# Decorating a Very Small Bedroom: 9 Accents Under 25 cm By Li-Lu Studio · **Last updated:** 13 October 2026 **Quick answer:** Decorating a very small bedroom works when the accent is small and alone. Put one object of about [23 cm](/go/shop/?q=small+bedroom+figure) on each surface, keep it to one or two things on a bedside table, and leave a third of every shelf empty. You do not need to own less; you need to know how big the thing you add should be. You have a small bedroom, a bed that takes most of it, and a bare corner that wants one nice thing. You buy it, it arrives, and suddenly the whole room feels full. The bed was not the problem. The accent was too big for its place, and nobody told you what size it should be. Below are nine surfaces, with the size of object that sits on each without crowding it. If you are decorating a very small bedroom, these small bedroom accents are the part that is rarely sized for you. A small room does not feel crowded because it has things in it. It feels crowded when every surface holds something the same size, and the eye has nowhere to stop. ## Why a small bedroom feels crowded: it is the accents, not the bed Because you can see all of it at once. In a big room one extra object disappears. In a small one every object is read together with the bed, the wardrobe and the window. Most advice answers this with a count. The rule of three says three pieces of furniture, three decorative objects and three colours, and nothing more. That helps, and it is easy to remember. But a count does not tell you what to buy. Three objects of 40 cm each will crowd a room that three objects of 23 cm would not. So you follow the rule, you still feel cramped, and you decide the room is simply too small. The room is fine. Here is what actually goes wrong: - **Same size everywhere:** three similar objects in a row read as a shop shelf. - **Too big for the surface:** an object that fills the top of the bedside table leaves no room for the lamp. - **No air:** a few meaningful items with breathing room look more considered than crowded surfaces. The fix is size and place, and both are cheap to get right before you order anything. The easiest first step is to see what 23 cm looks like next to a bed. A [23 cm handmade figure](/go/shop/?q=small+bedroom+figure) is about the height of a hardback book, which is the size every one of the nine ideas below is built around. ## How big is 25 cm in a small bedroom About the height of a hardback book stood upright, which is also the height of every [23 cm figure](/go/shop/?q=23cm+figure) in the shop. It is also a little under half the width of a narrow bedside table, which can be as slim as 48 cm. That is the useful comparison. Against 48 cm of table top, a 23 cm object is large enough to see from the door and small enough that the lamp still fits beside it. It helps to know the other numbers a small room is measured in, because the object has to live inside them: - **Bedside table depth:** up to 30 to 40 cm in a very small room. - **A wall shelf:** 15 to 20 cm deep holds a phone, a lamp base and a book. - **A windowsill:** 10 to 20 cm deep, enough for small pots. - **Walking space:** at least 60 cm on the sides you walk around. So the rule I use for small bedroom decor ideas is simple. The object should be no taller than a book and no wider than a hand or two, and it should leave a clear hand’s width on each side. Smaller than that and it disappears from across the room. Bigger and it starts to behave like furniture, which is exactly what you were trying to avoid. **Pro tip:** stand a hardback book where the object will go, step back to the door, and look. ## On the bedside table: one object, one lamp A bedside table holds a lamp and one decorative object or a book. That is the whole list, and it is enough: one to two items at most is what keeps a small table from looking cluttered. The lamp comes first, because you will use it every night. Then the object goes on the side away from where your hand reaches, so you never knock it over at two in the morning. I moved my own twice before it stopped getting in the way. The place that worked was the back corner, on the wall side, slightly behind the lamp base. - **Size:** about 23 cm tall, so it reads next to a standard lamp. - **Footprint:** a hand wide, so a glass of water still fits. - **Colour:** one tone, so it stays quiet next to the lamp. You may worry it will take over the table. That is a fair worry: most accents are sold with no size on the page, so you have to guess. A table 48 cm wide with a 23 cm object and a lamp still leaves a third of the top bare. For a ready answer, a [handmade figure for a bedside table](/go/shop/?q=bedside+table+figure) comes in one size, 23 cm, so there is nothing to work out. For the whole table, see the [bedside table decor guide](https://li-lu.co.uk/bedside-table-decor-ideas/). ## Above the headboard: one shelf, one object A single floating shelf above the bed gives you display space without adding a piece of furniture; the [bedroom shelf guide](https://li-lu.co.uk/aesthetic-room-decor-bedroom-shelf/) has more on layouts. One shelf is enough; two start to look like a bookcase. Keep the shelf shallow. About 15 to 20 cm deep is right, since it only needs to carry a few things, and anything deeper pushes towards your pillow. What goes on it follows the same logic as the bedside table. A single shelf can carry a few curated objects, and the surest way to keep it calm is to leave one third of its length empty. - Put the main object slightly off centre, not above the middle of the bed. - Add one flat thing beside it: a small frame or a book laid down. - Leave the last third of the shelf bare. For the main object, a [23 cm figure](/go/shop/?q=shelf+figure+23cm) is tall enough to read above the bed and short enough not to touch the wall art. ## The