Small bedrooms have a lot of charm that should not be wasted. Many designers will attempt to strip down a small bedroom as a way of making it appear larger. This is not always a good call, as sometimes it leaves the room looking too sparse and empty. The secret to creating a cohesive small bedroom design is balancing the desire for more space with the coziness that is naturally afforded to a small area.

This is not to dismiss minimalism as a small bedroom design style – in fact, it can be very effective in small bedrooms. However, minimalism should never be a substitute for comfort or function when it comes to the bedroom. Slender furniture pieces, minimal decorating and understated art are great ideas to create a minimalist aesthetic without making your room feel empty.

Often an attempt at extremist minimalism will have the opposite to the desired effect, making the room feel smaller due to the lack of distractions. The best small bedrooms find a way to merge moderation with comfort, selecting non-bulky furniture which still creates a cozy atmosphere.

Generally, any bedroom less than 8SQM is considered small. Singapore has reasonably sized bedrooms on average, especially compared to the rest of the world. The average size of a  bedroom in Singapore is 1,280 square feet – which is significantly bigger than the UK average of 215 square foot.

Given that 8 SQM ‘small’ bedrooms are actually fairly spacious, there is still a lot of opportunity for interior designers to express their abilities in a small bedroom. A small bedroom will always fit a single bed, and many might also be able to accommodate a double. A small bedroom is also likely to have room for one (maybe two) other furniture pieces such as a desk or a small wardrobe. You can read more about different bedroom sizes and style ideas here.  

Styling your small bedroom under the principles of interior design can have a number of benefits beyond even just aesthetic value. There are a number of strategies you can employ to make your small bedroom seem larger or cozier. Intelligent design can also provide you with a huge amount of extra storage in the form of space-smart furniture such as beds with hidden storage compartments.

Whether you are looking for girls bedroom ideas, boys bedroom ideas, teen bedroom ideas, or just small room ideas in general, these principles will apply indiscriminately. To help inform your bedroom design, here are 5 of the best interior design strategies for small bedrooms, including master bedroom ideas and HDB small bedroom design ideas.

Bedroom Ideas for Small Rooms in Singapore: 5 very small bedroom design ideas to inspire your home makeover

05. Wall mounting

One simple and affordable way to transform your small bedroom without breaking the bank is to mount everything you can onto the wall. A particularly good way to achieve this effect is to install some floating shelves. They can be placed above head-height, meaning they do not take up any floor space in the way that a bookcase would, and they provide a handy space for you to store and display some of your favourite books, plants, trinkets or knickknacks.

Another of many clever small bedroom ideas relating to wall mounting is mounting a mirror. Placement is very important when it comes to achieving that larger-than-life effect; you want the mirror to be placed beneath or next to a light source at roughly head-height. One large mirror is much better than multiple small ones as they make a room seem cluttered.

04. Cozy vs cramped

One of the modern small bedroom ideas currently gaining traction in the interior design world is the creation of a cozy space. This approach is in direct opposition to minimalism and involves cramming as many cozy bedroom elements as possible into the once space. While this may seem counter-intuitive, it can actually transform the room into a lovely, comfortable den that will make falling asleep much easier.

The key to this design approach is to pick one specific style and keep all of your design elements in line with that style. A popular choice at the moment is the internet aesthetic movement Cottagecore, which emphasizes comfort and coziness above all else. Other options that could work well with a cozy approach are rustic, coastal and French provincial. For more bedroom aesthetic ideas, see here for the five best styles.

03. Colour choices

Just about every piece of style advice for small spaces will mention something about keeping colours light – and for good reason. Lighter and paler colours reflect more light around the room, making your bedroom feel brighter and airer. A darker colour scheme will leech away this feeling of openness and can make the walls feel imposing.

However, sticking to a light colour scheme does not mean you are confined to boring colour choices. Pale blues, greens, oranges, pinks, yellows and reds can all look stunning in a bedroom setting. And if you really like the look of a bedroom with a dark base, there’s nothing stopping you from ignoring a traditional bright approach and creating something unique to your tastes.

(In fact, a darker colour scheme might work better for people who have trouble sleeping, as there will be less light in the room in the evenings and early morning).

02. Informed design

One of the best tricks of interior design is the use of perspective in creating layout. Designers can create vector lines that guide the eye of the viewer, through the use of furniture or decorations, which makes the room seem bigger. This is a subtle but very effective way of enhancing the perceived space of a room. There are two main ways to achieve this effect.

Vertically:

Creating vertical lines through your décor choices emphasizes the height of the walls and will make the room feel taller. It is particularly effective in narrow rooms as it will reduce the feeling of being cramped.

Horizontally:

The same principle only in the opposite direction, a horizontal focus in décor will make a room feel wider, drastically broadening the perceived space.

01. Space-smart décor

Space smart décor is a great way to save space in a small bedroom, reducing clutter and making your daily life easier. You can get space smart beds, like the one pictured above, closets, desks, bedside tables and even chairs. Consider researching the most effective bed styles for small rooms: small beds can provide solutions to limited space as well as beds with storage.