Unfortunately, not every family has the opportunity to purchase expensive and spacious housing. Owners of small spaces try to create an individual interior that reflects their taste and interests. To make this a reality, you need to answer the question - how to arrange furniture in a small room? The task is not easy, but completely solvable. To do this, you need to use some recommendations from experts, experiment a little and use your imagination.
What is worth starting from?
Basic recommendations for effectively using a small space:
- the use of narrow, tall cabinets - they occupy a minimum of usable space and visually increase the height of the ceilings;
- maintaining sufficient space for movement - leave a distance of at least 0.6 m between two pieces of furniture;
- installation of wall-mounted storage systems - stylish, spacious shelves look impressive and uncluttered, while saving space;
- replacing a solid swing door with a sliding door or a glazed model;
- dismantling the interior door and transforming the classic rectangular opening into an elegant arch;
- installing a wide window sill and using it as a work desk, relaxation area or storage space;
- replacing the bed with a sofa book or a corner model that transforms into a full-fledged sleeping place.
Give preference to ergonomic furniture. In a small room, an expensive, massive antique table with powerful legs will look bulky and shift the focus to itself. A weightless narrow model with a glass top will look much better.
Do not leave the center empty - it brings the entire interior composition together. If the area of the room does not allow you to place a neat table in the center of the room, place a small carpet or mat of a square or round shape. The color can be any, but it matches the main interior.
Top 7 popular small wardrobes
Our analysts conducted research and selected the most popular models based on sales statistics for the first half of 2021. The leading depth is 40 cm.
| № | Name | Firm | Height/Width/Depth, cm | price, rub. |
| 1. | “Express Photo Duo” Milky oak | E-1 | 220/120/60 | 28980 |
| 2. | “Phoenix” (Bleached oak, laminated chipboard/Mirror with Euro-edge, Wenge) | Interior Center | 210/170/54 | 28980 |
| 3. | "Best-1" | Legomarket | 190/130/40 | 11613 |
| 4. | "Rial 9" | Legomarket | 200/80/40 | 11400 |
| 5. | "Elite-45" | Legomarket | 190/80/40 | 14600 |
| 6. | "Millennium 2 BMS" (Buk Bavaria) | "Best Furniture" (Russia) | 80/190/40 | 7960 |
| 7. | "Phoenix Light" Wenge/bleached oak | Interior Center | 210/110/54 | 7656 |
A small wardrobe with sliding doors is appropriate in a small-sized Khrushchev house. It is roomy, does not take up much space, will help organize things in the room rationally and add aesthetics to the interior of a small room.
Symmetric
This method of arranging furniture in a small room is suitable for rectangular rooms. Everything is extremely simple and functional. A couple of armchairs or a sofa are placed on the opposite wall from the one on which the TV is located. Small identical bedside tables are placed on both sides. Opposite the sofa you can place a neat coffee table. When choosing this placement method, always completely occupy two end walls and one longitudinal wall. By crowding the room with furniture around the entire perimeter, you will visually compress the space and deprive the room of its individuality, similar to similar Soviet interiors.
Planning Features
In an apartment, arranging furniture in apartments begins with drawing up a plan. Space parameters can be found in the technical documentation or measured independently using a tape measure. On drawing paper (graph paper) a housing diagram is drawn to scale, taking into account openings, niches and communications.
Functional interior planning Source mebel-v-nsk.ru
Images of interior items in exact proportions will help determine the usable area of the rooms. Furniture cut out of paper can be moved and rotated, choosing a suitable location in the room. When placing, take into account the free space for opening drawers and doors. The components must not interfere with the movement of people.
Designers recommend creating a furniture arrangement plan in an application for a PC or gadget. The program specifies the parameters of the room, then selects the components. Provides for opening door and window sashes. Depending on the complexity of the software, interior items can be either standard or resizable. Options for sketches can be saved in separate files or printed on a printer.
Proper interior planning Source creative-garden.ru
When forming a space, the main design element is highlighted. In the bedroom, the central detail will be the bed, in the kitchen - a dining group or “island”. In the hall, you can make a TV panel, a fireplace portal or an image (painting, photo) the focal point; in the hallway - a hanger. The accent component attracts the attention of those entering the room. Be sure to use the corners in which you can put:
- rack;
- floor lamp;
- floor vase;
- TV stand;
- narrow chest of drawers;
- dressing table.
