Decorating a small master bedroom doesn’t mean you have to skimp on color, style, or comfort. Your small bedroom can feel just as elegant as a huge bedroom when you use the space wisely.
Planning and utilizing all available space will result in a master suite you can stretch out in, rather than letting the small space cramp your style.
So here are some small bedroom ideas of decorating that will make a huge difference and get rid of that small bedroom feel.
How to Decorate a Small Master Bedroom
Walls And Paint Color
Image from The Curious Department
Paint the walls with light colors or use wallpaper that features colors or patterns that give the illusion of more space. Lighter colors, such as beige, golden yellow, or pastels, can make the room feel larger. Use cool colors, such as light blue, that can make the walls feel farther away, like looking at the sky that appears to go on forever.
Paint one entire wall a darker, bolder shade if you like dark colors and want to create a focal point. Painting one wall a darker color can give the illusion of depth, which will make the room feel larger as well. Leave the ceiling white or paint it two or three shades lighter than the walls, which will make the ceiling appear to be farther away.
Large stripes can also make the room feel bigger. Vertical stripes will give the illusion of height, while horizontal stripes will give the illusion of depth. Avoid busy patterns, which will create a chaotic or clustered feel.
A plush, striped carpet is another great upgrade for the master bedroom that will give the illusion of additional space, and it doesn’t have to break the bank, either. UK retailer Carpet Warehouse say that the main bedroom is the most popular room in the home to start with when updating the flooring, as the smaller space allows for a more luxury, cosy finish.
Cost Breakdown: DIY vs Hiring a Professional for Painting and Decorating
DIY Costs:
- Paint and Tools: The main costs when painting a room yourself are the paint and the tools required. For a room measuring 37.8m², approximately three 2.5L tins of paint would be needed, costing around £210, not including the ceiling or skirting.
- Decorating Materials: Wallpapering a medium-sized room can cost around £225 to hang and around £400 to strip and hang, depending on the wallpaper quality and design chosen.
- Tools Required: Essential tools include sandpaper, wall filler, sugar scrub, sponge, quality brushes, paint roller, paint tray, and masking/painters’ tape. The cost of these tools can vary, but they are essential for achieving a good finish.
- Additional Costs: If you need a step ladder or extension pole, these can increase the DIY costs. Also, preparation work like filling and sanding holes and scrubbing residue from walls should be accounted for in your budget.
Professional Costs:
- Labour Costs: Professional painters/decorators charge around £150 – £200 a day (excluding VAT), with this rate potentially being higher in areas like London and the South East.
- Painting a Room: The average cost to paint a medium-sized room (around 30m²) is £350, and a hallway, stairs & landing is around £750.
- Decorating a Room: Hiring a professional painter to decorate a medium-sized room can cost around £400, and around £750 for a hallway, stairs, and landing. Wallpapering a medium-sized room by a professional is around £225 to hang and around £400 to strip and hang.
- Additional Costs: Painting skirting boards and other woodwork might not be included in a painter/decorator’s initial quote. Removing radiators, wallpaper, or damaged plaster will take time, potentially adding to the overall cost.
Bedroom Furniture For A Tiny Bedroom Design
Image from Dormy House
Bulky furniture will overwhelm a small bedroom, as will packing it with too much furniture. Remove any furniture that you don’t need or that doesn’t fit in the room. Use a double or queen bed instead of a larger king bed if you can. A sleigh bed, four-poster bed, or headboard and footboard ensemble will take up a lot of unnecessary space. Opt for a simple headboard instead. Clean lines will take up less space visually than ornately carved furniture.
A tall chest will take up less floor space than a wider dresser. Use small chests as nightstands or a bedside table, or use other furniture that gives you built-in space to store things.
Install a floating shelf on either side of the bed if you want more storage space than a nightstand would provide. Furniture that does double duty, such as an armoire that hides the TV and stores your clothes, is a smart solution to a space-challenged beautiful master bedroom. Lighter wood tones, white furniture, or glass furniture will appear to take up less room than darker furniture.
Extra Storage For Your Personal Items
Image from Go Modern
Create spaces to store your clothes, extra linens, or personal belongings. A bench or ottoman with hidden storage can sit at the foot of the bed, providing extra seating and storage. Line open shelves with decorative containers or baskets to hold jewelry, cosmetics, scarves, or other small items.
