Small Space Ideas for the Bedroom and Home Office

With some smart furniture picks and the help of a designer friend, one couple turned a small, lackluster bedroom into a colorful, clutter-free retreat.

Meanwhile, the couple ran into another challenge: how to keep the surfaces of their bedroom nightstands uncluttered. As creative professionals, Briana and Buzz needed to be able to work on their laptops from bed a few nights a week, so they eagerly sought a solution to house task lighting. To light the sleeping area properly without taking up valuable nightstand tabletop space, the designer suggested attaching sconces directly to the walls roughly 20 inches above the tops of the nightstands. Immediately in love with the idea, the couple bought a pair of mid-century modern Nelson sconces in a shape referred to as "cigar," then a hired handyman attached them into studs with screws. This solution was ideal for the couple's rented loft, since the sconces simply plug into outlets instead of being hard-wired into junction boxes. This solution also allows Briana and Buzz to take their sconces with them once they move out. "Sconces in our small space are life-changing," Briana adds. "Now we have proper lighting at night, and it frees up the surface space of our nightstands for books and magazines."

 

With the sleeping area nearly complete, the creative couple turned their focus to creating space for their laptops. After looking online, Briana came across a popular trend in modern furniture, the C-table. Shaped like the letter C so that the bottom curves up over the top of a seating surface and the bottom slides underneath a sofa or a bed, these tables offer a small surface at the right height for working on laptops when lounging. This solution was ideal not only for adding temporary workspace but also for providing a hinged top where laptops and books could be stored inside when not in use.

Although the sleeping area was now functional and aesthetically pleasing, it seemed incomplete. The very last design element for the bedroom was to create a focal point from the doorway. Ideally the couple wanted to feature a framed photograph of a palm tree Buzz took while in Palm Springs, the room's main source of inspiration. Yet the loft's dimensions made it difficult to find wall space on which to display the artwork. At the advice of a lifestyle producer friend, Briana pitched the idea of suspending the photograph in the center of the window. Buzz agreed and the outcome was exactly what they'd hoped. The entire room now met their needs, providing a space at once functional and relaxing – all while invoking that clean, mid-century modern vibe Palm Springs is known for.