Using the room from floor to ceiling can help a small room feel less crowded.
Having more furniture than space presents challenges. Whether it's a temporary situation, such as storing extra furniture as you downsize, or a long-term need such as making a room serve multiple functions, learning fit a lot of furniture into a small bedroom can help you prioritize your furniture and create a layout for the room to best serve your purpose. Making a plan for how you want to use the room will help you create a successful arrangement. Does this Spark an idea?
Prioritizing
Prioritizing the furniture by how you will use the bedroom most often will help you make the most effective use of the space. For example, if you need to fit a lot of furniture in a small bedroom to create a combination sewing room and guest bedroom, placing the sewing machine where there's adequate light and a tall chest or cabinet nearby for supplies will guide the furniture arrangement. If the small bedroom isn't slept in often, putting in a Murphy bed, sofa bed or futon gives you more floor space for extra furniture when the bed's not in use.
Use Vertical Space
Stacking furniture, especially if you're storing it instead of using it, can help to keep a small bedroom functional. You can stack chests, chests of drawers, tables and chairs, with the heavier and larger items on the bottom next to the wall and progressively lighter items on top of them. Placing cardboard, cork board or folded sheets on surfaces helps to protect the furniture from scratches or dents. Keeping a step stool under the bed or in the closet allows you to reach upper drawers on stacked dressers. Using a strapping system, such as earthquake straps from a hardware vendor, to hold furniture to the wall, can help to prevent the risk of injury from falling furniture.
Designing Functional Arrangements
Taking measurements and drawing a floor plan on a piece of graph paper can help you use space efficiently. By measuring the walls and marking windows, electrical outlets, any immovable features such as a fireplace, doors, door swing -- the space needed to open the door -- you can create a scale plan for the room. Measuring the furniture and making scale cut-outs for each piece allows you to create a workable arrangement before you move the furniture. For example, using an open shelf unit on each side of the bed instead of night stands keeps the room functional while allowing you to use more furniture in a small bedroom.
Alternatives
A tall storage unit takes the place of other furniture and saves space.
For a small bedroom that you want to make usable for multiple purposes, getting rid of furniture that takes up too much space and replacing it with furniture that uses space more efficiently can create a more comfortable, functional and attractive room. For example, get rid of a dresser and chests of drawers and replace them with a large wall unit or entertainment center with cabinet doors so you can store extra blankets and linens for the guest room, provide space for a guest's belongings -- and have part of the space for home office supplies, crafts or anything else you want to keep in the small bedroom.
Tags: small bedroom, chests drawers, extra furniture, furniture that, keep small