If there is a shortage of free space, you should not overload the interior with small details and decor. To make the room look spacious, paintings and photographs are mounted as high as possible. Designers recommend hanging a mirror or panel with reflecting fragments opposite the window. The reception creates the illusion of increased space and lighting.
Interior design options Source yandex.ua
Asymmetric
In order to destroy unnecessary symmetry, one stroke is enough: place a massive bed in a corner parallel to the wall, place a corner sofa in the center of the room, place a wardrobe or glass bookcase with the back wall towards the corner. Such techniques work well in rooms of regular square shape. If the room has a non-standard configuration - due to its narrowness and elongated shape it resembles a tram car, has a beveled corner, a bay window, a deep alcove - you should play with asymmetry as carefully as possible. In this case, the furniture should level the space, giving it the correct outline.
Dimensions and filling
The standard wardrobe set includes brackets for hanging clothes and horizontal drawers. Refilling costs from 2 thousand rubles. and provides full functionality.
A typical modification includes a frame (on average 180 cm long and 240 cm high), drawers, shelves and a lower section for shoes.
Small cabinets have dimensions of 120x200x40. Drawers and brackets are located very close to each other. This allows you to fill the free space with large things (bicycle, artificial Christmas tree) if there is no longer enough space in the hallway or closet. Choose the content based on the needs of the family and the size of the closet.
Concentric
This method of arranging furniture involves creating a bright accent in the center of the room, from which the entire composition will unfold around the circumference. The configuration of the room itself remains behind the scenes; the furniture is arranged as if the room had a regular round shape.
For example, a table is placed in the middle of the room, and around it there are semicircular double sofas or bean bags.
Functionality is quite difficult to achieve, however, the concentric arrangement of furniture creates such a feeling of coziness and comfort that possible inconveniences associated with the absence of one or another functional element fade into the background.
Children's room
Furniture placement requires special attention. There is no need to place it in a central way, since the room should have as much free space as possible for the child’s games and activities. Therefore, you can choose two arrangement options. The first is to create a separate play area with plenty of space. In this case, the arrangement of furniture can be done in any way. The second is placing furniture along the wall. This way you can save a lot of space.
Furniture arrangement. Learning from the example of a bedroom (1 video)
Beautiful furniture arrangement options (14 photos)
Ideas for arranging furniture in a small room
In a small living room you should not create a full-fledged soft area for receiving guests. For gatherings with friends, equip a bar counter with lighting and swivel chairs. Give preference to light furniture and warm colors in the interior - all this visually increases the space.
For a small bedroom, you should buy a bed with a lifting mechanism and a compartment for storing bed linen - this will eliminate the need for a spacious chest of drawers.
In the kitchen, corner units save space.
As for the bathroom, even the most modest shower cabin looks very massive. The shower tray can be placed on the podium, separating it from the bathroom space with a frosted glass partition, the height of which does not reach the ceiling.
Space zoning
Quite often, a room performs more than one function - in the living room they eat and work or relax, in the nursery they play, study and sleep, in the bedroom they spend their sleeping hours and put themselves in order. So that no one disturbs anyone, and functional areas do not mix, zoning is used:
- Blackout curtains are usually used to divide space in the bedroom. They will add coziness to the area with the bed, and sophistication to the working or living area.
- You can visually divide the room using additional elements - screens, sliding partitions or the furniture itself. For example, a shelving unit, a mirror, or a sofa can serve as a divider. Pass-through shelving is especially convenient because it can be used in both areas.
- You can zone not only along the horizontal plane, but also along the vertical plane - for example, a loft bed for children and a model on the podium for adults will easily separate the sleeping area from the rest.
- Another unusual way of division is with the help of indoor plants.
The general rule of zoning is more light colors in the room. They visually enlarge the space and fill it with lightness.
How to properly arrange furniture in a single small room or studio apartment
In this case, the functionality of the furniture should be prioritized so that the stylistic concept and other wishes do not come at the expense of the practicality of the interior.
Use ergonomic furniture - folding, retractable, built-in. Use existing niches for wardrobes. In a deep alcove you can arrange a sleeping place or a study. Wardrobes with sliding mirrored doors will visually expand the space, increase the height of the ceilings, and make the room brighter.
Divide the room into functional areas. If the soft corner (bed) is not possible to separate from the rest of the room with a screen or partition, because they will interfere with watching TV, install it on a small podium.
Define the dining area by laying a small rug on the floor and placing a table and chairs on it. The rug should be large enough to accommodate all the furniture.
The desktop can be placed next to the window and separated from the rest of the room with a large outdoor plant.
