I’m into small these days. It may have something to do with the fact I reside at a 1,500-square-foot coach house, but I’ve always had something for small, intimate spaces. There is something about small rooms that force us to become much more creative since there aren’t that many choices.
Small bedrooms are often the toughest. In fact, I locate bedrooms to be quite tough generally. Maybe that is it is that I’m not a massive fan of matchy-matchy or bedrooms and lace with their formulaic twos of everything: 2 nightstands, two side lamps, two cushions, etc.. They just appear to lend themselves into stiff and formal symmetry that lacks the soulfulness of different chambers. I’m on an inspiration assignment for my very own small bedroom, which is in some serious need of attention and love, so I’ve assembled a handful of bedrooms that solve these problems. Take a look!
sarah & bendrix
1. Casual, crisp black and white. I love the contemporary reading lamps and how they contrast with the painting and chandelier. There is a casual sense concerning the room I enjoy. This really is a stay-in-bed-and-read-the-paper sort of bedroom.
A typical challenge in designing a bedroom is your big blank space within the bed. Can you utilize a headboard? Art? One large piece or lots of smaller bits? Skip art altogether and go for wallpaper? This room solves that problem with white trim and walls along with a casual approach with all the artwork. There doesn’t even appear to be a headboard.
Hugh Jefferson Randolph Architects
2. Soothing monochromatic neutrals and mismatched furniture. The white bedroom is a classic, fail-safe option, but how do you keep a small white bedroom out of feeling like a hospital room? I love the inclusion of classic brass accents to warm up this white bedroom, as well as the vintage nesting tables (that I doubt are paired on the opposite side of the bed).
The small ledge is just another smart way to give the room some sudden depth. Many people might think to do a shelf or a side table, but here you see both. The lamp, books, and mirror have been arranged fill the room without seeming cluttered.
SchappacherWhite Architecture D.P.C.
Another white-on-white bedroom averts the clinical look with layers of cream, brown and beige. The vintage side table with a bench under is an unexpected bit. The layering of colours in the bed linens avoid the feeling of a matching sheet set. And all of the creams and whites appear to have a slightly different colour.
Cary Bernstein Architect
Here’s a more minimal architectural space without thick molding and particulars. A dark rich wall and single abstract painting within the bed make this bedroom work.
Jerry Jacobs Design, Inc..
3. The dramatic solitary headboard. Go to get a sculptural and dramatic headboard and no artwork to compete with this. I love the drama of this black headboard and also the more contemporary brass reading lamps.
Erika Bierman Photography
4. The architectural headboard + mirror. Here a tall, subtly shaped headboard is paired using a mirror to draw your eye up even more in this exact vertical room. This room’s scale is very irreverent: The slim bed, tall headboard and large side table really work to add interest. Plus the two-tone wall is just another detail that enriches the verticality of the room. I love the architectural side lamp as well. It is subtle option, but this space just wouldn’t look the same with another lamp.
Anne Rue Interiors
5. The architectural headboard + artwork. Following is a bedroom with bold colour thrown in. A dark navy wall offsets the neutral architectural headboard, and bits of orange have been thrown in with artwork and cushions that can be changed out to another accent colour on a whim. I also love how this room employs the very same elements of the previous one: a massive side table and an extremely architectural lamp. In both scenarios, there’s a window into the side. Obviously, this isn’t the case in all small bedrooms.
Vanessa De Vargas
6. Bed in the front of the window issue. That has many small bedrooms, you may be faced with the very fundamental question of where to set the bed. You may have just 1 window, or a room where the bed only fits if it is put in front of a window.
Fake it out using window panels on each side running all of the way up into the ceiling, and leave the bed centered below a roman shade for privacy. The small side tables reveal there’s just enough space to sneak and get in bed, but the window panels create the room look much bigger than it is.
Lauren Gries
In case you have space for just 1 side table, push the bed up against the wall and then add a clip lamp into the headboard, but utilize the very same tricks as exhibited in the previous picture. Run the window panels into the ceiling to accentuate the ceiling height, add a roman shade for privacy and feel, and add artwork to match in the space to the right of these panels so the back wall is stuffed visually. This cozy little space is big on personality.
Valerie pasquiou interiors + design, inc
7. The wallpaper feature wall. In case you’re searching for a little more oomph to your small bedroom, just one wall of patterned wallpaper behind your bed might just work. Go minimal on the linens and glam it up a little using a Murano-style chandelier, or something even more bold and colorful.
Economy Interiors
I adore the gray-on-gray using the foliage background along with the softness that is taller. A few mismatched green accents are a wonderful touch. The contemporary table and lamp contrasting with the organic and feminine wallpaper also add a wonderful tension.
Erika Bierman Photography
Entertaining, layered, bohemian and girly — this fantastic small bedroom has a lot going on with all the pink wallpaper layered with different patterns and textures. No boredom here! Do not be scared to hang artwork on a wallpapered wall; just be thoughtful about the type and size. Here the golden frame blends well with the pink wallpaper.
Thinking wallpaper is too much of a commitment? Add some picture molding behind your bed and wallpaper just indoors. Even easier, make a panels of wallpaper, fabric, or tapestry to make a feature wall behind your bed.
Inform us! What do you love about your small bedroom?
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