, or lounge around watching TV, opting for a daybed can make it much more comfortable for you around the clock.Photo: Kirsten Francis Photography18/33Get a bed with built-in storageStorage space is one of the first things to go when it comes to downsizing your bedroomafter all, its not like you can get rid of the bed! So what to do? Designer Margaret Costello opted for a bed with built-in storage forher Greenwich Village apartment. Though storage bed models vary, CostellosNiels Bendtsen-designed DWR bed maneuvers the mattress up to access that extra space, making it particularly handy if your bedroom doesnt have the space for pulling out under-mattress drawers.Photo: Melanie Landsman19/33Add a mirrorPerhaps the most dependable trick in the book on making a space appear larger, adding a mirror can always be counted on to make a bedroom feel more spacious. Inthis 800-square-foot Brooklyn apartment, the mirror was added above the bed, removing the undesirable experience of waking up and immediately confronting your own reflection. The wall behind the bed faces the windowed wall, doubling up on all of that precious natural light.Photo: Joe Kramm; Styling: Mieke ten Have20/33Add an accent wallWhen floor space is limited, an accent wall is often the most foolproof of small bedroom ideas. In this New York Cityapartment revamped by Project AZ, built-in storage painted in a deep teal lines the bedroom wall. If you live in a rental and cant do built-ins and prefer not to paint, a gallery wall or painted wall shelves should do the trick. Orfor something slightly more adventurous but still low stakestrypeel and stick removable wallpaper.Photo: Marc Mauldin21/33Or add personality with a wood feature wallIn this small bedroom, I created a focal point with a slatted wood feature wall that draws the eye to the high ceilings, says Gabriela Eisenhart, founder and principal designer of Silo Studios in Atlanta. Like many other interior designers, Eisenhart is a proponent of installing sconces instead of using lamps in tiny spaces. While she likes a wood-slatted wall for modern bedrooms, for a more traditional or transitional home, Eisenhart says wainscoting on a feature wall is a fantastic alternative for adding texture and dimension in a classic, timeless way. If wallpaper or real wood paneling arent your thing, consider crafting an accent wall with fabric.Photo: Tim Hirschmann22/33Spice up the ceilingDepending on how adventurous you are with DIY projects, spicing up the ceiling is a wonderful way to make your room look personal without messing with your bedroom layout. This California desert home features wood paneled ceilings that continue the texture of the thicker paneling on the walls and tie into the natural tones of the duvet cover and other linens.Photo: Seth Caplan23/33Make a statement with lightingWith high ceilings, you have space for a dramatic chandelier; with an extra wedge of space on either side of the bed, you have room for an impactful floor lamp; and no matter what, you should be able to stick a sconce on the wall of your bed. No matter what light fixture your space lends itself to, it can act as the statement piece of your room. In this playful loft, the midcentury-style floor lamp packs a punch.Photo: Muk van Lil24/33Bring on the throw pillowsCute throw pillows arent just for jazzing up the living room! When theres little space for any decor, throw pillows can add visual interestandmake the bedroom more comfortable all at once. Well-designed throw pillow covers are like little works of art, and theyre much easier to bring in than an artwork that needs to be hung or another piece of furniture that would take up precious floor space. Just glimpseat designer Madelon Oudshoorn Spaargarens own bedroom and youll get it.Photo: Francisco Nogueira25/33Pick a houseplantWhere would we turn to make our living spaces a little more, well,lively without houseplants? Whether your living space leans minimalist, maximalist, or boho, as thisearth-toned Libson home does, houseplants can add a sense of groundedness in even the most frustratingly small bedrooms. You can stick a tiny succulent on a floating shelf, pop a hook on the ceiling and flaunt a hanging plant, or eke out a sliver of floor space for a monsterahowever you achieve it, the houseplant will definitely prove itself worthy of the footprint it takes up.26/33Bring in pops of colorSophie Lou Jacobsenseclectic apartment is full of fun finds, and her loft bedroom is no exception. Though the bedroom is dominated by its bright white walls and ceilingand the desk and lamp are also whitethe space feels energetic thanks to the random pops of color from the other furniture and the bedspread. It just goes to show that it only takes a couple pieces to truly set a tone in a small space.Photo: Peter Murdock27/33Splurge on a custom rugWith limited floor space in this NoHo bedroom, I created a custom round area rug with Sacco to fit under the bed, says AD PRO Directory designer Paris Forino, founder of her namesake interior design firm in New York City. This unique shape helps to create the illusion of more floor space and showcases the antique furniture, like the vintage Swedish chest and side chair. Another small bedroom decor idea trick? The team used a tall, full-length mirror to create a sense of a larger space.Photo: Michael Clifford28/33Dont be afraid of adding a fun detail or twoWorking with a tight footprint doesnt mean you need to skimp on playfulness. AD PRO Directory designer Susan Marinello of Susan Marinello Interiors in Seattle chose a wall-mounted monkey light from Seletti to add an element of whimsy, while saving valuable surface space in this Medina, Washington, small bedroom project. A compact daybed doubles as seating and sleeping space, while the bright, graphic rug introduces bold color and pattern to energize the room, Marinello says. The desk and bookshelf combination creates a dedicated study area, optimizing storage and organization.