If you plan to divide the room strictly into two functional areas, for example: living room and bedroom, living room and children's room, bedroom and study, use a large corner sofa, placing it close to the wall.
Behind the back, located perpendicular to the wall, you can place a desktop with a computer or a children's corner. In the second case, in order to save space, install a loft bed, on the lower tier of which there will be a work or play area.
What not to do: checklist for errors when arranging
The amount of furniture does not correspond to the size of the room
It is necessary to maintain a balance: there should be so many items that, on the one hand, all the functions assigned to the room are covered, and on the other hand, so that using these functions is comfortable.
Don’t overload the space: it’s better to move one or another area to another room than to make the entire room stumble and hit corners.
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The table is placed close to the wall
A desk pushed close to the wall is a common occurrence in domestic interiors.
However, if you have at least a small corner for a home mini-office, a much better option would be to place the table at some distance from the wall - so that there is a work chair near it, not a table. This will create more comfortable working conditions, and besides, the whole room will be in front of your eyes, and not just a section of the wall. Bonus: this arrangement gives a clearer effect of zoning the space.
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The shelving in the nursery is vertical
In order to mythically save space, parents often opt for a vertical shelving unit for the nursery.
However, the horizontal arrangement provides much more possibilities. Firstly, absolutely all the shelves are within the reach of the baby: the baby can independently take out and put away toys, books and other little things important for development. Secondly, the surface of the shelving can be used as a bench - and away from armchairs and poufs, saving space.
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The chest of drawers is placed facing the bed
A chest of drawers located facing the bed is not the most ergonomic solution. It is much better, in terms of space saving, to place the chest of drawers on the same wall as the bed. This will eliminate the need for a bedside table. And in some cases, you can gain space for additional functional areas: look at how elegantly the owners of this apartment placed a small work desk in the bedroom, using a chest of drawers as a tabletop.
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The sofa is against the wall
If the living room is not absolutely tiny, do not move the sofa close to the wall: this will introduce visual disharmony into the interior.
Sofa Hoff Chester
Position the soft group so as to visually separate the seating area from others. At the same time, avoid extremes: placing the sofa in the center and tripping over it every day is also not the best option.
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Instagram foxhollowcottage
The center of the room is empty
Furniture placed along the walls and an empty space in the center of the room is a solution that is justified, perhaps, in a children's room: the play activities of the little ones sometimes require a lot of space. In other rooms, the emptiness in the middle of the room will look strange and uncomfortable.
This doesn't mean you should clutter the center of the room. But an elegant coffee table, carpet or pouf will help to “collect” together objects that, when placed “along the wall”, look very scattered. If you urgently need a free middle of the room, stop at an impressive ceiling lamp: it will restore balance in the interior.
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Missing accents
If all the furnishings are approximately the same size, have a similar color scheme, and are also made in the same style from the same materials, the furnishings automatically become boring and “flat.”
Poster Ekoramka House Rules
Add accents: Make one or more items stand out in size, style or color. A good solution would be to purchase (or create) a unique design element of furnishings that attracts the eye and creates the visual center of the interior.
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Zoning is not thought out
A huge mistake that will turn your environment into a collection of disparate furniture. Be sure to think about zoning: not only with the location of furniture, but also with light, color of decoration, semi-partitions, shelving and screens, or different floor and ceiling levels.
There are many ways to visually designate the functional areas of a room, be sure to do it.
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There are extra pieces of furniture
One of the most common mistakes is unnecessary furnishings.
When arranging your home, proceed from your own lifestyle: if you live alone and rarely receive guests, you definitely don’t need a dining table for six seats. Do you hardly cook at home? Give up a bulky kitchen set in favor of a lighter and more compact option. Don't clutter the space with endless coffee tables, chests of drawers and consoles if they have no practical use.
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Unsplash
Common mistakes
If the furniture is placed without taking into account the characteristics of the room, even a spacious room can lose all its advantages. The most common mistakes in furnishing small rooms:
- Furniture placed strictly around the perimeter. It’s not very convenient to communicate while the three of us are sitting on a book-like sofa. It is also uncomfortable to watch TV if it is located several meters away from the sofa.
- Neglect of zoning. If you have an apartment with a small bedroom and a combined kitchen and living room, in the common room you need to provide places for cooking and eating, family recreation, and a work area.
- Ignoring functionality. If there are armchairs in the living room, be sure to provide a tiny coffee table nearby on which you can put a cup of coffee or put the TV remote control.
