The smaller bedroom always presents a conundrum when it comes to decorating – do you opt for the cosy feel with reclaimed furniture or try to expand its walls and space with clever tricks on the eye?
What complicates the situation is when the small bedroom is occupied by a young person. Complete with a raft of GCSEs under their belt, they ‘lodge’ at home as they complete A Levels or an apprenticeship. They may still be ‘lodging’ at home whilst completing their degree too.
Thus, decorating the small bedroom is not just about a pot of beige paint, but about injecting character, warmth, style and texture that the ‘student lodger’ will love for years to come.
Here are top tips to decorate and style the small bedroom into a fitting place for the maturing student…
Nest of Tables
Ring the changes (and introduce a note of stylish functionality) with a nest of tables instead of a bedside table. It may be an item you associate with the 1970s lounge, but for the modern student, extra surfaces are ideal when you have phones, tablets and laptops to charge.
Console Table
We are tempted in a smaller room to add ‘smaller’ furniture. This can have the opposite effect to what we want and so rather than considering the dimensions of the piece, look at its footprint.
Even though a wooden side table may be small, it may not be the ideal fit next to the bed and if the nest of tables doesn’t add the storage you want, consider the humble console table instead.
Available in single or double drawer style they are a stylish and ‘grown-up’ piece of any bedroom. (Better still, a console table doesn’t subscribe to being a piece of either a boy’s or girls’ bedroom furniture!)
Customise the headboard
In a small bedroom, adding details can be difficult as there is a fine line between detail and clutter. But anything that adds light and sparkle is welcome. A simple trick is to customise the headboard with fairy lights, of which there is now an amazing range.
Why not artistically drape fairy lights around the frame of a reclaimed wood mirror?
Storage solutions
Clearly, a smaller bedroom may not have the space for a gargantuan reclaimed wood wardrobe and so you need to be creative about storage solutions. Adding too much ‘stuff’ on top of wardrobes and over the bed can shorten the room, making it look and feel smaller.
Instead, opt for custom made under the bed storage drawers. Made to contrast and complement the rest of the bedroom, they are ideal for storing all kinds of bits and bobs, clothes included.
Substitute the bedside table for a small chest of drawers if you want to combine ample storage with surface space too.
The Remainder of the Room…
- Ditch the clutter of a sidelight with a dimmable central pendant light that also acts the wow factor in the room
- This reclaimed wood wardrobe with its small footprint is ideal as it won’t dominate the room but place it where it can be easily accessed (no excuse not to put clean clothes away…)
- And don’t forget that the working space needs to be in good light so that when they are studying, they are not doing so in shadow.
How will you decorate your small bedroom to give the illusion of space?