I’ve been living in a “cosy double bedroom” for the past three years. “Shoebox” to use non-designer terms. So small that when you open your bedroom door you almost immediately feel claustrophobic? Yep.
That was me. But the one thing I HAVE learnt during my years living in such conditions – and I mean honestly – is how to make a tiny bedroom look and feel bigger than it actually is. I’m not talking wishful thinking.
I’m not trying to Instagram-filter your expectations either. I’m talking about actually usable tips and advice that are guaranteed to open up your room.
To the point where people comment on how much bigger it seems when they enter?
I’ve had guests ask me if I’ve knocked down a wall. Right now, my bedroom is better than it’s ever looked or felt. So, without further ado, here’s my tips on how to make a small bedroom look bigger.
Credit: Ella Marsh First up, paint. Everyone will preach about how painting the walls of a small bedroom white makes the room look bigger. And they’re not wrong.
But what I found works just as well, if not better, is a pale, cool hue that has just a hint of warmth. I opted for Farrow & Ball’s “Morning Mist” (I also discovered a very similar Dulux equivalent which cost me less than 1/10th of the price) and I think it worked because I painted EVERYTHING the same colour. Walls.
Ceiling. Skirting boards. I know it sounds scary but trust me on this one.
By painting everything the same colour you are creating a seamless transition that tricks your eye into thinking the end of one surface instantly blends into the start of another. Credit: Ella Marsh My ceiling is around average height at 2.4m but thanks to the colour scheme I have gone with, people have actually commented that they thought it was higher. When my mum came round the other week she asked if I’d done any renovation work as she thought the room was bigger than when I first moved in (side note – get your mum to help you decorate if you can.
Priceless advice and affordable labour.) Credit: Ella Marsh Mirrors. What college dorm room wet dream wouldn’t benefit from a mirror or two?! Believe me, they work.
However, as with all mirror-related advice on the internet, I learnt this one the hard way. I bought myself a cute circular mirror and hung it opposite my window. On Instagram, it looked heavenly.
In reality, it did sweet FA for my room. Too small. Wrong position.
The mirror that WORKED is huge. Like floor to goddamn ceiling. And it’s hung perpendicular to my window, rather than directly opposite it.
By hanging mine this way I’ve created the illusion of an additional window and doubled the amount of natural light bouncing around my room. I picked mine up second hand on Facebook marketplace for £45. It retailed at £180 brand new.
Turns out my previous housemate was downsizing and it didn’t fit her new place. Same with pretty much all the furniture I use for these tips. Timing is everything.
Credit: Ella Marsh It was around this point I started playing around with other reflective surfaces besides just mirrors. Instead of a traditional wooden bedside cabinet, I opted for one with a glass top and lucite legs. Trust me, as pretentious as that sounds.
Having transparency allows the eye to travel through the furniture rather than be stopped at a physical barrier. Same goes for my wardrobe. I swapped the solid doors for sliding mirrored ones.
Suddenly my room had depth to it. Not just width. Credit: Ella Marsh This one was probably my biggest lesson when it came to decorating and furnishing my room.
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You are small = You need small furniture. KIND OF LOGICALLY TRUE. But completely WRONG.
If you cram a small room with tiny furniture, all it does is highlight exactly how small and confined your space actually is. Instead I opted for less furniture but made sure what I did buy would actually fit the scale of the room. I got a proper double bed.
My wardrobe is shoved along one wall and is floor to ceiling. Speaking of wardrobes. Painting mine the same colour as the walls is the cheat.
It almost vanishes into the background and now looks like a large piece of furniture but rather an extension of the architecture. I put everything I don’t need to access on a daily basis on the top shelves – christmas decorations, summer clothing/winter clothing, spare bedding, etc. The amount you can hide on top of a wardrobe is astounding.
Credit: Ella Marsh Lighting. Took me AGES to crack. But in my opinion, was the thing that tied the room together.
I took down my central ceiling light as it created too many shadows and accentuated the fact my ceiling was actually pretty low. Instead I created what I like to call a “lighting landscape.” Ahhh I’m sorry. That does sound rather snobby.
What I mean is I used multiple sources of light at varying heights. LED strip lighting underneath my headboard that creates a warm glow when turned on. A super sleek floor lamp in the corner that reaches nearly all the way to the ceiling.
Small table lamps on each side of my bed AND on top of my chest of drawers. Credit: Ella Marsh That floor lamp I just mentioned was actually from Ikea. But instead of buying one of their “Foto” pendant lamps, I bought the floor version!
At £35 it wasn’t too shabby either. The key with this one is make sure you pick something that draws the eye UP. It’s white.
It’s minimalist. And when it’s on, it casts a light on the ceiling that makes my room look double the height it actually is. Curious about what my room looked like before I applied some of these tips?
Cheque out the transformation below! Credit: Ella Marsh Lastly, window treatments. Absolute hogwarts when I started.
I had massive curtains that literally stopped at the sill of my window making my “window” look even smaller than it was. Now I have white linen curtains that stretch from the ceiling, all the way down to the floor, and about half a metre past the width of my window frame. When they’re drawn, you literally can’t see where the window ends.
And when they’re opened, it makes the window look double the size it actually is. Credit: Ella Marsh Don’t forget about the curtain pole though. You want something subtle.
I went for a plain white rod and hung it as high as possible making sure it stretched well past my window on each side. Cost me £25 from B&Q and took me an hour to put up (most of that hour was me relentlessly swearing at a wall plug that didn’t want to go straight.) But seriously, life changing.
Credit: Ella Marsh Finally, I went vertical with my storage and utilised every unused space I could think of.
Thin tubular storage containers on wheels underneath my bed that I chuck shoes and seasonal clothing in. Hell, I even utilised the space above my door by screwing in a narrow shelf to use for books I don’t even read anymore. Even the back of my bedroom door now serves a purpose with an over-the-door clear storage unit for jewellery.
Credit: Ella Marsh Oh and another thing I finally learned the hard way. Patterns can work in small spaces. But they need to be subtle and used sparingly.
I have a geometric rug in muted grey and white tones that help tricks the eye into thinking my floor is bigger than it actually is. Patterns create movement and adds interest to a room without you having to overload it with furniture. Give some of these tips a try.
They honestly aren’t expensive at all and most of them aren’t even actual “tips” they’re literal life hacks. You’re just creating illusions in your head that there is more space than there actually is.