- Furnish strictly one half of the room. Even in a small room, a reasonable balance must be maintained. For example, it is unsightly and impractical to place a small wall, a sofa and a TV in one part of a narrow rectangular room, and place a lone chair and an outdoor indoor plant in the other.
- Ignoring the usual paths of movement of apartment residents. Leaving the center of the room empty is cozy and modern, but not if with this type of furniture you have to zigzag from door to window.
- Use of different-sized furniture. A massive leather sofa, a light glass table and a narrow wardrobe are good individually, but in one room they will look ridiculous.
- Incorrect placement of lamps. Modern interior design involves the use of several lamp options: the main overhead lamp and additional lamps - sconces, table lamps and floor lamps. Spot lighting built into the ceiling or furniture is an effective tool for zoning space.
We hope that with the help of our simple tips on how to arrange furniture in a small room, you will be able to furnish your apartment taking into account all your wishes for interior style, aesthetics and functionality.
Ergonomics
The function is used to create a comfortable, safe and practical room. Furniture is arranged taking into account the physical parameters, age and activity of the person. Ergonomics pays attention to the number of people and pets living in an apartment, helping to accommodate the requirements of all residents.
Functional room design Source yandex.ua
When arranging furniture, you need to leave the most appropriate distance between interior items. Between components, maintain a distance of 1.8 to 2.4 m, otherwise moving around the room will be uncomfortable. In a small space, the emphasis is on functionality, and additional elements are used if there is free space.
Cozy layout in the hall Source design-homes.ru
A sofa, table and chairs are placed at arm's length (60-80 cm) from each other. Being too close or far away causes psychological discomfort for people in the room. When designing a recreation area with TV, maintain the optimal distance to the receiver. A person sitting in a chair holds his head straight or lowers his chin slightly.
Comfortable room for sleeping Source st-v.com
TV in the living room Source casaricca.ru
A distance of 0.4 m is maintained between the coffee table and the rest of the furniture. The parameters provide free passage along the interior items. A person can sit next to him without fear of touching the corners or turning over the contents of the tabletop.
When placing the unit in the kitchen, areas within 1-1.5 m from the floor are considered convenient. To reach the upper shelves or mezzanines, designers recommend installing a special bench. The distance between the tabletop and hands is 15 cm.
For furniture with drawers, a free space of 125 cm is left in the room. In the hallway, people need to move around, take off and put on clothes without interference. The minimum free space in front of interior items is 1.5 m.
Large corner wardrobe
This model will become an analogue of the walls and sideboards that occupy half the room. It is placed in the far corner opposite the window. It can be square with sharp corners or semicircular. The second option looks more elegant.
The corner model will take up a lot of space, but it can replace the wall and other non-functional storage systems.
If clothes, bedding and boxes of things will be stored in such a closet, then it must be completely closed with doors. If you're forgoing a wall but want to display vases or photographs, choose a cabinet that has open shelves on the left or right. You can put books, figurines and other small items here.
You can make a custom built-in wardrobe for your studio apartment. To make the room seem larger, choose a light wood model with mirrored or matte doors. Such surfaces reflect light, due to which the space visually expands.
Wardrobe partition
One of the popular options for zoning space is installing a partition cabinet. This solution is suitable for studios and one-room apartments. Designers insist that the space needs to be divided by shelving that has no back walls. This way there will be no obstacles to the passage of sunlight, and the room will seem spacious.
But if parents and a child or two adults live in the room, each of whom needs personal space, it can be divided using a closet. It will take up space, but there will be an additional storage system in the room. A good option for long narrow rooms is to share them with a wardrobe with a transformable bed.
If the area allows, divide the space with a wide plasterboard structure and install sliding niches into it. Before placing such a cabinet in the interior, think carefully: this solution is not suitable for all apartments.
Wardrobe in the loggia
In a studio, you don’t want to take up space in the only room with furniture. Therefore, if there is a loggia, move the closet there. This is a great option to place the wardrobe of all family members in a separate room.
The smallest loggia can be turned into a cozy and functional dressing room. You just need to put a wardrobe here.
The correct placement of furniture in this case is to place it against a long wall. If the room is small, then in the corner. Consider the interior design of the cabinet. If clothes will be stored here, there must be shelves of different heights and hanging rods. It is advisable to insulate the loggia, install a heater here or remove the radiator, and put a high-pile carpet on the floor. Then the non-residential premises will become a cozy and functional room.
