CHEAP SMALL BEDROOM IDEAS THAT LOOK EXPENSIVE

Let's talk about cheap small bedroom ideas that look expensive and make your room look larger. After years of designing bedrooms, these details will make your next decorating project much easier.

Let's use this room as an example of cheap small bedroom ideas and how to make a small bedroom look larger. This is my daughter's old bedroom which was converted to a guest bedroom. When decorating it, my budget was tight, so my goal was to come up with cheap bedroom ideas. A little money can go a long way with planning, and I will share affordable ways.

Cheap Small Bedroom Ideas

This room is a very small space, but I planned to make it feel larger, so I implemented tricks I learned in Interior Design school, and I am about to share them with you. A lack of square footage doesn't have to feel small.

Before we break down the details, here is a list of essential elements to making a bedroom feel larger, and at the end, I will share more tips on how to keep this room budget friendly and appealing.

There are five main things that you can do to make a tiny bedroom feel larger.

• Paint
• Furniture
• Accessories and wall decor
• Window Treatments

Let's begin talking about paint.

What Paint Colors Make a Room Look Larger?

Let's talk wall colors. Color can play a big role in how spacious a tiny bedroom looks, and it can say a lot about the mood of a room.

If your room is small but has lots of natural light, then you are lucky because you can go with medium-tone colors, but if your room is tiny and there is no natural light, then you will want to stick with white and very light colors. It's an easy way to make a small room feel larger.

A few of my favorite Sherwin Williams light colors that I recommend are:

• Extra White
• Pure White
• Alabaster
• Snowbound
• Sea Salt
• Accessible Beige
• Kilim Beige
• Agreeable Gray

All these colors are on the popular Sherwin Williams paint colors list, and there are even more beautiful colors to choose from.

Another trick to make the room seem larger is to paint the walls and the trim the same color as I did in this guest bedroom. The color I used here is Ultra Pure White by Behr paint. I love this wall color.

Some popular Behr paint colors are:

• Ultra Pure White
• Swiss Coffee
• Silver Bullet
• Graceful Gray
• Classic Silver
• White Metal
• Natural Gray

And if you are wondering where to buy Behr paint, we have an entire post on the best places and details of the paint sold.

Paint is top of my list of cheap bedroom ideas, but furniture can play a big role in making a small room feel like a larger room.

How to Make a Small Room Look Bigger with Furniture

Now that we have the wall finished, let's move on to furniture and furniture arrangement.

There are two things to consider when planning the furniture for the room. First, think about the scale or size of the pieces of furniture, and second, look for furniture that sits off the floor. Let me explain more.

What do I mean by the scale of the furniture? Basically, I mean how heavy it looks. Pieces that are bulky and heavy looking will swallow a tiny bedroom.

Look for more petite pieces like end tables with thinner legs and beds with no footboard. Keep the pieces as light looking and light-colored as possible. This is the best way to keep the room from feeling overwhelmed by furniture. This adorable bedside table is a perfect example.

The lighter the finish, the less heavy it will seem.

Also, any piece of furniture that mounts to the wall and doesn't touch the floor is a great idea because then the floor space is uninterrupted, and light will travel under it.

So, why do I recommend the furniture sit off the floor like the bed, nightstands, dressers, bedside tables, and anything else have feet and open space underneath? Well, this allows light to travel under the piece of furniture, making the space feel lighter.

Another clever designer trick when placing furniture is to not put anything large right at the entryway into the room. Something large will block the eye from moving through the room and make the room feel smaller and more crowded.

How to Make a Room Look Bigger with Mirrors

Now let's talk about one thing that will double the size of your room… mirrors. This top tip is the easiest way to make a room look larger.

In my bathroom, I have one big mirror over my vanity that runs from the ceiling to the countertop. People are always surprised that the master bathroom is smaller than our guest bathroom, but you would never know it because of that large mirror.

So in a tiny bedroom, purchase a large mirror and lean it against the wall somewhere. Make sure to secure it so that it will not fall on anyone. If you do not have enough floor space for a mirror, hang one on the wall as I did in this room. It's all about finding the right place to make the room feel larger.

How to Make a Room Look Bigger with Flooring

We have talked about walls, furniture, and mirrors, so let's talk about floors. Any light color flooring will make a room look larger, but a hard surface floor like wood will do wonders for a space.

In this bedroom, I have a light-colored carpet, but I plan to add wood flooring and a light-colored rug to go into the room. I hope to get a rug that will fill it up as much as possible because it is a bedroom, and I want guests to feel warm and cozy.

