The Ultimate Bedroom Design Guide

Ideally, any bedroom in your home should be a sanctuary. Given that you spend at least one-third of your life inside of one – provided you’re getting your requisite eight hours a night, of course – you want your home’s bedrooms to be as attractive and as comfortable as possible. That’s why bedrooms are one of the most talked about rooms in interior design.

If you’re currently working on a new home design, or if your current bedroom or bedrooms are in need of a massive facelift, you need to know the basic principles. This is exactly what we’re going to be covering in the following guide. The information is broad enough to apply to any bedroom you might be working on, from a child’s to your master bedroom, while at the same time practical and actionable.

Herein, we’ll cover everything from different mattresses you can select, right down to what makes solid color choices. We’ll even offer up some invaluable tips on how you can best layout your bedroom to maximum effect!

So read on to learn all of the basics you need to know about bedroom design. By the end of this guide, you should have all the tools you need to start crafting your dream bedroom!

Before you begin the process of designing your bedroom, you need to determine what you’re hoping to accomplish. This will necessarily depend on what bedroom you’re working on, and who is going to be occupying the room. If, for example, you’re working on a bedroom design for one of your children, you’ll want to speak with him or her about what he or she wants. Is it a bigger bed? Does he or she need a place to do school work?

If you’re working on your master bedroom, then you’ll obviously want to sit down with your spouse or significant other. Is it that the room isn’t attractive or comfortable enough? Do you need a better bed, and want to redesign the room around that bed? Are you looking to add a home office or something of that nature? Once you’ve determined what your needs and wants are for your bedroom, you’re almost ready to get started.

Bedroom remodels and redesigns can be incredibly expensive depending upon what you’re trying to do, so you’ll want to make sure you nail down your budget first. If you’re tearing down walls, building bigger closets, and switching up the floors, you’re going to need a hefty budget. If it’s as simple as changing the furniture and décor, then things will be less expensive, but it will still prove to be a sizeable investment.

For larger scale remodels, we advise always hiring a reputable and licensed contractor to handle everything. The bedrooms in your home – their size, layout and design – are incredibly important to the value of your home. So, you want to make sure that you’re getting the best quality work and the best advice. In terms of finding someone how fits the bill, talk with any friends you know who’ve had renovations done recently. That is, without a doubt, the best way to find a contractor you can trust.

Otherwise, if you’re simply changing up the furniture, walls and floors, you may be able to go the DIY route. If this is the case, though, you need to do one thing before you break out the credit card. You’ve got to get some measurements! In addition to measuring the actual bedroom itself, you’ll also want to measure all of the doorways, hallways and entranceways that stand between the outside and your bedroom. Bedroom furniture, as you well know, is often quite bulky, and you want to make sure you’re able to get anything you purchase where it needs to go!

With all of this preliminary work done, you’re ready to start designing your dream bedroom. So, let’s start with the most important part: the place where you lay down to sleep every night.

2. Beds and Mattresses

It really shouldn’t be all that surprising that the bed is the most important part of your bedroom. Let’s start by taking a look at the different mattress sizes that are available.

Twin: A twin mattress measures 39 inches by 75 inches and is only designed to accommodate one person. These are ideal for children’s bedrooms or for small guest bedrooms. If length is a concern, you can go with a Twin-XL, which adds an extra five inches.

Full: In a larger children’s bedroom or guest bedroom, you can consider going with a full-size mattress. They measure 54 inches by 75 inches and can sleep one person comfortably and two people adequately. These are not ideal for master bedrooms that two people occupy.

Queen: This is the most common mattress size, and they measure 60 inches by 80 inches. They can sleep two people quite comfortably and are perfect for larger guest bedrooms as well as for master bedrooms where space may be somewhat at a premium.

King: Although a king-size mattress could be used in a guest bedroom, they’re really only for master bedrooms. They measure 76 inches by 80 inches, meaning that they can sleep two people in maximum comfort. That comfort, though, comes at the sacrifices of floor space, something you’ll need to consider.

California King: A California-king mattress is something you’ll only see in the largest of bedrooms. They measure a whopping 72 inches by 84 inches. If you have the space to allow for one, you may never want to switch back to a smaller mattress again!

Custom: If money is really no object, then you can go with a custom-sized mattress. Whatever you choose, though, will need to be in tandem with the bed itself, as they’ll be designed to fit together. For a truly unique and original look, this may be the way to go.

Once you know what kind of mattress size you’d like, you can go about selecting a bed style. As with any other piece of furniture, there is a wide range of bed styles to choose from, from sleek and contemporary to old-school and rustic. Let’s take a look at some truly stunning beds so that you can get an idea of the options available to you.

A simple platform bed with a low profile can be perfect for bedrooms done in the contemporary style.

You can raise the profile of the platform bed, though, in order to add extra storage.

A canopy bed is always a solid choice for a luxurious bedroom with high cielings.

With a canopy bed, you don’t necessarily have to have the canopy. The structure itself can provide enough visual appeal.

Though similar to the canopy bed, the four-post bed has a distinctive look that’s all it’s own.

If you’re looking for simplicity and elegance, a wrought-iron bed frame might be an excellent choice.

A simple frame combined with an attractive headboard can really make the look of a bedroom.

If space is at a premium in your guest bedroom, an attractive day bed can be just the thing to make the room.

As you can see in each of the above examples, the bed that you select goes a long way toward determining the “style” of your bedroom design. So, before you get overly attached to one bed or another, carefully consider what kind of style you want and whether or not the bed you’re eyeing plays into that. There’s nothing wrong with designing your bedroom around the bed you select, but you should know that you can approach this from multiple angles.