windowsill that uses no floor A windowsill is free space, and it needs no furniture; [playful home decor](https://li-lu.co.uk/decorate-with-cute-quirky-decor-for-playful-homes/) shows it in a whole room. In a small room it is often the only horizontal surface you are not already using. It is shallow, usually 10 to 20 cm, so the object has to be narrow. A tall, slim shape suits it better than a wide one. This is also where small plants live, so check that you are not about to put two competing things in a row. Choose one: - **A plant,** if the sill gets daylight and you will water it. - **An object,** if the sill is shaded or you would rather not look after anything. Not both, because a pot and a figure side by side reads as clutter on a ledge that narrow. If you want colour in the window, let the object carry it and keep the curtain plain. Two things go wrong on sills. Objects too close to the glass catch the light and fade, and anything near the edge gets knocked when you open the window. Set it back a hand’s width. A [23 cm figure](/go/shop/?q=windowsill+figure) also works here, standing at one end of the sill, with the other end left empty. ## Dresser top: three heights, one of them 23 cm A dresser top is the biggest flat surface in most small bedrooms, so it is where clutter collects. It can hold more than a bedside table: three to five items, grouped in odd numbers and varied in height. The trick is that the heights do the work, not the number. A row of five objects of the same height looks like a fence, and three at different heights looks arranged. Here is the order I follow: - Start with the tallest thing: a mirror, a framed print or a lamp at the back. - Add the 23 cm object in front of it, slightly off to one side. - Add something low and flat in front: a tray, a small dish or a stack of two books. That gives you three heights from one corner and leaves the rest of the top empty for everyday use. My honest warning: if the dresser is also where you get dressed, keep everything to one end. A dresser top that is fully styled and fully used is the quickest way back to a crowded room. You will find that a middle height is the hardest to buy, since most accents are either tiny or very large. A [23 cm handmade figure](/go/shop/?q=dresser+top+figure) sits exactly in that gap. If the middle-sized object is the one you are missing Everything on this page works with things you already own. What is hard to find is one object in the middle height, between a trinket and a statement piece. - 23 cm tall, the height of a hardback book - One size across the whole shop, so nothing to work out - Made by hand, and photographed in the colour you will receive [See the 23 cm figures](/go/shop/?q=small+bedroom+figure) The sizes and the tape test on this page stay useful with or without one. ## A floating shelf that does not look heavy Floating shelves break up a wall, give you storage that is not heavy and blocky, and offer display space. They are the best answer to a bedroom with no room for a bookcase. The weight of a shelf comes from depth, not length. Keep it to about 30 to 40 cm at the very most, and for display only, 15 to 20 cm is enough. What turns a light shelf into a heavy one is what you load on it. Books on their side, plus candles, plus frames, plus a plant, and the shelf now reads as a block. - **One object** for display, about 23 cm. - **One row of books** at most, stood up, with a gap before the object. - **Nothing hanging over** the edge. Small artworks work well here, because they do not overwhelm a tiny space, and they pull people a little deeper into the room to get a closer look. Lean a small print at the back and let the object stand in front. If your wall is plain, a [23 cm figure](/go/shop/?q=wall+shelf+figure) gives a single shelf the one point of interest it needs. ## A stool or a bench instead of a second nightstand If the room is too narrow for two bedside tables, a stool is a fair swap. It is light to move, it takes less floor, and its top is exactly the size of one object. A stool top is small, so the rule is strict here: one thing. That is the lamp, or the object, or a book, never all three. I use this on the side of the bed that is closest to the wall, where a full table would block the walkway. Leave at least 60 cm clear on the sides you walk round, and the stool will not feel like an obstacle. - **Top is small:** one item, and a hand’s width of bare wood around it. - **Light to move:** shift it when you change the bedding or vacuum. - **Open underneath:** a basket there gives simple storage without any visual bulk. If you only put one thing on the stool, make it a [23 cm figure](/go/shop/?q=stool+top+figure): it is the right height to be seen from the bed without leaning. ## The desk corner that stays a desk A desk in a small bedroom has two jobs, and the decor must not stop either. It is somewhere to work, and it is something you see from the bed. So the rule flips here. The object does not go in the middle, it goes at the far corner, where it is out of the way of the laptop and in the line of sight from the pillow. What I do is clear the desk completely, then add one item back. If the desk still feels tidy by evening, that item stays. - **Far corner, wall side:** the object, about 23 cm. - **Near corner:** the lamp, or nothing. - **Between them:** bare, for the thing you are actually working on. It does not need to be the same colour as the bed linen. Choose something from the room’s quiet palette and let it sit there. For a small desk, a [23 cm handmade figure](/go/shop/?q=desk+figure+small+room) in the far corner is about the largest you can add without it competing with the screen. ## The top of the wardrobe and the end of the bed Two places most people forget are the top of the wardrobe and the end of the bed. Both are surfaces you pass every day and