Note: Later in this post, I share about adding wood floors and a rug.

How to Make a Room Look Bigger with Curtains

Using blinds and shutters will make a room look larger but if you are a lover of textiles and curtains, then here is a designer trick that will make your window look larger, hopefully making the room look larger.

However, I think no curtains are better. 🙂

When you plan your drapes, measure from the ceiling to the floor. Then look at the height of the drapes you are shopping for. Go with the highest curtain you can find within your measurement.

Then hang your curtain rod higher and further out to the left or right. That way, when you pull your curtains back, they will sit on the wall instead of inside the window.

See how this makes the window appear wider than it really is? And bringing the rod up higher draws the eye up and makes the ceiling feel taller, which gives the illusion the room is bigger.

How to Use Accessories to Make a Bedroom Feel Larger

So now that you know the tricks of the designer trade, let's discuss accessories. Accessories are a great way to make a room feel cozy and add personality.

Smaller bedrooms will not require a lot of accessories. Keeping your accessories minimal and using larger ones will help them feel more spacious. You can use large or small accessories like art, vases, smaller plants, candles, and carvings.

When accessorizing the room, do not feel like you have to have something on every wall. Keeping one wall free will help the space feel larger, and using one art piece as a focal point helps keep things mentally spacious too.

This wall art coordinates well with the color palette and does not overwhelm the room. It's also a great opportunity to reflect on your personal taste.

Also, your accessories can be kept to a minimum. Hanging lamps like my easy DIY basket pendant light frees up nightstand space and gives room for necessities.

Adding accessories to a room is what gives it that cozy feeling. Again keep it simple and add pretty small bedroom decor here and there, like plants, small art, candles, and such.

Update: Wood floors are an excellent way to make a small room feel larger. After taking these photos, I later changed the old carpet to wood and added a lovely blue and ivory Stirling English Country rug.

The wood flooring made the small room look even larger, and the rug grounded the whole space.

Update: The rug linked above is still the same; however, the colors look darker on Amazon. I am not sure if their photos are dark or if they have changed colors. Check the reviews if you plan to purchase a rug like mine.

Small Bedroom Decorating Ideas on a Budget

Now that we have traveled through a tiny room and dissected elements that will make it feel larger, let's talk about how I saved money.

This room is only 9′ x 10′ and back when my daughter was young, we had a twin bed in here, but now I needed a larger bed.

I transformed a metal headboard into a drop cloth upholstered headboard. It was so easy to make I wrote another post on how to make an upholstered headboard so you can make one too.

This is a cheap way to get a high-end look on a shoestring budget. And you don't need to buy a new bed frame.

I added a desk that is not heavily looking that I found at Homegoods. Homegoods, TJ Maxx and Marshall, are great places to find fashionable furniture for a lower price.

Also, consider thrift furniture like the chair at the desk. This Windsor chair was a freebie I found on the side of the road. I gave it a fresh new look with a bit of milk paint.

I used shutters in the color white, but you can use white blinds to save money. They have great ones at Walmart by Better Homes and Gardens.

I also painted the whole room white, including the trim. I ordered the Behr paint kit from Home Depot. It was a good deal because it also came with all the tools needed.

I used texture to cozy up the bedding, and using a solid light color makes the room feel larger too. The euro sham came from Walmart, and the bedspread, accent pillow, and blanket came from TJMaxx.

I love shopping at these stores because their items are higher-end with a lower-end price. It's easy to spend a small fortune on things like bed linens, throw blankets, and throw pillows, so it's great when you can find quality pieces at affordable prices.

I usually do not recommend an accent wall in small rooms, but if you keep it about the color of the walls, then you are good to go.

In this room, I added this peel and stick wallpaper to one wall. I have a whole post on how to install peel and stick wallpaper. It's an inexpensive DIY project to change the look of your room. You will not believe how easy it is to install.

Here is one more room image so you can see the big picture.

As you can see, a room can still feel spacious even with limited space. I think it's a beautiful space that feels cozy. I hope you have enjoyed these cheap small bedroom ideas and have found them helpful and encouraging.

For more ideas, check out these beautiful bedroom ideas for small rooms and how to decorate on a budget post. For kid's room inspiration, check out my 5 Cute Toddler Girl Bedroom Ideas on a Budget post. I'd love to hear your creative small bedroom ideas on a small budget.

Happy Decorating!