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Beds for tiny rooms


Bed Beds for Small Spaces

No Space Too Small is a column by Laura Fenton that celebrates the idea that you can live well in a small home. Each month, Laura will share her practical findings from years of observing how people live in tight spaces, and her own everyday experiences of living small—from the hunt for the perfect tiny desk to how to manage everyday clutter.

Quick: Where will you find the biggest small-space win? In the kitchen? A closet system? Some genius home-office hack? Take a look around your home—whether that’s a studio apartment or a luxe four-bedroom—and ask yourself: What piece of furnishing takes up the most real estate within your four walls?

Unless you’re sleeping on a cot, the answer is your bed. As of January 2022, Manhattan real estate cost an average of $1,612 per square foot, which means that here in my city, one borough away, the 28 square feet of space needed for a full-size bed is worth more than $45,000! A queen? More than $53,000. A king? $68,000.

When I wrote about small bedrooms in No Space Too Small before, I gave advice for everything but the bed. However, if budget allows, I do advocate for investing in a bed that makes the best use of the space it takes up, like a Murphy bed, a storage bed, or bunks. (In fact, I’m so passionate about the importance of beds in small spaces, that I’ve written a whole book about creative sleeping spots, The Bunk Bed Book.)

Here are five types of smart beds for small spaces—and tips for how you might use them:

From Our Shop

Photo by Weston Wells

Beds with drawers

A bed frame with built-in drawers is a great way to put your sleeping space to use. In my own apartment, I have a wooden captain’s bed with six drawers built into the frame, which allows my husband and I to store all our folded clothing right in our tiny bedroom without the need for a chest of drawers. Storage beds are also great for guest rooms because you can store the room’s linens in the drawers and leave your guests the bureau drawers to use. In a kid’s room, a bed with drawers can store toys. In fact, we recently swapped out our son’s basic IKEA bed for a twin-size storage bed with three big drawers, so we could stash his toys more neatly under the bed.

Photo by Ikea

Lift-up storage beds

A mattress frame with a lift-up design and storage beneath, like IKEA’s Malm storage bed, is another hardworking storage option. However, you need to know that this style is more practical for storing things you only need to access occasionally—and not your everyday wardrobe. I’ve personally never had one of these, but one of the homeowners from my first book did (she had all her holiday decorations—even the tree!—stashed in hers), as did my sister’s long-ago roommate (she kept her out-of-season clothes and luggage beneath hers).

Photo by Erin Boyle Photo by White Arrow

Bunk Beds

If you have multiple children and limited bedrooms, bunk beds are a time-tested solution (and a topic I explore in depth in my new book). These days, bunk beds come in all sizes, like twin-over-full models or an L-shaped triple, so there’s a design to meet every family’s needs. Not only do bunks save space and give kids more room to play, there’s something about being enclosed that just feels comforting. Again and again when I interviewed families for my book, parents would tell me that their children used their bunks as a place to retreat. Bunk beds are also fun. With the help of a child’s imagination, a bunk quickly becomes a house, a fort, a sailing ship, and more.

Photo by Maria Del Rio

Loft beds

If you have generous ceiling height, as my first New York City apartment did, a loft can get you two “rooms” into the space of one. I snuck bookshelves and a desk beneath the loft bed in my long-ago bedroom. If you’re building your own loft, don’t feel constrained by the sizes that mattresses come in. My loft was an awkward size, but instead of sleeping on a smaller twin mattress, I had a foam mattress cut to somewhere in between a twin and a full, and just tucked a full fitted sheet in beneath it to make the bed. Some practical consideration: A loft bed should have at least 52 inches of height below to sit comfortably at a desk and a minimum of 68 inches to stand. Above, you’ll want 30 inches from the top of the mattress to the ceiling to give you space to sit up comfortably.

Photo by Weston Wells Photo by Weston Wells

Wall beds

Also known as Murphy beds, wall beds are a godsend for small spaces. In my early twenties, I invested in a Murphy bed for a 225-square-foot studio. With the foldaway bed I had both a living space and a sleeping space in my single room. Murphy beds are also handy for families looking to stay in a beloved home after the arrival of children. My sister and her husband spent three years sleeping on one in their one-bedroom apartment’s living room, giving their kids the bedroom. And my pal Alison Mazurek, of 600 Sq Ft and a Baby, made it seven years (!) in her one bedroom thanks to a queen Murphy bed in the living room and Murphy bunk beds in her kids’ room. Murphy beds are often an investment at a thousand dollars or more but, remind yourself, they are a tiny fraction of the cost of a larger home.