never use. The wardrobe top is high, so it is seen from a distance. Anything small is lost there. This is the one place where something bigger is welcome, because you view it from across the room, at an angle. The end of the bed is the opposite: low, near, and walked past. A bench or a folded throw is enough, and a single object on top of the throw is a quiet finishing touch. - **Wardrobe top:** one larger piece, set back from the front edge so it does not look about to fall. - **Bed end:** a throw and one 23 cm object, placed to one side. Be careful with weight, though. Anything on top of a wardrobe should be light and sit well back, and a handmade figure is soft and light enough for that. If the bed end is the spot that looks bare, a [23 cm figure](/go/shop/?q=bed+end+figure) on the throw is the gentlest way to finish it. ## What colour the accent should be against a pale wall Pick the colour from the room, not the shop; [wood, cream and black rooms](https://li-lu.co.uk/midcentury-modern-bedroom-decor-ideas-in-wood-cream-and-black/) follow the same logic. Most small bedrooms are pale, so a pale accent disappears and a strong one carries the whole corner. The simplest way to avoid a clash is to choose one of these three: - **[Pink](/go/shop/?q=pink+figure),** if the bed linen is cream or white. It is the warmest accent against a pale wall, and it comes in a pale, a mid and a deep shade, so you can match your own. - **Black and white,** if the room is already neutral. The red heart gives it one small spot of colour. - **The colour you already have,** if the bedding is coloured: match it, and skip the third colour. It is worth remembering the rule of three here too: three colours in the room, and nothing more. Your wall, your bedding and the accent are the three. If you are unsure, hold the object next to the bed linen in daylight, and if they argue, choose the other one. Want to see how this plays out in a full room? The [pink room decor guide](https://li-lu.co.uk/pink-room-decor-that-reads-grown-up-not-nursery-three-shades/) goes through three shades, and the [black and pink guide](https://li-lu.co.uk/black-and-pink-room-decor-where-the-black-stops-being-heavy/) covers the darker version. ## The tape test: how to check the space before you order Before you buy anything, mark the space. Painter’s tape on the surface, the same outline as the object, and a few minutes of living with it. The same trick works for furniture on the floor: tape the outline, then walk round it. For an accent, you do it on the table, the shelf or the sill. - Measure the base of the object you are thinking of, or take 23 cm, the height of a [handmade figure](/go/shop/?q=handmade+figure+23cm). - Tape a rectangle that size on the surface where it would go. - Put the lamp, the glass or the book you use there too. - Live with it for a day, then see whether you still reach round the tape. If you keep moving the tape, the object is too big for that place. Try a different surface before you try a smaller object. For a bedroom, also check the walkway: leave at least 60 cm clear on the sides you walk round, and keep any tall object out of that line. **Pro tip:** take a photo of the taped surface and look at the photo, since a camera shows crowding that your eye skips. ## Common questions ### How to decorate a small bedroom: which ideas work best? Start with what is already there and add one object per surface. Keep the bedside table to a lamp and one object, leave a third of every shelf empty, and choose an accent of about 23 cm. ### How do I style a small bedroom without it feeling cluttered? Limit each surface to a few meaningful items and give them space. One to two on a bedside table and three to five on a dresser, with different heights, looks arranged and not crowded. ### What is the best color for a small bedroom? Pale, calm tones on the walls and one accent colour you repeat once. Light colours open a small room, so the accent is where you add depth. ### What are the best small bedroom design ideas? Choose a single focal point, usually the bed or a shelf above it, and keep every other surface quieter than that. A nice small room has one place to look. ### Do I need two nightstands in a small bedroom? No. One nightstand and a stool on the other side works well (more in [bedroom ideas for couples](https://li-lu.co.uk/bedroom-decor-ideas-for-couples-neither-of-you-has-to-give-up/)), and the stool takes much less floor. Keep at least 60 cm clear where you walk. ### What are good colors for a small bedroom? Soft neutrals for the walls and bedding, and one colour for the accent. Pink and black and white both sit well against pale walls. ### How big should an accent be on a bedside table? About the height of a hardback book, [23 cm](/go/shop/?q=bedside+figure+23cm), and no wider than a hand. A bedside table that narrow can be 48 cm across, so the object should leave room for the lamp. ## Key takeaways - A small bedroom feels crowded when every accent is the same size and has no air around it. - One to two items fit on a bedside table, and three to five on a dresser top. - Leave a third of every shelf empty, and keep wall shelves shallow. - An accent of about 23 cm is large enough to see from the door and small enough to share a table with a lamp. - Tape the outline on the surface before you order, and keep at least 60 cm clear to walk. The object is the one thing worth buying rather than improvising. All 117 figures in the [shop](/go/shop/?q=small+bedroom+figure) are 23 cm, made by hand, so the size is the same whichever you choose. If your room is more about a shelf, the [bedroom shelf guide](https://li-lu.co.uk/aesthetic-room-decor-bedroom-shelf/) goes deeper, and [one accent per surface, sized in cm](https://li-lu.co.uk/handmade-home-decor-ideas-one-accent-per-surface-sized-in-cm/) covers the rest of the house.