A bedroom is dominated by one large object that cannot be made smaller. Every storage decision has to work around it.
Start with the clearances, because they set the limits, and then use the places most bedrooms leave empty.
The clearances
- 24 inches beside a bed to get in and out comfortably. 30 is better. A double bed against a wall on one side is a real compromise for whoever sleeps on the inside.
- 36 inches in front of a wardrobe or chest of drawers, to open the door or pull the drawer out and stand there.
- 24 to 30 inches at the foot of the bed as a walkway.
- 30 inches for a main route through the room.
Tape the bed footprint on the floor and check these before buying anything. Most small-bedroom problems are the bed being one size too large, and that is worth knowing before the storage question.
Where the unused space is
1. Under the bed. The largest single volume in the room and the least used. A frame with 10 inches or more of clearance takes flat boxes for out-of-season clothing and bedding. A bed with drawers built in uses it completely, at the cost of not being able to use it for anything tall.
2. Above the door. The band between the doorframe and the ceiling runs right around the room and is entirely wasted. A shelf there is above the sightline, so it does not make the room feel smaller at all. It is the right place for suitcases and things used twice a year.
3. Above the bed. A shelf 24 to 30 inches above the mattress holds books, a lamp and frames. Keep it light and fix it into studs, it is above somebody's head for eight hours a night. See the height guide.
4. The corners. Dead in every rectangular room. A tall narrow corner unit turns about three square feet of nothing into real storage, and tall narrow is exactly the shape a small bedroom wants.
5. The wall behind the door. Permanently unusable for furniture and perfectly usable for hooks or a shelf shallower than the door's swing. Usually about 4 inches, which is enough for hooks.
Replace the nightstand if it does not fit
A standard nightstand is 18 to 24 inches wide and sometimes there is simply not 24 inches beside the bed.
A floating shelf used as a bedside table solves it: no legs, no footprint, and the floor stays visible, which makes the room read larger. It needs to be 10 to 12 inches deep to take a lamp, a glass, a phone and a book without anything at the edge, and it should sit level with or slightly above the mattress top.
See the shelves in that depth, or the side tables if the floor space is there after all.
Go vertical
Two units of equal capacity: one tall and narrow, one low and wide. The tall one takes a third of the floor and draws the eye up. The low one eats floor and cuts the room in half visually.
In a small bedroom, always go tall. A narrow chest of five drawers holds what a wide chest of three does, in half the footprint.
Keep tall pieces against walls, never projecting into the middle of the room, anything above about 42 inches in the center of a room divides it.
The foot of the bed
Usually empty and usually the best remaining spot. A storage bench there gives somewhere to sit to dress, somewhere for the blanket that comes off at night, and a box for bedding, three jobs in one footprint.
It needs 24 to 30 inches of walkway in front of it, so check that before committing. See the benches.
What makes a bedroom feel small
Not the amount of storage. Three things:
- Furniture in front of the window. Costs more perceived space than its footprint.
- Visible floor being covered. Wall-hung and legged furniture both read as lighter than boxes sitting on the floor.
- Visual noise. Open shelves full of small objects read as clutter. In a small bedroom, closed storage for the ordinary things and one open shelf for a few chosen ones.
A bedroom that also works
If the room has to hold a desk as well, do not add a desk. Use a narrow desk as the dressing table, or a console depth of 16 to 18 inches against the wall, and let one surface serve both purposes. Two undersized pieces of furniture always work worse than one properly sized one.
The same logic applies to a chest of drawers doubling as a nightstand on the wider side of the bed.
Order of operations
- Check the bed is the right size for the room, honestly.
- Tape the clearances and see what floor is genuinely left.
- Use under-bed and above-door space first: both are free.
- Replace nightstands with floating shelves if the 24 inches is not there.
- Add one tall narrow unit rather than two low wide ones.
- Put a storage bench at the foot if the walkway allows.
See the bedroom pieces, or send us the room dimensions, small bedrooms are where an inch either way genuinely decides whether something fits.
Common questions
How much space do you need beside a bed?
24 inches to get in and out comfortably.
How much space do you need in front of a dresser?
36 inches, so you can open the door or pull the drawer out and stand there.
How high should a shelf above a bed be?
24 to 30 inches above the mattress. At that height it holds books, a lamp and frames without anyone hitting their head.
How much walkway do you need at the foot of a bed?
24 to 30 inches, and 30 inches for a main route through the room.
Where to start
Every Rootelier piece is made to order, so sizes can be adjusted to the room. Browse storage & shelving or bedroom.