Use your closet to hold dressers, containers, or other storage pieces if possible. Alternatively, store out-of-season clothes or other bulky items in the attic, garage, or elsewhere if possible. A cluttered room will only look even smaller, preventing your master bedroom from feeling like your private oasis. Utilize the space under your bed to store clothes, books, magazines, linens, or your children’s toys.
Lighting Of Your Lovely Bedroom
Image from Danetti
Allow as much natural light into the room as possible, as this will open the space visually. Avoid heavy drapes and windows treatments, which will visually shrink the room. Use simple blinds or sheer curtains if possible.
Install black-out shades if you need to block all-natural light to sleep; raise them to let in the sun when you’re up.
Slender lamps on the nightstands or next to a slim reading chair will provide the necessary light to read or perform other tasks. Avoid overly large or decorative chandeliers, as they will overwhelm the small room. Put at least one light on a dimmer to create mood lighting to turn your master bedroom into a romantic scene when the time is right.
Accessories For A More Open Look
Simple blue bedding from Lime Lace
Decorate with accessories, such as scented candles, houseplants, decorative vases, or colorful picture frames. Keep the accessories to a minimum, however, to avoid cluttering the small space. Arrange your pictures or an interesting piece of artwork above the bed to create a focal point without taking up any floor space.
Use simple linens on the bed instead of bulky, frilly linens that take up more space. A patterned comforter or throw pillows can add personality to the room without overwhelming the space. Surround yourself with colors, scents, and items that make you feel at peace.
Decorating and arranging a small bedroom space can be a challenge, and a small master bedroom can be even more challenging when seeking ideas for decorating and arranging the space.
In many homes, the master bedroom must hold at least one dresser and two chests of drawers, two nightstands or small side tables, and depending on the size of the bed this can be nearly impossible when the room is extremely small.
Add Extra Inches With A Wall-Mounted Headboard
The Chester headboard is handmade in the UK and can be either wall mounted or attached to the bed
A headboard mounted to a bed frame can take up several inches of valuable floor space in a tiny room, and this dilemma for horizontally challenged bedrooms can be remedied by getting rid of the standard headboard.
In some cases, the headboard is required since it supports the bed frame, but when it is removable, use a wall-mounted headboard instead.
Wall hangings including painted canvas, wrought iron, and wooden wall sculptures can be used in place of a master bedroom headboard, and it will provide several inches of much-needed floor space. In addition, a wall-mounted headboard will add incredible style to the decorating theme, and it can be updated for a whole new look for the whole room.
Relocate A Chest Of Drawers To The Inside Of A Closet
One way to tackle the problem of arranging and decorating a small master bedroom is by relocating a chest of drawers to a closet. Not only will this provide more floor space in the rest of the room, but it will also solve the problem of wasted master bedroom closet space in the most economical way possible. When a room is not overloaded with furniture it will naturally look larger, and less is certainly more when decorating a small master bedroom.
Diagonal Arrangement Without Wasting Space The Simple Way
Image from Snug Sofa
Furniture lining the walls is not aesthetically pleasing, even in a small master bedroom with little square footage. Realistically, the center of the floor is used only for walking from one area of the space to the next, and it is best to use the center space wisely when arranging and decorating a small master bedroom.
If you think you cannot place the bed diagonally in a corner because of the small size of the room, think again.
Arranging the entire space in this manner will provide extra wall space. The triangular area behind the bed can be used to store a piece of furniture that holds rarely used items, and the surface can be used for decorating with an attractive floral arrangement, an impressive tabletop sculpture, or a reading lamp.
A small master bedroom can be just as impressive as a larger room – if it is creatively arranged and decorated. Try this decorating and arranging ideas, and make your master bedroom feel more roomy and inviting. It should be a comfortable space for rest, and size does not have to matter. Sweet dreams!
If you loved this then why not read How to Make a Small Bedroom Look Bigger: 50 Clever Tips, 10 Easy Ways to Decorate a Small Bedroom On a Budget, 30 Cool Ideas for Decorating a Child’s Small Bedroom, Bedroom Trends: BEST Décor Ideas [2023] and Loft Conversion Ideas: How to Decorate a Master Bedroom and En-Suite with Daylight in Mind
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Jen is an interiors writer and blogger and has an insatiable love of home style and decor
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