A 12-by-12 bedroom’s small, boxy footprint appears even more awkward and tighter when you believe standard furniture sizes; a queen-sized bed, for example, measures 60-by-80 ins or 5-by-6.7 feet, absorbing a major chunk of floor space. With the right furniture, built-ins, window treatments, lighting and layout, you can design a small, square room that is appealing, functional and efficient, and looks larger than it is — without sacrificing the bed.

Put It on Paper

A graph-paper layout gives you a good notion of how the furniture will fit within the room, without the back strain. Using a four-square block to symbolize every single square foot makes the room’s outline a lot easier to work with than the usual one-to-one ratio. Pencil in the doorway, closet, an en suite and windows to scale. Use the four-to-one ratio for the dresser, bedside table and bed cutouts, so that they fit proportionately within the outline. For instance, symbolize a queen bed — 5 feet wide by 6.7 feet long — using a rounded-up 20-by-27-square cutout. Allow at least 2-foot-wide foot traffic places to get comfortable flow.

Bed Placement

The bed is probably your little room’s biggest piece, therefore situate it in the room, before another piece; ideally, the bed must be the focal point. It might back onto the wall opposite the entry stage, but rather to the left or right, not straight before the doorway — a feng shui faux pas. Chances are, the bed will back a window. Camouflage an off-center window with wall-to-wall drapery, which also warms and softens a boxy space. A very low wood or fabric-covered headboard remedies negative feng shui energy produced by putting a bed directly beneath a window.

Space Savers

A small, square room is frequently storage compromised compared to a rectangular room that affords storage area on each end, so be tactful and thrifty with every inch. Opt for a wall of cabinetry using the bed extending out from the center — do not miss opportunities, such as built-in accent tables and lighting in overhead cabinets for bedtime reading. A trundle drawer retains seasonal clothes out of the closet.

Fitting Furniture

The room’s dimensions allows for a little seat in the bed’s foot if you set the dresser smartly. Compact furniture frees up floor space that beefy pieces would otherwise absorb. Jump traditional furniture for creative pieces; a stack of hardcovers or a wall-mounted shelf becomes a cool, customized bedside table. Arrange furniture, not on angles, employing every foot effectively.

Drapery Trickery

You can’t raise the room’s footprint — without taking a wall down, anyhow — but you can make it seem taller. Hang floor-to-ceiling curtains to visually stretch the room vertically. Should you prefer blinds, utilize the vertical variety. Vertically striped background or a tall spindle-style headboard attains the exact upwards effect. If the room has a higher ceiling, then utilize horizontally striped wallpaper or paint stripes to create the space look wider, and overall, bigger.

Light It Up

In little bedrooms, the lighting design is frequently overlooked. Good lighting makes colours truer along with the space airier and just more enjoyable to be in. Select a size-appropriate multi-light chandelier rather than a single-bulb fixture for lighting efficiency along with a small “big-room” elegance. Hang pendants over little bedside tables instead of using table-hogging lamps. Daylight or full-spectrum bulbs are a must as is natural lighting. Mount blinds high, or curtains wide, so that when they are piled or open back, they expose the window’s every inch.

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