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.

Now let's break down this room as an example of cheap small bedroom ideas and how to make a small bedroom look larger.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a commission if you make a purchase using the links below.  All opinions are all my own.

Cheap Small Bedroom Ideas

Before we jump into breaking down the details here is a list of tricks 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. First is the paint color then the floors, furniture, accessories and window treatments.

Let's begin talking about paint.

What Paint Colors Make a Room Look Larger?

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.

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 that will 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.

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 the paint sold.

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 you are planning the furniure for the room. First think about the scale or size of the pieces 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.

The lighter the finish the less heavy it will seem.

Also, any pieces of furniture that mounts to the wall and doesn't touch the floor is even better because then the floor space is uninterupted and light will travel under it.

So, why do I recommend the furniture sit off the floor like the bed, nightstands, dressers and anything else have feet and open space underneath? Well, this allows light to travel under the piece of furniture which will make 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. In my bathroom I have one big mirror over my vanity that runs from the ceiling to the countertop. People are always surpised that the master bathroom is smaller than our guest bathroom but you would never know it becuase of that large mirror.

So in a tiny bedroom purchase a large mirror and lean it up 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 then hang one on the wall like I did in this room.

How to Make a Room Look Bigger with Flooring

We have talked about walls, furniture and mirrors so now 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.

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 which hopefully will make the room look larger.

However, I think no curtains is better. 🙂

Okay when you go to plan your drapes measure from the ceiling the 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 way up higher and further out to the left or right. That way when you pull your cutrains back they will sit on the wall instead of inside the window.

See how this makes the window appear to be 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 lets discuss accessories.

Keeping your accessories minimal will help keep it feeling 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.

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 things here and there like plants, small art, candles and such.

Update: 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.

Conclusion

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 until 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.

I added a desk that is not heavily looking. I found this one at Homegoods.

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, 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.

I usually do not recommend accent walls 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. You will not believe how easy it is to install.

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

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 post.

Happy Decorating!

If you enjoyed this post, sign up to receive new decor ideas each week. FREE EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION