Bedroom Layout: How to Arrange the Furniture

This mini bedroom-layout guide will help you plan a relaxed, harmonious space you will love spending time in

Vinita Kunnath 1 October 2019

A Houzz India contributor, freelance writer, lover of the internet, travel, funny blogs and all things off-beat, with an eye for good taste and aesthetics. Home, not clothes, maketh a man.....or woman.

A Houzz India contributor, freelance writer, lover of the internet, travel, funny... More

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Bedrooms are highly personal spaces; they offer a space where you can relax, rejuvenate and get ready for yet another day. Hence, they have to be supremely comfortable and functional. However, spatial organisation can be somewhat tricky. What if the room doesn’t fit in with your grandmother’s antique identical bureaus? What to do with that awkward corner?

While some rules are general, the way you arrange your furniture will depend on how you use the room. Knowing what you’re going to want and need to do in the bedroom (besides sleeping) is half the battle won. We help you win the other half by nailing down a few basic layout tips for various sizes of bedrooms.

John B. Murray Architect

The technique: Go from big to small
Whatever the size of your bedroom, the way to go about laying out furniture is to start with the largest piece and work your way down. The bed, being the largest and most dominant piece of furniture, should be placed first, along with the night stands. Assuming wardrobes are built in (which is most often the case in Indian apartments), next would be the dresser or chest of drawers, armchairs, desk, and so on. Of course, you don’t need all of those – pick what you need the most.

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B Interior

1. The full-size bedroom
A large bedroom lets you play around with several permutations and combinations, given this luxury of space. Ideally, the bed should face the view (if there’s one) or the largest source of natural light (in this image, the French windows) or the door, in that order of preference.

Find an interior designer to plan the furniture layout of your home

ibi designs

Bring balance to the room by placing the second-biggest piece of furniture opposite the bed. This would normally be a chest of drawers. You could also opt for larger dressers in the place of regular bedside tables – apart from being extremely useful and bringing symmetry to the room, they extend the look of the bed and fill in the space along the wall.

Tip: A large rug under the bed will help anchor the space.

Find out the rules for laying down a rug

Contemporary Bedroom Contemporary Bedroom

Since you’d still be left with space to fill in, assess your needs first. Would you rather a desk or a reading corner? Go with either one, and bring in large plants to fill in awkward empty corners. That said, the one piece that you must definitely have is an ottoman or a bench at the foot of the bed – it’s a handy piece of furniture that’s aesthetically pleasing as well as convenient.

More reasons why you need an ottoman

Sustainable Home

2. The mid-size bedroom
The medium-sized bedroom or the average bedroom allows you some leeway in choosing and arranging your furniture, but you do have to pick and choose carefully. While you can still get away with a king-sized bed, you might have to pare down on other furniture. An example is this bedroom, which shows it’s perfectly alright not to have matching night tables. A choice has been made between an ottoman and a desk. The desk that has a stool tucked in, is a better choice as it doubles as a work spot and a mini dresser.

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Modena Construction

In a medium-sized bedroom, consider putting the dresser in the closet or forgoing it entirely in favour of a closet system. That means one less piece of furniture, in place of which you could have a low console or a bench.

If you choose a dresser over all else, make sure it’s a tall, vertical one instead of a wide dresser. This takes up less wall space by utilising height. You could also opt to place your dresser, if it is a low one, underneath a window to maximise space.

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The Couture Rooms

3. The small bedroom
Everything gets scaled down in a small space, but you should be able to squeeze in a queen-sized bed – with storage. The next-best option to facing the natural light source is to put the bed against the wall opposite the doorway, or the wall with no windows. It’s not advisable to put it under windows because of drafts that might be disturbing.

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Michelle Hinckley

It’s tempting to push one side of the bed against the wall but avoid this unless you sleep alone in the bed. Make sure to leave enough space around the bed for ease of movement, as well as to make the bed easily. Even minimal space on one side is good enough – this will leave more space on the other end for a larger bedside chest.

Move2

Space-saving furniture and storage become of utmost important in compact rooms. Under-bed storage is a given, but don’t forget there are options for storage over the bed, too. In this picture, numerous cabinets above the bed ensure ample storage without looking cramped. In small spaces, vertical storage is the way to go – it is convenient, effective and easy to incorporate.

Tip: Leggy bedside tables, floating shelves and cabinets are great for compact spaces, as they give an airy, spacious feel to the room.

Get your bedroom furniture from Houzz products

Read more:
Tips to Designing of Bedroom: 7 Secrets to Know
What Are the Key Dimensions for a Well-Planned Bedroom?

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