How to make the most of storage in a small bedroom

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Unlike the images we see on Pinterest, the majority of us don’t get to live in houses with ginormous kitchens, gargantuan bathrooms and huge bedrooms. In fact, our bedrooms are on the ‘cosy’ side to say the least, which means achieving the interior design style you’ve set your sights on is all the harder for the fact you need somewhere to hide all the clutter.

So, the secret to making your bedroom look incredible (or any room for that matter) is to make the most of storage. You can hide away those unsightly-but-essential items that look out of place on your Instagram feed, tucking belongings into drawers and keeping piles of laundry out of sight. Here’s how…

Bed
First, bear in mind that the biggest piece of furniture in your room is likely to be your bed. As a result, your bed needs to ‘work a bit harder’ to earn its keep, so consider swapping your current bed for one that has storage underneath. Divan bed bases, for instance, are great for giving you a sturdy base to put a comfy mattress on while providing you with storage drawers. Many people find these bed bases are the perfect place to keep extra bedding and towels in, or they could even double up as another place to store clothes in. They’re great for a kid’s room too, as a bed base with storage can house toys, books or dressing-up costumes in a place that’s easily accessed by little ones.

Bedside table
If you’re lucky enough to have room for a bedside table, make the best use of it by adding a lamp with a thin base so that it doesn’t take up too much of the surface area. Or, fix your beside lamp the wall or headboard behind you, if possible. That way, your bedside table can be used to store a book, mug, hand cream or whatever else you want beside your pillow.

Carve a niche
A ‘niche’ is a little storage area that has been carved out of a stud wall (it looks like this), and is a great way of using space that would otherwise be empty. You can store books or photos in it, or use it in place of a bedside table if you don’t have room for one. Battery operated lights look fantastic in niches, throwing light and casting shadows to create interesting angles.

Back of the door
The back of your bedroom door is an area that’s often left bare, which is a mistake if you’re short on storage. Fix hooks to the back of the for items of clothing that are bulky and often-worn, such as your dressing gown, a cosy hoodie or a knitted jumper. This will free up room in your wardrobe and will keep every-day items somewhere that’s easy to grab from on your way out of your bedroom.

Use shelving
Finally, bulky bits of furniture such as wardrobes are only worth having if they’re actually big enough to fit everything into. If they’re not, why not install floating shelves instead? You could fix shelves from wall to ceiling, using them to store your clothes and shoes on. This approach to storage will require you to be super-organised and very good at folding, but it’s a good way of getting the most storage out of an area that would otherwise be swallowed up by chunky furniture with thick doors, an insufficient number of compartments and too much empty space above it.

What do you think of these storage hacks? How do you overcome a lack of storage in your small bedroom?