If you have a smaller bedroom than what would be considered “standard” by a home expert (common in some Philadelphia townhomes) and want it to appear bigger, simple solutions are at your fingertips. Just a few adjustments of your furniture, color choices, and lighting will make a huge difference. Try these easy tips for maximizing the space of a small bedroom.

Start Empty

First, empty the bedroom of all its contents — that includes furniture, clothes, books, and knickknacks. You’ll quickly find that a lot of the “stuff” you have in there isn’t necessary. If you don’t use a piece of furniture at least once in the course of a week, it doesn’t have to be in your bedroom. All of the excess items in your small bedroom that aren’t immediately necessary in your room, such as out-of-season clothing and books, should be placed in storage or under your bed for future use.

Painting

If your room has dark paint, the first order of business is to brighten it up if you want it to appear larger. Lighter paint colors can really open up a room, so choose colors like tan, eggshell, yellow or platinum for your bedroom. Pretty pastels, like light pink, green, or blue, are also a good choice.

Furniture Matters

The next step is to find the ideal location for your bed to ensure that you’ll have room to move around. Kitty-corner the bed or center it in the middle of your largest wall. Eliminate large end tables from the room — use secure wood shelving above the bed instead for your table lamp, alarm clock, phone, and other accessories. Wall shelves are a simple way to get items off of your floor while still ensuring that you have quick access to what you need. Get a tall, flat headboard to put behind your bed instead of a wide, clunky one.

If you still have space in your small bedroom and can accommodate a small futon, chaise, or love seat, see if there’s room to place that a few inches in front of the foot of the bed. In the interest of space, try to position all “sitting” furniture to face the same wall where your television or other main entertainment will be.

Mirrors and Wall Art

Putting a large decorative mirror in a small room is a way to make it seem like you’re “doubling” your space. It’s an optical illusion of sorts (it almost looks like you’re gazing into another “secret” room), and light will reflect off of a mirror in a way that makes the room look more inviting. Avoid cluttering your walls with too many framed pictures. Wall clutter makes your space feel cramped — just add a few frames containing your favorite art or photos.

Lighting Tips

Replace floor or table lamps in your small bedroom with recessed or drop lighting to save space. A recessed or ceiling light will cast an attractive glow on the room, making it look larger while removing unnecessary items from the floor.

Hang Your TV

If you have a small bedroom, you probably don’t have the space for an entertainment center. It’s best to purchase a light-weight flat screen television and hang it on your wall. Make sure you hang it at the proper height so that you can view it comfortably. Use wall shelving above and below for your cable box and other equipment.

You can apply these same design ideas to other small bedrooms and rooms in your house. You should feel comfortable and relaxed in your Philly home; no matter how many square feet you’re working with.

Read more about how you can free up space and stay organized. 

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