Bedroom Design Don'ts

Another common problem that designers often correct is bedroom furniture that doesn't fit the space's size. "Unless your bedroom is huge, over-scaled furniture is a mistake," designer Aimee Kim cautions. If your ceilings are only eight feet high, for instance, opt for a low headboard instead of a four-poster that reaches for the rafters (and dwarfs the room).

Too-small furnishings can be a problem as well, getting lost in a large space and falling short on functionality. "Beds keep getting taller, and nightstands need to be taller, too, so you don't fall out of bed when you reach for a sip of water in the middle of the night," designer Shelly Riehl David says. Before buying furniture, make a simple, to-scale sketch of your bedroom as well as paper cutouts of the furnishings you're considering. That way, you can be sure ahead of time that everything fits and that the scale of various pieces complements each other.