Best Furniture Layouts for Tiny Rooms- Dorm Rooms Included

Trying to figure out how to set up your room? Tiny rooms are hard to map out! Here are some suggestions to try and maximize your space and get the most out of your room!

Less is more!

It is true, the less you have the better, especially when it comes to tiny rooms. Furniture can be bulky and take up so much space! If you can avoid purchasing excess furniture (like the extra ottoman or chair for your room) this can prevent clutter! Working with small rooms can be a fun challenge but it can also be overwhelming. Don’t assume you have to get rid of everything to live in the small room, just be creative with how you are placing your items and where you can store them.

Bedrooms

Tiny bedrooms have easy solutions! If this is a guest room or spare room, I suggest purchasing a sofa bed. These can be as small as a loveseat and convert into a twin to queen size bed! Perfect for any guest without taking up a large space like an additional bed would. Unlike a pullout couch, I would opt for the couches that fold down to keep some space even when it is folded down. This allows more walkways for yourself or your guest and doesn’t take up the amount of space a large bed would.

Another suggestion is a loft-style bedroom. If this is a guest room it can actually be nostalgic for your guest to sleep in a loft-style bed! This allows the bed to be raised where you can keep a desk underneath to allow it to be a dual-purpose bedroom and office space! There are lots of modern-style loft beds for around $200-300! These are also great because they need to be against a wall, creating a more spacious layout for the rest of the room!

If you don’t want a loft-style bed, another alternative is a simple raised bed! This does not improve the layout but it can minimize the clutter! You can use a raised bed to help you store your extra items underneath the bed. This can actually open up your room and create a cleaner space with more room, depending on what you put in there!

Tiny Living Rooms/Studio

Studio apartments are usually just oversized bedrooms! However, creating a separate living space doesn’t have to be so difficult. If you live in a simple square apartment, placing your bed against the wall can give you space to put in a small loveseat to give more seating options for yourself and guests. I suggest putting a room divider or a cube bookshelf to separate the bed from the living room furniture to create an illusion of separation!

If you do have a living space but it’s really small, I would suggest minimizing your furniture! Like I said earlier, less is more! Instead of having a coffee table, swap it for a small side table to give you space to place things but not take up as much area space. Instead of buying another couch or chairs, I would go for some floor cushions to bring out when you have a lot of guests or store easily in a closet or even under the couch!  

Even with less furniture, mapping out a layout that works for your apartment can be difficult. I suggest playing around with your furniture. I always look at wall space to see where I should put my furniture. If I have larger wall space, I tend to put my entertainment section there (such as TVs, bookshelves, etc.) Then I put my couch facing that and if you have a studio, I would put the bed behind that (if room allows it). The simple placement of your furniture can make a huge difference in how you can utilize space so I highly recommend trying a few different ways before you settle on one layout!

Dorm Rooms

The smallest rooms are definitely dorm rooms. Although they are usually a shared space and come with furniture, there are a few ways you can think about improving the layout for a better space. If you have the option for bunk beds, I would go for it! This opens up the room and provides more space for guests to come over and hang out or to have fun dance parties in your room. Bunk beds are an easy solution for a larger feeling room.

If bunk beds are out of the picture, definitely invest in some risers for your bed. These will raise your bed to give more space undeath! Just like in my tiny bedroom suggestion, this is useful for more storage to increase your area space and lessen clutter. If you are able to fit a dresser or side table underneath, this might be a good way to eliminate the bulkiness of the dorm furniture by hiding it away! It can still be useful from underneath the bed, but at least it is one less element to deal with.

If you are in a shared room, I would try putting your beds in an L-shape in a corner! This will make the room feel bigger as opposed to both beds taking up each side of the wall! The corner layout pushes the bulky furniture away from the door, giving the illusion of slightly bigger area space. If you are in a single dorm, I recommend pushing your bed against the back wall if you have space! If not, the side walls are good too. This will open up the rest of the room so you have some walking space. If you can place a desk next to your bed, I suggest this as well! Rather than having your desk be on the opposing side of your bed and cram your space, this is a good solution to keeping things open on one side. This gives the feeling of a larger room!

How do you work with tiny spaces? Let me know in the comments below!