Creating ambience and atmosphere in a small bedroom can be a tricky thing to do. Clutter will invariably be a problem in even the best kept of rooms and there will be not much room for solely ornamental items and objects. This can lead to the room feeling small, claustrophobic or cramped. However, with some decorating and arranging tips it is possible to give the room the illusion of appearing more open and inviting.
The first way to provide such an illusion of space is through a perceptive trick called “layering”. This look is achieved by arranging solid colours in front of each other in a contrasting fashion. This could be achieved, for example, by painting the walls in your room a specific colour and have the furniture a different but equally solid colour. The trick here works particularly well with bright or vivid colours and gives the room a more uncluttered feel with the contrast of colours making whole dimensions of space appear to open up. The two conflicting, vibrant colours play against each other and highlight depth whereas similar colours can often blend into each other quite easily.
Similar visual tricks can be used by painting dividing lines and colours on the bedroom wall and works particularly well if the space would otherwise be large and empty. Similarly an attempt to use overcomplicated wallpaper designs in small spaces can create too much detail and prove an eyesore; dense designs do nothing to open up space in a room. Subtle break points, such as subtly contrasting white and cream alternating squares, can add apparently noticeable depth to a room even if such depths do not actually physically exist. The break points can act to emphasise depth whereas with a clear or blank wall depth is much harder to register for the human eye. This highlights the importance of how a bedroom’s walls may actually be the most important part of the room when it comes to creating space.
To maximize the space that walls can seem to create, special consideration has to go into not just what is placed on them but also what is not. The term “minimalism” exists for a reason whereas the term “maximilism” does not – neither decorators nor designers have ever invented this phrase because it is a useless concept. When decorating a wall be careful not to place too many items on it; one or two posters may be okay but any more than that will deplete any space that the room looked like it may have had.
Another way to increase the atmosphere in a small room is to use soft textures; use silks or satin perhaps to create a softer ambience. Using fitted sheets and quilts is a great way to soften the ambience in your bedroom and, in contrast to sharp edges, this can help the room have a cosier feel which will negate some of the claustrophobia caused by the small space.
Kieron Casey is a BA (Hons) Journalism graduate who writes regularly about parenting, home design, 