Photo by Laura Fenton

In the meantime, trick out your current bed

A new bed may be something to consider for the future, but in the meantime, consider upgrading the storage beneath your current bed. Room & Board makes high-quality rolling drawers that are designed to go beneath their own beds, but if you have the right height, can fit under any old bed. The Laundress sells a 100-percent cotton canvas under-the-bed storage bag that I also like. I’m generally not a fan of anything with an open top under a bed (hello, dust!), but we used the Container Store’s wooden bins to stash toys beneath my son’s bed before upgrading to a proper storage bed. If you can’t quite squeeze anything below your bed, you might be able to lift it up on risers to make room for storage. You could even add a storage headboard to an existing bed that lacks a headboard.

One last thing! Remember how your bed is taking up the most space in your home? It’s also taking up the most visual space. How you dress your bed will have a big impact on how your room feels. If you don’t already, get in the habit of making your bed every day—and do it with care! Your bedroom will instantly feel more polished with a freshly made bed, and one study even suggested that people who make their beds regularly also get a good night’s sleep more often than those who do not.

Which of these small-space bed solutions would you consider? Tell us in the comments.

This post contains products independently chosen (and loved) by our editors and writers. As an Amazon Associate, Food52 earns an affiliate commission on qualifying purchases of the products we link to.

9 Beds for Small Spaces at Every Price Point

Westend61Getty Images

Living in a small space requires serious strategizing and sometimes a few sacrifices—but it should never mean giving up on style, especially in the bedroom! There are beds for small spaces that not only fit your floor plan but are super chic and may just make your room look massive. Instead of lugging an oversized bed into your apartment, choose a bed that will give you enough room to add squeeze in a compact dresser and accent chair.

We found beds for every price point and style to save big on your small space. Some of the options below include drawers, others have a foot of under-bed clearance. A daybed even made it to the list! There are space-saving solutions that don't hold back on quality or impact. So long to feeling clustered in your bedroom. Plus, if you have a studio apartment, we know where you can find the best futons and sleeper sofas.

1

Best Storage

Urban Outfitters

Anders Storage Bed

$529 AT URBAN OUTFITTERS

2

Andover Mills

Black Matheney Platform Bed

$179 AT WAYFAIR

3

Best Linen

Mercer41

Eriksay Low Profile Platform Bed

$244 AT WAYFAIR

4

Best Daybed

Birch Lane

Nikhil Upholstered Daybed

$245 AT BIRCH LANE

5

Most Innovative Bed

DHP

Cambridge Lift Platform Bed with Storage Compartment

$915 AT AMAZON

6

Smallest Size

Zinus

Mia 14" Black Metal Platform Bed Frame, Narrow Twin

Now 20% off

$79 AT WALMART

7

Best Wood Bed

West Elm

Dawson Spindle Bed

$899 AT WEST ELM

8

Most Splurge-Worthy Bed

Scout & Nimble

Natalia Bed

$1,399 AT SCOUTANDNIMBLE. COM

9

Best Upholstered Bed

Etta Avenue

Lucius Platform Bed

$697 AT WAYFAIR

Why Trust Us

House Beautiful

Associate Shopping Editor, Medgina Saint-Elien applies product research and testing o find space-saving solutions for small space dwellers. In 2021, she led the search House Beautiful's Small Space Awards.

Medgina Saint-Elien Associate Market Editor Medgina Saint-Elien is House Beautiful's associate shopping editor.

Choosing a bed for a small bedroom: photo selection

A bed in a small bedroom must be functional

A bed in a small bedroom must be more than just a place to sleep. After all, in many cases we are talking about a room in which it is impossible to put a full-fledged wardrobe, chest of drawers or a desk. But, as a rule, residents of small apartments are forced to use the space at their disposal for recreation, work, and for receiving guests, no matter how compact it may be.

And then the only way to make such a living environment comfortable is to purchase furniture of a special design, and then there are plenty to choose from. Folding, pull-out, lifting or simply located on the mezzanine level - all these beds serve the same purpose: saving square meters.

Whichever model or configuration you choose, remember that the investment in such things is usually significant, but they will definitely pay off in the shortest possible time. So, here is our collection, which contains a lot of amazing things.

