Bedroom corners can be tricky to style well, overlooked they may become dumping zones for spare clothes, shoes, or books, but with some consideration, these unloved corners can be redesigned to be both beautiful and useful.
Interior designers are always looking for clever ways to solve unused, difficult, or small corners using a range of tricks and bedroom furniture to ensure every corner of space in your bedroom is totally utilized and looks chic.
How to decorate and fill empty bedroom corners
Corners can be left behind in the design process, considered an added extra that is unnecessary to bother with, but corners that are left unused and empty will create an incomplete feel in your bedroom.
Considering every corner of your bedroom in the overall design, alongside the major components, will ensure you arrange a cohesive and unified environment to sleep in.
We find out what tools the professionals use when they are styling and designing a bedroom.
1. Set up a corner for lounging
Lounging and bedrooms go hand in hand, the bedroom often doubles up as a quiet space in the house where you can properly relax, hibernate from everyone else and totally unwind. Using a corner as a relaxing lounging nook is a simple way to transform the space. Include lighting, a comfortable chair, or even a sofa and coffee table, depending on how much room you have, to create this space.
Carlos Rodriguez founder of Escala Forma Studio says to ‘create a relaxing oasis within your bedroom by transforming the corner into a lounge area. Incorporate a comfortable sofa or a daybed with soft cushions and throws. Add a small coffee table to hold your favorite reads or a calming scented candle, making it the perfect spot for unwinding and relaxation.’
2. Delineate space for a home office
We are not advocating working from your bedroom! But, if you do need a neat, bedroom office space, that can be accessed simply and will not take up too much room, consider using a bedroom corner.
‘Transform your bedroom corner into a functional home office,’ says Carlos Rodriguez founder of Escala Forma Studio. 'Add some decorative touches to create a productive and inspiring workspace within the comfort of your bedroom.'
Liz Beal designer at Goddard Littlefair agrees, ‘Transform a corner into a workspace by adding a small home office desk, chair, and task lighting. This setup can serve as a functional area for work or study without taking up excessive space within the room.’
3. Invest in a statement seating area
The accent chair, or occasional chair, is a classic design trick to use in a bedroom corner, a simple but brilliant solution for a small or larger corner.
‘Occasional chairs have the capacity to elevate almost any space within the home,’ says Sebastian Nash at King Living Design Studio. 'Whether taking advantage of an unused corner, delivering a design statement, or providing additional seating, a statement chair lends adaptability to both traditional and contemporary homes.'
Adding an occasional chair into a bedroom corner offers you the opportunity to introduce a disrupter color into your design mix, experimenting with bolder designs, patterns, or colors in a measured way.
‘Accent chairs are versatile pieces - their decorative nature means they provide an excellent focal point and are a great addition to empty nooks and alcoves,’ Patricia Gibbons at sofa.com, adds. 'Often left as unused space, incorporating an accent chair transforms vacant spaces into somewhere welcoming and cozy.'
Rozit Arditi, the principal designer of Arditi Design, also agrees, ‘A simple solution is always a comfortable chair, a side table and a floor lamp to create a cozy corner for morning coffee, reading a book or even escaping the kids for a short minute.”
4. Create a reading nook
'Make a visual statement by dedicating an unused bedroom corner to a reading nook,' Alicia Cheung, principal at Studio Heimat. Whatever the size of your bedroom, it's important to create a quiet corner that can serve as a retreat from the noise of daily life. If you only have a small bedroom corner to play with, think vertically. Wall hung-book storage is an excellent way to not only fill a corner but also bedroom wall space.
Do add more softness for comfort, too. If you don’t have space for a whole sofa but want to create a cozy reading area, beanbags, futons, and/or cushions are really effective ways of creating a comfy spot.
5. Build in bespoke joinery
Without exquisite bespoke joinery, even the grandest bedroom will be nothing more than a box. That’s what Bruce Hodgson, founder of architectural joinery specialist Artichoke, believes. ‘Beautifully crafted and conceived joinery can add drama to a bedroom corner, employing light and shade to lend depth, as well as framing openings and significant features,’ he says. ‘It can also play a vital role in manipulating proportions.
Caroline Milns, head of interior design at Zulufishagrees: Built-in bedroom storage is a brilliant problem solver for awkward angles in a room and can be particularly effective in bedrooms for not only providing more organization but also offering additional functions and uses.’
Think about bedroom storage in the planning stages of a project and make sure to use every nook and cranny, especially in kids’ bedrooms. One trick is to use the full length of wall space so that fitted joinery and display shelves maximize the space on offer, recommend Katie Glaister and Henry Miller-Robinson of K&H Design.
6. Invest in efficient lighting
Unloved and unused corners can be brought to life in a myriad of ways including, placing a floor-standing lamp to shine a light from the corner. This could be tucked behind or beside an occasional chair or could stand alone.
‘When designing a bedroom corner, be mindful of proportion and scale,' advises Liz Beal designer at Goddard Littlefair. ‘Avoid overcrowding the space, as it can make the room feel cramped. Instead, focus on selecting furniture and accessories that complement the overall style and function of the bedroom while enhancing the corner's purpose.’
7. Dedicate a space for a quiet coffee morning
If you have a corner by a window in your bedroom, you can add an accent chair, with a small coffee table to enjoy a moment in the morning sun for a coffee break.
Julee Wray of Truss Interiors, says: ‘I like to envision something that creates height and a sense of comfort. Often, times we use a chair or chaise accompanied by a floor lamp and a small table. Another possibility is to use an indoor plant or a cluster of multi-height plant stands.’
8. Add architectural detail
Use the height you have available, says Elizabeth McNabb at Hypen & Co, recommending that rather than ignore an odd corner space, it should be treated as a ‘small vignette’.
‘If your budget allows, custom built-ins will allow you to take advantage of the max amount of real estate, if you're tight on space, add some storage.’
Elizabeth’s vision of a vignette can be taken even further, as she proposes adding architectural details, with the addition of a dramatic floor-to-ceiling column, which, she says, will ‘turn an awkward space into a focal point’.
What can I do with my bedroom corner?
Design tools to employ in bedroom corners offer compelling and varied inspiration. A decorative object, like a large vibrant, and architectural house plant, or a smaller collection of houseplants arranged on planters, a piece of art or sculpture, or a beautiful free-standing floor lamp, will provide depth and variety to your bedroom corner and overall bedroom design.
If you have more to spend you could consider an accent chair in a pattern that suits the color scheme in the room, or acts as a disrupter, if you have the space the chair could encompass a sofa and small table or a chaise longue, to construct a relaxing sitting and reading area. Bespoke cabinetry, from a simple drawer table to a full cabinet could also be employed for storage or dressing, a mini workplace could be built for late-night notes or research. Or if you have the vision and budget a full architectural detail could be created to add unexpected dynamic structure. Whatever idea inspires you ensure you do not forget the bedroom corners in your design.
