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Pictured Above: A cozy yet comfortable bedroom designed by L.B. Copeland Interior Design.
While some people may prefer a small bedroom because it feels cozier or makes them feel more secure, there’s a good number of people who don’t. And for anyone who falls into the latter category, they likely wouldn’t want to make any design decisions that would result in their bedroom feeling cramped, but it’s shockingly easy to do without realizing it.
Whether your area rug is the wrong size or you have one too many pieces of furniture in the room, designers say a handful of common decorating mistakes can make a bedroom feel smaller than it actually is. We asked design experts to share the biggest culprits they see time and time again, along with their best advice for fixing them.
Crowding the Room with Furniture
One of the most common mistakes designer Michelle Lisac sees that makes a bedroom feel smaller is that people tend to overfill the space with furniture.
“A bed, nightstands, and a dresser are often all you need,” she tells House Beautiful. “Every extra chair, bench, or accent table competes for valuable floor space and makes the room feel more cramped.”
The Fix
Rather than buying a piece of furniture simply because you like the look of it or you feel it’s what you need to do to have a built-out bedroom, really consider the intention behind every piece. “Ask yourself whether that chair in the corner is actually being used or simply collecting clothes,” Lisac says. Fewer pieces that are better scaled to the room size will make it feel larger every time.
Pushing Furniture Against the Walls
Though pushing your furniture against the walls is the default layout in many rooms, especially the bedroom, it doesn’t always create the most design-forward result. Lisac explains that while it may seem like it’s creating more space, laying out your furniture this way can make the bedroom feel flat and leave narrow circulation paths.
The Fix
Your bed doesn’t have to sit against the wall—moving it away, or “floating” it, can improve the flow of your bedroom and create a more interesting layout. “In one recent project, we designed a custom bed with a dresser integrated into the back of the headboard and incorporated the nightstands into the bed itself,” Lisac explains. “Centering the entire piece in the room created a much more open, functional floor plan.”
Letting Clutter Accumulate
We know it’s easy to let clutter accumulate, especially in the bedroom with laundry, knickknacks, and pre-bed rituals. But overcrowded nightstands, dressers, and even walls create visual noise, explains Lisac. “A bedroom should feel calm and restorative, and excess accessories make even a generously sized room feel smaller.”
The Fix
Similarly to being intentional with the furniture you bring into the bedroom, really consider the decorative objects and accessories you allow inside too. Limit them to just a few meaningful pieces, and maintain uncluttered tabletops as much as possible to reinforce that sense of calm.
Investing in storage furniture is another way to resolve this issue. “The bed is the largest piece of furniture in the room, so make it earn its footprint,” Lisac suggests. “Storage beds or beds with built-in drawers provide valuable concealed storage, reducing visual clutter and helping the entire room feel lighter and more spacious.”
Choosing a Too-Small Rug
While the design community may not be able to agree on the proper rug size for a space, the experts can confidently say that a rug that’s too small is one of the quickest ways to make your bedroom feel so much smaller too.
“When too much flooring is exposed around the perimeter, the floor becomes visually fragmented, making the room feel more confined,” explains designer Glenna Stone.
Janie Hungerford of Hungerford Interior Design echoes this statement, explaining that “an area rug that only extends slightly beyond the bed can make the entire room feel disconnected and visually smaller.”
The Fix
The solution here is rather self-explanatory: simply purchase a larger rug, one that allows all furniture pieces to sit on top, adds Hungerford. You should be able to step on the soft surface as you get out of bed each morning.
This rug should properly anchor the space, leaving about 12 inches of flooring visible around the perimeter of the room, explains Stone. “This creates a balanced frame for the space, helps define the room, and makes it feel larger and more cohesive.”
Blocking Natural Light
Depending on the size and layout of your bedroom, you might feel so inclined to situate some pieces of furniture in front of your windows, but Hungerford says that’s a huge factor in making your room feel smaller.
“Natural light is one of the most powerful tools for making a room feel open and inviting,” she adds.
The window treatments chosen can contribute to this issue too. Heavy curtains or shades can take up more visual space in the room, making it feel more cramped and darker.
The Fix
Ensure that your windows remain as unobstructed as possible by moving furniture away from them and opening the window treatments as soon as you wake up. The natural light will make the space feel bigger and provide a nice blast of sunshine first thing in the morning.
Picking a Bed That’s Too Big
We get the appeal of having a large bed, but sometimes, a California king isn’t always the best option for your room size. “If the bed is too big and doesn't leave enough room to move comfortably around it, the entire space feels cramped,” Hungerford explains.
The Fix
Again, the simple answer here is purchasing a bed that isn’t too big for your space. If you don’t know what “too big” looks like though, Hungerford describes it as “maintaining a generous circulation around the bed.” You should be able to walk around three sides of the bed at least if it’s pushed against the wall.
The bed above is a great visual example of a small room that utilizes this design decision. There isn’t too much space on the sides of the bed, but there’s enough for two people to get in at once while each having their own little bedside table too.
