Small bedroom? Smart ways to make more of your wardrobe

Short on space but not on clothes? A few simple changes can make a surprising difference, without filling the bedroom with more furniture. The trick is knowing where to look.

“Small rooms often have more storage potential than you might think. Above hanging clothes, beneath shorter garments, in corners and all the way up to the ceiling, there are often valuable cubic metres that are easy to overlook,” says Frida Swanson, storage expert at Elfa.

So how can you make better use of those overlooked spaces? Here are seven simple ideas.

1. Look up, not out

Don’t let your wardrobe stop simply because it has reached a traditional standard height. Make use of the full height of the room, placing things you use less often at the top and keeping everyday clothes within comfortable reach.

2. Double up on hanging space

Shirts and jackets don’t need the same hanging height as long dresses or coats. Using two levels for shorter garments can significantly increase the amount of useful hanging space.

3. Mind the gap under your clothes

Beneath shirts and jackets, there is often valuable space for baskets, shoes or folded clothes. It is an easy area to overlook, but one that can make a noticeable difference when every centimetre counts.

4. Keep things in sight

Maximising storage doesn’t mean squeezing in as much as physically possible.

“When we can’t see what we have, it’s easy to lose track of what we own and end up buying things we already have. A good overview makes it easier to stay organised, find what you need and make better use of what you already own,” says Frida.

Pull-out baskets and well-planned categories help keep the contents visible and easy to access.

5. Think small for small things

Don’t let accessories take up more space than they need. Smaller compartments and dividers can keep socks, jewellery, belts and other small items together, organised and easy to find.

6. Put awkward spaces to work

Sloping ceilings, corners and narrow sections of wall don’t have to be wasted space. Flexible wall-mounted storage can be adapted to the shape of the room, turning an area that was previously difficult to use into practical storage.

7. Leave a little breathing room

It may sound counter-intuitive when space is limited, but a completely full wardrobe is rarely a practical one. Leave a little room so that clothes are easy to take out and put back, and so that your wardrobe can adapt as your needs change.

After all, putting away a jumper shouldn’t require careful negotiations with the rest of your wardrobe.

More space without a bigger bedroom

A small bedroom doesn’t necessarily mean settling for less storage. Often, useful space is already there, above, below or in parts of the room you may not have thought of using.

By making better use of the room’s height and awkward spaces, while keeping the wardrobe organised and easy to see, you can fit in more without making the bedroom feel smaller. Sometimes, finding more storage is simply about looking at the space you already have in a different way.