1 This bed turns into a desk when raised.

Design: Clei

2 The next photo is of a custom-built built-in bed that makes good use of space by providing plenty of storage space.

Design: INT2

Design: INT2 - photo 2

3 Quite an unusual pull-out bed with a low built-in wardrobe.

Design: Dielle

4 This bed was specially designed for a university student residence. During the day it is used as a desk.

Design: Nano Suites

5 A sofa with a seat that doubles as a sleeping bag, perfect for studio dwellers.

Design: Stephanie Hörnig

6 The mezzanine bed provides the widest range of possibilities for efficient use of space. The incredibly stylish design shown in the photo was designed specifically for new parents who needed to find a place for their newborn baby's crib.

Design: L. McComber

7 This is another bed that slides up and down inside a special compartment. But she has an important advantage over many similar ones: the presence of a folding table attached to the bottom surface of the frame.

Design: Clei

8 By the way, you can make your own platform bed with storage compartments. To do this, you will need boards and some cabinets from IKEA.

Design: Chris Hyder

9 A sofa that turns into a bed will not surprise anyone. What can not be said about the sofa, which turns into a bunk bed.

Design: Clei

10 If you have the opportunity to build a full-fledged platform in your apartment, you should definitely use it. Then it will not be difficult for you to install a pull-out double bed.

Design: Marc Baillard and Julie Nabouset

11 The table, which can be used as a desk or as a dining table, turns over to become a very comfortable bed.

Design: Bless

12 This kind of lifting bed requires a rather complicated and very expensive mechanism, but it's worth it.

Design: YO!

13 Built-in bunk bed that occupies the entire wall, from floor to ceiling and from corner to corner, does not look bulky at all, despite its comfort and functionality.

Design: INT2

Have you already chosen the right option for you?

Categories: Small bedroom interior
Places: Bed decoration • Folding furniture

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which one to choose and how to put

Bed for a small bedroom: what to choose and how to put

The bed is the most bulky furniture: the double bed easily eats up 4 square meters of space. Such a luxury seems unaffordable to the owners of small bedrooms and they begin to think about sparing options, looking at a smaller bed or even a folding sofa instead of it. Look at it differently and choose a bed that will not only provide you with a comfortable sleep, but replace other furniture.

Here are the main tips and nuances that you should consider when choosing a bed for a small bedroom (and small bedrooms, unfortunately, are found not only in Khrushchevs):

Don't skimp on sleep quality. When choosing a bed for a small bedroom, you should take care of yourself first of all. At the disposal of your body should be the best possible conditions for recuperation during sleep. Don't skimp on bed size by trying to win space for bedside tables and cabinets. A 180 cm wide double bed may not fit in a small bedroom, but a 160 cm wide one is fine. Is the bedroom for one person? All the same, you should not turn the bedroom into a compartment of a railway car. Sleeping on the so-called one and a half bed 140 cm wide is much more convenient than on a tiny sofa.

· Choose a low bed. For a small bedroom, choose a bed without legs: firstly, the lower the bed, the higher the ceilings in the room seem; secondly, a bed without legs saves space - and not only visually.

Take a bed that will replace your closet and pantry. There will always be things in the house that you use infrequently - Christmas decorations, travel bags, out-of-season clothes. If you take a bed with a lifting mechanism or drawers, you can easily hide all this under it. If you prefer the option with drawers, when ordering such a bed, make sure that there is enough space in your small bedroom for the drawers to slide out freely. There are also beds, headboards, which are bedside tables - convenient and functional! This bed can be made to order, taking into account all the needs of your bedroom.

· You need a fixed bed. A hidden bed that turns into part of a closet for the day or even rises to the ceiling is a fairly common tip for arranging a small apartment. However, such a disappearing bed is only appropriate as a guest bed. Or if we are talking about a one-room apartment. If you already have a bedroom, save your time and energy on daily manipulations with a transforming bed. Let the bed wait for you in the bedroom on the evening of a hard day, and not wait for you to remove it from the wall.

Leave room for movement in the bedroom. As much as you love spacious beds, for a small bedroom try to choose one that doesn't take up the full width of the room: you end up having to make the bed and climb onto the bed somehow. But compromises are possible here too. Close to the wall (or window) can be not only the headboard, but also one of the sidewalls of the bed. True, if the bed is double, you will have to make sure that the free space remains at the feet, otherwise the partner will have to make his way through the sleeper to the place under the wall. There should be at least 70 cm between the wall and the free edge of the bed (ideally - 90-100): so you can easily move around, change bedding, sit on the bed.

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