How to make the most out of your small bedroom

If you’ve ever had to clamber over your bed just to get to your closet on the other side of the room, then you’ll have an idea of what it’s like having a small bedroom.  How do you use optical illusions to visually maximize the space in your tiny hidey hole?

Visually constricting elements

Which are the elements you should actively avoid to prevent your tiny bedroom from looking even more cramped and confined? Some obvious no-no’s are:

Some effective fixes for small bedrooms

If you want your cozy quarters to look spacious rather than swamped, just follow these easy tips below to visually ‘open up’ the space available in the room.

Keep things light and bright

Light colored paint should be used on the walls and ceilings to maximize the feeling of wide, open space. Poor lighting only exacerbates cramped conditions, so make sure you have high-wattage bulbs which provide excellentlighting and give the room a sense of openness. Flooding a room with light serves to make it seem more voluminous.

Make the most of your natural light by having curtain rods extend beyond the window frame. Not only do these let in more light, they draw your line of vision outwards and make the room seem wider than it really is. Try not to cover up windows, which are the “eyes” to the room.

Also, keep all window treatments light and airy. Forgo dark, heavy, billowing curtains for tailored looks in the form of simple, light colored blinds which do the job without occupying precious space.

Bedtime smarts

If you rarely nap and your bed is sort of underused, think about switching to a foldable sofa bed or futon which can be stowed away when not in use! Also, headboards and footboards tend to create unwanted obstructions and interrupt the flow of space, so choose a bed without one. Beds which are low to the ground with simple frames have smaller masses and will not overpower a diminutive space.

Get Organized!

Your mother was right when she told you to get all your clothes and bric-a-brac off the floor. Piles of clothing, CD’s, bags and magazines on the floor or sitting atop furniture should be eliminated, pronto, to achieve a sleek and structured look for your bedroom.

Keep an eye out for smart storage solutions – especially those which are tall rather than wide. For example, choose a highboy over a triple dresser; also make full use of all underutilized storage capacity such as your bedside table (choose one with drawers for storage) and choose multi tasking furniture which have storage capabilities to max out your square footage.

Your closet needs a makeover – install a storage system of drawers, shelves and rods to optimize its cargo space.

Keep it simple

Too many patterns, polka dots, florals, stripes and paisleys will only overwhelm a small room. As such, minimize the use of such active patterns to a few key pieces and outfit the rest of your furniture in upbeat, solid colors. For instance, keep your rugs and beddings in solid shades but add a few candy-colored striped pillows for extra character.

Even pictures on walls can make a room look closed in. So practice restraint with your wall hangings if you have a cramped room, and leave on wall a totally blank slate to calm your mind.

Also try to avoid cluttering up the room with a host of superfluous furniture – less is more in the case of a small bedroom. Use furniture in moderation or else the excess will encumber and obstruct traffic flows as well as choke the design of a room.

Other Optical Illusions

Because your eye follows lines on the floor, putting down flooring which runs on the diagonal instead of perpendicular or parallel to the walls will lengthen the room. Lay down your ceramic tile, wood strip or other liner-type floorings crosswise to the walls.

Also, a low ceiling can be made to seem soaring simply by hanging pictures up high on the walls to draw the gaze of the eye upwards, and not downwards.

Use Reflections

Mirrors in the bedroom can reflect sources of light, thus making the whole area seem grander and much larger. A tried and tested method of de-cramping small spaces, mirrors will definitely give your small bedroom some dimension.